This is part 6 of our Foreknowledge and Free Will series.  Last time Dr. Sean Cole introduced the Calvinist understanding of God’s foreknowledge and the limitations on our freedom as a result of our fallen nature.  This time I ask Cole about unconditional election and how that compares to a lottery.  After all, if God has no conditions by which he decides whom he elects to salvation, then isn’t randomness all we have left?  Also, I ask Cole to respond to a number of texts including John 3.16, 1 Timothy 2.4, 2 Peter 3.9, and Luke 7.30.

—— Books ——

• Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility by D. A. Carson
• Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil by Guillaume Bignon
• The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner
• Whomever He Wills by Matthew Barrett and Thomas Nettles
• No Place for Sovereignty: Whats Wrong with Freewill Theism by R. K. McGregor Wright
• Chosen for Life: The Case of Divine Election by Sam Storms
• The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther

—— Links ——

• See other episodes in this series on Foreknowledge and Free Will
• Understanding Christianity Podcast
• See more about Dr. Cole at seancole.net