Heya!
Ok, so I am talking to my dad (and one of my brothers) about Calvinism and I am trying to prepare for our next study/discussion.
In our last meeting, I tried to ask the question "IF it turns out that the Bible actually teaches that God DOES indeed create some people for the purpose of sending them to hell, then that is the right and good thing to do (by virtue of the fact that everything God does is right and good) - correct?" My dad was very hesitant to answer the question at all, and seemed to think I was setting him up.
I wasn't, I simply wanted to establish a "base line" that said 'anything God does is right, regardless of our opinion on the matter - if we disagree with God in anyway, WE are wrong' I wasn't even really addressing the reprobation issue, just using this as a point.
So the first critique I need is on my baseline. Is this a fair and reasonable baseline that actual truly saved Bible believing Christians should be able to agree on, and (if it is) is there a better way I could go about establishing the baseline?
The next critique I am asking for is about a question I am thinking of asking at our next study. It stems from another question I already asked, which is "If, out of all human history, out of all the people who have ever existed, or will ever exist - if God were to decide to only save one single person, would that not still be a merciful & gracious act?" My dad's reply was "Gracious to that one person." That made me think my dad might have the unconscious opinion that God somehow owes everyone a "shot" at believing. My dad believes that God knew ahead of time who would believe the Gospel, and calls those people (though he also believes God invites all people - the further I get away from this neo-Arminianism, the less I understand it...)
So the question I am thinking of asking is this "What if God knew someone would believe the Gospel, but decided NOT to call that person? Would God then be unjust? Is God somehow obligated to call everyone?"
Is that a good question, and if so, how can I make it better? If it isn't a good question, what would be a good question that somehow would make my dad (who is a VERY intelligent man and a very logical thinker) deal with the issue of God not being under obligation to save anyone.
Thank you in advance!
Take care,
Rob


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