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Jumpstarter 5 of 10

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Question 5

Several Calvinist quotes are presented (“No wind ever arises… except by God’s express command,” “not merely permit evil,” “author of them,” Piper on 9/11 being “caused” by God)—how do these claims affect your ability to pray, trust, and worship, and what emotional resistance or attraction do you notice in yourself toward a “no-risk view” of providence?

Another way to ask: How do the quotes saying God directly causes every event (even evil and tragedies like 9/11) affect your prayer, trust, and worship? Do you feel drawn to or pushed away by a “no-risk” view of God’s control, and why?

Direct Answer Finny presents these claims to show that a “no-risk view” of providence can make God appear directly behind evil, which he says has “tremendous ramifications” for how people view God and can make the system feel “blasphemous and wicked.” The transcript doesn’t map every emotional reaction, but it suggests this view can damage trust and worship by “defaming the love and goodness of God.”

Support from Transcript:

Calvin quote: “No wind ever arises or increases except by God’s express command.”
Calvin rejects “mere permission” and calls it “frivolous” to say God only permits evils; he says Scripture shows God “not only willing, but the author of them.”
Finny adds Jonathan Edwards was “comfortable with the language that God is the author of evil.”
Paul Helm calls it a “no-risk view,” where “every twist and turn… under the direct control of God,” including ordaining hateful actions while commanding love.
Finny cites Piper saying God “caused” 9/11, and even a dirty bomb would be “from God.”
David Bentley Hart: such fatalism “defame[s] the love and goodness of God… fascination with his dread sovereignty.”

Discussion Follow-ups What kind of “sovereignty” makes it easier for you to draw near to God—one that determines all events, or one that can grieve, warn, and respond within covenant relationship?

Jumpstarter 5 of 10