I hear Calvinist preachers reference the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) almost as often as any particular Bible verse. I had never really looked at it until this evening.
It is fascinating that each paragraph is footnoted abundantly with Scripture verses - but it's not always clear how the quoted verses actually uphold the stated doctrines of the document.
Probably the most quoted paragraph of Westminster is the following:
"God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeable ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established."
Notice what is being affirmed here: God has ordained absolutely everything that comes to pass. It is all part of His plan.
Then comes the sleight of hand: for all of God's micromanaging of the universe, He has done it in such a way as to not be responsible for bringing about sin, nor does He violate human will!
To move it out of the abstract into the concrete: God ordained Bob to become an alcoholic and to climb behind the steering wheel one Friday night and to crash head on into a family minivan, killing all onboard. All this was God's plan from before the first motion of creation. BUT that doesn't mean God did anything evil or sinful! Bob is still responsible for his actions and will face God's judgment for them.
How is that possible?
The Westminster Confession does not even attempt to explain it.
"Just take our word for it."
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