Divine Permission w/ J.D. Martin

On this episode of CSG, J.D. Martin (Exploring Theology) joins Joshua Davidson and myself as we seek to answer questions raised by Dr. Leighton Flowers (Soteriology 101) concerning what it means for God to “permit” events that happen in reality from the Reformed/Calvinist perspective. This leads to an in-depth discussion on the topic with answers to questions like “What do Calvinists mean when they use terms like ‘permit’, ‘decree’, & ‘cause’?” and “Do ALL Calvinists hold to what is philosophically known as ‘determinism’?”

After a good 35 min back-and-forth between J.D. and Josh, establishing the fact that some Calvinists do indeed hold to the idea of “contra-causal freewill” (and not the picture that Determinism as a whole paints), we arrive at the question “is the ability to do otherwise a necessary ingredient for moral culpability?” and how does this interact with Calvinism and Reformed Theology. Hint...the answer has to do with us being “in Adam”. Guess you’ll have to check out the episode to hear J.D.’s explanation!!!

Ultimately I believe both Josh and J.D.’s interaction with each other brought A LOT of clarity in this discussion between Calvinists and Non-Calvinists alike. It was friendly, in-depth and like I said, extremely clarifying in answering the questions raised by Dr. Flowers and others on this topic in general! If this is a topic you are currently studying I highly recommend this episode! God bless!

Biblical Passages Cited:
John 3
Romans 5
Romans 6
Romans 9