Chosen but Free by Norman Geisler

My good friend Noel has been trying to get me to read this book for a long while now and I finally got myself a copy.

I have started reading it and I am only up to Chapter 3 but I am liking what I am reading. I have never agreed with a Calvinist before but Geisler could be one Calvinist I will heartily agree with, so far.

Here is one paragraph I especially liked:

"A beautiful illustration
 
One final illustration of the congruency between predetermination and free choice is found in the shipwreck recorded by Luke in Acts 27. Paul assured his fellow travelers in advance that “ ‘not one of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed’ ” (v. 22). Yet a few verses later he warned them, “ ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved’ ” (v. 31). Both are true. God knew in advance and had revealed to Paul that none would drown (cf. v. 23). But He also knew it would be through their free choice to stay on the ship that this would be accomplished."

And I totally agree with this:

Sovereignty and free will. Is it one or the other, or is it both one and the other? The Bible says both...The mystery of the relationship between divine sovereignty and human free will has challenged the greatest Christian thinkers down through the centuries. Unfortunately, the extreme Calvinists have sacrificed human responsibility in order to preserve divine sovereignty. Likewise...extreme Arminians have sacrificed God’s sovereignty in order to hold on to man’s free will. We believe that both of these alternatives are wrong and lead to inordinately extreme actions.

pearlie