God’s Sovereignty
and the Fall of Man
“God’s Sovereignty and the Fall of Man”
The question was posed, whether God had a role in causing the Fall of man, insomuch that God permitted it to happen, when He could have otherwise stopped the whole thing from happening.
Norman Geisler states: “...God made the fact of freedom; we are responsible for the acts of freedom.” (Chosen But Free, p.23, emphasis mine)
Question: Was God sovereign in that He could have prevented the Fall? If so, does that make God the primary cause of the Fall of man? In other words, if God could have prevented the Fall in the first place, does that mean that the primary reason why people are eternally damned is because God, while He could have prevented it, chose not to? Therefore, even if one does chose to go to Hell, by rejecting the Gospel, do they end up there because of their choice, or because of God’s choice to allow it all to happen? Are millions going to suffer in Hell for all eternity, primarily because God, who could have stopped it, simply chose not to, or perhaps, wanted it to happen that way, for a higher, hidden purpose?
Answer: By this logic, would you blame the father of the Prodigal Son, for not only permitting his son to leave, but also giving him the money from his share of the family inheritance? When the Prodigal Son was in the pig pen, starving, did he ever blame his father, as the primary cause of all of his troubles? If if can’t be shown that the father is negligently at fault, then neither can it be accused of God either.
