Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe can occur only in one possible way. Traditional Calvinist doctrine describes God’s sovereignty as deterministic. This view of God’s sovereignty can reasonably be called:
- absolute (God controls every event in the universe, including human decisions);
- meticulous (he controls all the tiniest details, such as the position of every atom at every moment in history), and
- deterministic (there are no alternative possibilities since every event is fixed).
While there are several verses in the Bible that could plausibly be interpreted as supporting absolute, meticulous, divine determinism (e.g. Proverbs 16:33, Proverbs 21:1, Ephesians 1:11), the overwhelming testimony of Scripture contradicts the deterministic interpretations. The following examples should be sufficient to show that determinism is not biblical:
(Note that I do not see any biblical basis for the distinction between God’s secret Will of Decree and his revealed Will of Command. That idea represents not an appeal to mystery or human ignorance, but rather posits a specific, hypothetical, and extra-biblical mechanism for philosophically harmonizing these verses with divine determinism.)
• Isaiah 30:1: “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.
God specifies that the stubborn children are carrying out a plan that is not God’s plan (this verse does not speak of a revealed will or even an ideal desire, but plainly says that this is not God’s plan).
• Luke 7:30: “But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves.”
God had a purpose for the religious leaders, which was rejected (God’s “purpose” does not naturally fit into the category of a revealed will distinct from His will of decree).
• Isaiah 65:2: “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.”
Why would God hold out his hands to obstinate people while simultaneously making them obstinate? The not good ways are from “their own imaginations”, but if their actions had been decreed by God, then they would come also (and ultimately) from God’s own imagination.
See also Genesis 6:5-6, Psalm 81:11-12, Jeremiah 7:35, 19:5, 32:35, Ezekiel 13:6, 18:23, Hosea 8:4, Zechariah 1:15, Acts 7:51, 1 Corinthians 14:33, James 1:13
• 1 Corinthians 10:13: “God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can bear but provides a way out so you can endure it.”
There is always a genuine alternative such that you do not have to sin. Anytime a person sins, they refused to take the alternate path God promised to provide for them. This promise of an alternate "way out" is fundamentally incompatible with determinism which says there can only ever be one path (because it is ultimately deterministic, compatibilism also denies the existence of this way out).
• 1 Samuel 23:12: Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.”
The men did not surrender David, so God made a statement that was either 1) never actually true or 2) a genuine alternative. The same applies to Jonah (Jonah 3:4) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-6).
• I Samuel 3:13-14: “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue.”
• 2 Samuel 12:8: “And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.”
• Jeremiah 26:3: It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
See also Genesis 18:16-32, Exodus 9:15, I Kings 9:4-7, 11:38, 2 Kings 20:1-6, 1 Chronicles 21:11-12, Psalm 81:13-14, Isaiah 1:19-20, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Ezekiel 3:18-, 18:21-, 33:1-20, Amos 7:1-6, Matthew 23:37, Acts 27:31, 1 Corinthians 2:8.
• Jeremiah 18:7-10: If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.
An oracle of God’s prophet about the topic of God’s sovereign decrees seems like a much more appropriate place to look for statements about metaphysical realities than poetic wisdom literature.
Consider also how the determinist must interpret this verse. On determinism, it means something like: "If at any time (meaning at my predetermined time) I declare (incorrectly) concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will destroy it (despite having no plan to actually do so), and if that nation, turns from its evil (as I determined before time that they would), I will relent (meaning pretend to relent): from the disaster that I intended (meaning never intended) to do to it."
• Deuteronomy 30:19: I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live.
• 2 Chronicles 15:2: And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”
• 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
See also: Deuteronomy 11:13–14, Deuteronomy 28:1–2, 15, Deuteronomy 30:16, I Kings 9:4-7, 11:38, 21:24-29, II Kings 1:16, 2 Chronicles 7:14,17,18, Jeremiah 7:5–7, Isaiah 1:19–20, Ezekiel 18, Ezekiel 33:18–19, Zechariah 1:3, Matthew 6:14–15, Matthew 7:24-27, John 7:17, John 15:7, Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 15:2, Galatians 6:9, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 3:14, 1 John 1:9
If the biblical perspective were that all events without exception are determined by God, then there would be no need to specify that a particular event was orchestrated by God:
• 1 Kings 12:15: So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The word translated as “a turn of affairs” (sibbah) is used only here, but it is related to a more common word (sabab), which means to surround, encompass, encircle, or turn. This word is used especially of a border, and describes either traversing or establishing a boundary or terminal limit of something. It seems that Rehoboam’s decision is described as the result of God surrounding/encircling/limiting events and directing them to his own ends. Like a fish in a net or livestock being corralled, Rehoboam (in this particular instance) is being causally directed by God, (Notably, the related Arabic “sabab” eventually took on the more abstract meaning “to cause”).
The use of this word in a case of God's involvement in a human's decision seems comparable to the boundary-setting idea implied by pro-orizo.
• 2 Samuel 17:14: And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.
See also: Deuteronomy 2:30, Joshua 11:20, Judges 14:4, I Chronicles 10:13-14, Acts 2:23, 4:27-28
• Deut 5:17-19: “You shall not murder. And you shall not commit adultery. And you shall not steal”, etc.
These commands imply the capacity to not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, etc.
They also imply that it is not God’s secret will that a person murder, commit adultery, steal, etc.
• Deuteronomy 5:29: “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!”
God expresses that he desires obedience. God alludes to a scenario where it is possible for things to go well for them, contingent on their obedience.
Related to this category of biblical commands is the argument from authorial intent and didactic purpose. What is the point of the Book of Kings if not to learn from both its positive and negative examples? What is the purpose of the Book of Proverbs if not to apply its wisdom? What reason do we read the epistles if not to change our thoughts and behaviors to better align with God's desires for us? Why does the Bible constantly present to us, through narratives, parables, and commands, the Way that leads to life in contrast with the way that leads to destruction, if not because we can genuinely choose to follow either one or the other?
And yet, if determinism is true, there is only ever one path which we must necessarily and inevitably walk, such that the only real determining factor in all our behavior is what God has already ordained for us. Determinism strips humanity of the genuine choice to obey or not, and for that reason also, it simply cannot be reconciled with the biblical worldview. Determinism is not just at odds with the 70 plus passages described above; is also inherently and fundamentally incompatible with...
In summary, while a handful of verses in the bible might plausibly be interpreted as supporting determinism, the above verses (and many others) demonstrate the logical, philosophical, and theological incompatibility between determinism and the Biblical worldview.