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Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Is there libertarian freedom in heaven?

http://www.epsociety.org/userfiles/Cowan-God%20Heavenly%20Freedom%20and%20Evil%20(final).pdf

9 comments:

  1. Olson and other Arminians who affirm "eternal security" don't even believe in libertarian freedom for the regenerate believer.

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    1. Have they explicitly affirmed this, or are you making an inference? I haven't gone deep into reading the Arminian literature, but I thought libertarian freedom was the one thing those types would never give up, Scripture notwithstanding. I'd be very surprised to find that they admit the regenerate are not libertarian free.

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    2. Blake, if they affirm eternal security then, by default, they are not free in a libertarian sense to reject the gospel after they are saved.

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    3. Indeed. On a libertarian freedom paradigm, 'eternal security' is incoherent. That's the point. This is an inconsistency for proponents of libertarian freedom. An *internal critique* of such a position finds it wanting.

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    4. I get that it doesn't make sense, but I'm asking if they (Olson et al.) have themselves admitted that explicitly. Most of the lay Arminians I debate try to hold onto both "eternal security" and libertarian freedom. Do Olson and Co. make the same blunder, or are they clear-sighted enough to say, "yeah, the two don't mix."

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    5. Blake,

      I take John's point to be that Arminians who hold to 'eternal security' by definition cannot *really* or *consistently* believe in libertarian freedom for the regenerate believer. I don't take John to be claiming that Olson and other Arminians have *conceded* that they are inconsistent at this point, though he can correct me if I'm wrong.

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  2. Does God know what the elect will do in heaven/new heavens and new earth for all eternity? That seems paradoxical since "eternity" doesn't have an "end". Is it possible that God decrees our actions to a certain point and once this point arrives then He decrees again? I'm sorry if the question is not related to the post, but I cannot stop thinking about it.

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    1. You seem to be assuming that the only kind of infinite is a potential infinite rather than an actual infinite. Although eternity is endless, that doesn't mean it can't be a complete totality. Moreover, the future unfolds according to how God predestined future events to unfold.

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    2. To expand on my answer: as Cantor demonstrated, an actual infinite is possible. With respect to your question, God's decree of the timeline is an actual abstract infinite.

      If the B-theory of time is true, then the real timeline is an actual concrete infinite. If the A-theory of time is true, then the real timeline is a potential concrete infinite.

      In either case, real events pair off with their decretal counterparts. Even if the A-theory is true, and the future isn't real (as of yet), each and every future event will correspond to what God decreed.

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