Dave Hunt
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The fact that God is sovereign need not mean that nothing can happen that He doesn’t will. If that were the case, then we would have to conclude that God wills the very evil that He hates—an obvious contradiction not only in logic but in character. Confusion at this point justifies the sneering complaint of the atheist who claims he cannot believe in God because of evil: “If your God can’t stop all evil and suffering, He is too weak to be God. And if He can, and doesn’t, He is a monster not worthy of our trust!”
There is, of course, one obvious answer to this dilemma, and only one: that God in His sovereignty has given mankind the genuine power of free choice and will not take it back. God can pressure, persuade, or plead with man, but He cannot force him against his will or He would destroy the very creature He made. Remember the imaginary exchange of letters over the Columbine massacre:
Dear God, Why didn’t you save the school children in Littleton, Colorado? Sincerely, Concerned Student.
Dear Concerned Student: I am not allowed in schools. Sincerely, God.
This world of sin, suffering, and death is not God’s doing; it is what morally responsible man has irresponsibly wrought in opposition to God’s will. Or else why would Jesus teach us to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)? Why would it be commendable to surrender to God with these words, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42), if nothing except God’s will can happen anyway?