Often, in an
attempt to teach the sovereignty of God, Calvinists tend to over-emphasise
such, and instead of propping up God’s sovereignty, end up making him utterly
impotent. Note the following from Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), a
well-known Baptist preacher:
I believe that every particle of dust that
dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes,--that
every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well
as the sun in the heavens,--that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is
steered as the stars in the courses,--that the creeping of an aphid over a
rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence, and the
fall of the sere leaves from the poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of
an avalanche. He who believes in God must believe this truth. (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Bible, The Old
Testament, vol. 4 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962], 212, as
cited by Erwin W. Lutzer, 10 Lies About
God and the Truths that Shatter Deception [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel
Publications, 2009], 105)
R.C. Sproul,
echoing the sentiments of Spurgeon, wrote the following in his defence of the
Reformed doctrine of predestination:
For more Reformed theology, including how the Bible is both God-centred and man-centred (not "either-or"), see:
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology