Two great posts from Ben Witherington.
First, Decisions on Earth Ratified in Heaven- the Opposite of Predestination, in which he explains how Matthew 18:18-19 shows that
decisions taken on earth, have eternal consequences. … human decisions matter tremendously, … God is said to respond to the human decision making process.
This biblical teaching shows how wrong is the doctrine of some Calvinists that everything, including human salvation, is predetermined by God.
Then, on a lighter note, read Ben’s post Quote of the Day– $3 dollars worth of God. This is far too true of too many so-called Christians today.
Except that this doesn’t show that predestination doesn’t occur. All it shows is that we’re free. Whether predestination is compatible with that depends on whether compatibilism is true, and that’s a philosophical view that Witherington is presupposing and thus imposing on the text.
Thanks, Jeremy. As you know, I don’t completely reject compatibilism, a framework within which predestination is a meaningful concept. What I do reject is the determinism of popular culture Calvinism, according to which human decisions not only don’t matter at all, they don’t even exist.
What you say in your comment is fine. What you say in your post (and what Witherington says) seems to me to attack a much broader set of views, including my own, by saying something that simply isn’t true of many of the views included.