In my previous article
I began to show what John Calvin taught concerning the
sovereignty of God with reference to the problem of evil. The emphasis
was of course on this matter of Permission, which to this present time,
has been the going 'stock' answer to the question of Theodicy. Here I should
simply like to point out more references from
the pen of Calvin showing that he believed in anything but Permission.
No one can examine the Biblical doctrine of the Decree & end up with
Permission. No one of a reformed persuasion will deny that God decreed
sin in eternity. Did He then 'permit' Himself to do so? Did He 'permit'
Himself to harden Pharaoh's heart... or to create Hitler knowing
that he would fulfill His decree to massacre the Jewish people? Calvin
aptly addresses such concerns in his Institutes. First I cite some
verses which Calvin alludes to in the section I am about to quote;
Lam 3:38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Amos 3: 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?
Immediately one can see the difficulty involved in attempting to get Permission from these verses. Did God 'permit' both good & evil to proceed out of His mouth? Or did He 'permit' Himself to 'do the evil' in the city? Now for Calvin's citation;
"But if the disasters
and miseries which press us happen without the agency of men, let us call
to mind the doctrine of the Law, (Deut. 28:1ff,) that all prosperity has
its source in the blessing of God, that all adversity is his curse. And
let us tremble at the dreadful denunciation, "And if ye will not be reformed
by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; then will I also walk
contrary unto you," (Lev. 26: 23, 24.) These words condemn our torpor,
when, according to our carnal sense, deeming that whatever happens in any
way is fortuitous, we are neither animated by the kindness of God to worship
him, nor by his scourge stimulated to repentance. And it is for this reason
that Jeremiah, (Lament. 3:38,) and Amos, (Amos 3:6,) expostulated bitterly
with the Jews, for not believing that good as well as evil was produced
by the command of God. To the same effect are the words in Isaiah, "I form
the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil. I the Lord
do all these things," (Is: 45:7.)
Institutes; Book 1;
chap 17; section 8
This speaks for itself. Notice carefully Calvin's declaration that both good as well as evil is 'produced by the command of God'... not the Permission of God. If ever there was a place where Calvin could have espoused some form of a view of Permission with respect to the Deity & evil this would be the place for him to do so but he does not. He explicitly proclaims that all things including both good and evil are the product of God's command! Further, the verse he uses in support of his assertions is the one verse that is most upsetting to those who deny the God of such divine sovereignty; Isaiah 45:7 which explicitly states that it is God who is the source of all things in existence, including light, darkness, peace and... evil! All these things, says Calvin, are the result of the sovereign command of a Holy God! Therefore any who would think that the notion of Permission is a Calvinistic notion will find little comfort in this section of John Calvin. In the next section we shall see more statements by Calvin that repudiate any notion that he ever believed in Permission. Bold underlined italics are my own emphasis.
Citation;
"2. How does God's
impulse come to pass in men?
[Impulse? I say... whatever became of Permission?]
With regard to secret movements, what Solomon says of the heart of a king,
that it is turned hither and thither, as God sees meet (Prov. 21:1), certainly
applies to the wholehuman race, and has the same force
as if he had said, that whatever we conceive in our minds is directed to
its end by the secret inspiration of God. And certainly, did he not work
internally in the minds of men, it could not have been properly
said, that he takes away the lip from the true, and prudence from the aged
(Ezek. 7:26) - takes away the heart from the princes of the earth, that
they wander through devious paths (Job 12:24; cf. Ps. 107:40; 106:40).
To the same effect, we often read that men are intimidated when He fills
their hearts with terror (Lev. 26:36). Thus David left the camp of Saul
while none knew of its because a sleep from God had fallen upon all (I
Sam 26:12). But nothing can be clearer than the many passages which declare,
that he blinds the minds of men (Isa. 29:14), and smites them with giddiness
(cf. Deut. 28:28; Zech. 12:4), intoxicates them with a spirit of stupor
(Isa. 29:10), renders them infatuated (Rom. 1:28), and hardens their hearts
(Ex. 14:17). Even these exressions many would confine to permissions as
if, by deserting the reprobate, he allowed them to be blinded by Satan.
But since the Holy Spirit distinctly says, that the blindness and infatuation
are inflicted by the just judgement of God (Rom.
1:20-24), the solution is altogether inadmissible. He is
said to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh (Ex. 9:12), to have hardened
it yet more (ch. 10:1), and confirmed it (chs. 10:20,27; 11:10; 14:8).
Some evade these forms of expression by a silly cavil, because Pharaoh
is elsewhere said to have hardened his own heart (Ex. 8:15, 32; 9:34),
thus making his will the cause of hardening it; as if the two things did
not perfectly agree with each other, though in different senses viz., that
man, though acted upon by God, at the same time also acts. But I retort
the objection on those who make it. If to harden means only bare permission,
the contumacy will not properly belong to Pharaoh. Now, could any thing
be more feeble and insipid than to interpret as if Pharaoh had only allowed
himself to be hardened? We may add, that Scripture cuts off all handle
for such cavils: "I," saith the Lord, "will harden his heart," (Exod. 4:21.)
So also, Moses says of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, that they
went forth to battle because the Lord had hardened their hearts, (Josh.
11:20 cf. Deut. 2:30.) The same thing is repeated by another prophet, "He
turned their hearts to hate his people," (Psalm 105:25.) In like manner,
in Isaiah, he says of the Assyrian, "I will send him against a hypocritical
nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to
take the spoil, and to take the prey," (Isaiah 10:6;) not that he intends
to teach wicked and obstinate man to obey spontaneously, but because he
bends them to execute his judgements, just as if they carried
their orders engraven on their minds. And hence it
appears that they are impelled by the sure appointment of God.
Institutes; Book 1;
chap 18; section 2
De we really need to comment folks? How anyone can read through such language & come away thinking that Calvin was somehow teaching some kind of a notion of Permission with respect to how God exercises His sovereign control over His own creatures is completely baffling! Such people have no understanding of human language!