God Bless!

I find myself constantly pulled back and forth between the two sides. It seems that Scripture is correcting my view at every turn, but I never quite get settled into one spot between the two sides and never quite feel “balanced” on the matter of sovereign election and human choice. Perhaps this is as God intends it. As a result, I have to continually ackowledge the fact that my intellect is too weak to comprehend such lofty matters. The humility is better for me than the knowledge I might have of the divine secrets if they weren’t so mysterious.

As to whether it is antinomy or a very large paradox, I like the substance of what J.I. Packer wrote in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. But I don’t think I would go so far as to call it antinomy. It may be partly an issue of semantics. To me, Piper and Packer are pretty much agreed on this topic. Packer has just gotten into a bit of hot water with many who are uncomfortable with the term “antinomy.” I first heard of this in a brief conversation I had with Phil Johnson. He felt that using the term “antinomy” only confused the matter. I tend to agree.

I’m already intrigued by your mention of paradox and antinomy. J.I. Packer, in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God considers this an antinomy. John Piper cordially but firmly disagrees.

I’m really looking forward to the discussion!