Robert L. Dabney, a pastor and soldier during the Civil War, preached that God directed
“every shot and shell and bullet” of that war. [1] Now I understand the Bible teaches God is sovereign; that God controls what happens on our world but does this mean God controls the course of every bullet in every war? Does that mean God controls the movement of every molecule of air?
The problem with God controlling everything on our world is that the Bible also teaches we have free will. There are more than 600 verses in the Bible in which God commands us to take some action. [2] If God controls all events on our world, then we humans have no control over events in our world, including the events of our own personal lives. So why would God command us to do something we cannot do?
What we Christians must do is to recognize the Bible teaches both that God is sovereign and that we humans have free will. Our theology must reconcile both, not select one position or the other.
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[1] Marvin Olasky, “Stagger and recover”, World Magazine, April 11, 2020, p. 72.
[2] Erasmus-Luther. Ernst F. Winter, Translator and editor. Discourse on Free Will. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., Inc., p. 59.
