Reformed Theological Seminary has made available several course on iTunes for free. I have been listening to a course by Dr. Knox Chamblin on C.S. Lewis. I’m a big C.S. Lewis fan, but haven’t read any of his work for several years. Dr. Chamblin quotes Lewis from Miracles (one of the few Lewis works I have never read):
In the play Hamlet, Ophelia climbs out on a branch overhanging a river: the branch breaks, she falls and drowns. What would you reply if someone asked, ‘Did Ophelia die because Shakespeare for poetic reasons, wanted her to die at that moment - or because the branch broke?’ I think that one would have to say ‘For both reasons.’ Every event in the play happens as a result of other events in the play, but also every event happens because the poet wants it to happen. All the events in the play are Shakespearean events; similarly, all events in the real world are providential events… ‘Providence’ and natural causation are not alternatives; both determine every event. Both are one.
I found this illustration extraordinarily helpful in understanding Biblical compatibilism - the sometimes difficult notion that God’s complete sovereignty over human history and man’s responsibility (”free will”) can coexist. God has not created a random universe. All events are caused by other events. All actions (and inactions) have consequences. Yet, God is the ultimate cause of all events - working everything according to His purposes and to the good of those who love Him.
—————-
Now playing: The Notwist - Off the Rails
via FoxyTunes
Recent Comments