During my time as a post-doctoral researcher in Geneva, where the great reformer John Calvin founded the university, I often passed by his giant statue and became curious about Calvinism. One of its most debated doctrines is the concept of irresistible grace, which asserts that God’s saving grace is effectively applied only to those He has already determined to save. In due time, God’s grace overcomes any resistance these individuals may have to accept the gospel. C.S. Lewis, who called himself the “most reluctant convert,” believed he could not resist God’s offer of salvation. So, is one’s salvation predetermined? And does one have free will to choose to believe in God?
As previously discussed in the section on God’s general providence, He has chosen to self-limit His power to allow for the existence of humans through a gradual process such as evolution. Despite being omnipotent, God has chosen not to know the outcome of every single event in the world in advance, not because He cannot, but because of His desire to preserve the autonomy of His creation. He is not a micromanager, controlling every aspect of our lives. Nevertheless, He still guides history and has a broader understanding of the world’s workings. As mentioned in the feedback control model discussed in the previous chapter, we have the freedom to make choices. However, God constantly interacts with us and can influence us through circumstances or persuasion to redirect us toward His plan. The dynamic interplay between free will and predestination involves God’s involvement in our decision-making processes.
Our current understanding of AI suggests that human decisions can be predicted based on previous actions, assuming that humans act rationally. However, humans are not always rational in their decision-making processes. According to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the unconscious mind is a primary factor in determining human behavior. Thus, if we understand enough about our unconscious mind, seemingly irrational behavior can also be predicted. I have been with my wife for 22 years and can predict some of her rational and irrational behaviors based on her childhood experiences. Given that God knows us better than anyone else, including our innermost thoughts, it seems logical that He can accurately predict our decisions. Even if we surprise God with our choices, He can still have a backup plan and open another door for us. One can view God’s interaction with us as a massive computer simulation, where He considers all possible outcomes and plans for dealing with our various free decisions. Therefore, regardless of our choices, God is always in control.
Returning to the question of irresistible grace for those whom God predicted would accept His salvation, it is important to note that God constantly interacts with them and can offer them many opportunities to decide to accept His grace. Let us assume that every time a person is presented with the opportunity to accept Christ, they have a 50-50 chance of doing so. If God gave a person ten chances, their conversion probability would be 99.9%. In mathematical terms, if people were given infinite chances, their conversion probability would be 100%. Therefore, grace is indeed irresistible, but it is still up to the individual to accept it.
A longstanding debate has been over whether light is a particle or a wave in physics. It has since been discovered to exhibit characteristics of both a particle and a wave. Depending on the experiment being conducted, light may appear as either a wave or a particle, demonstrating what is known as wave-particle duality. Notably, Albert Einstein didn’t get his Nobel prize for his work in special relativity but for his work explaining the photoelectric effect, confirming that light can be considered a particle and highlighting light’s particle-wave duality.
Looking at the problem with free will through this lens, you can see that if you look at things from God’s angle, you cannot resist His grace. But on the other hand, from the human level, you exercise your free will to accept Christ as your savior; you are not forced to believe.
It is logical to believe that when free will and God’s predestination coexist, the nature of God’s predestination is unknowable to us. If we were to understand it, we might encounter perplexing questions, such as whether we are free to do something different from what God has predestined us to do. Such inquiries are illogical and akin to asking whether God can create a rock too heavy for Him to lift. While we can discern God’s will, the intricacies of His thoughts and plans remain beyond our comprehension.