Something which comes up again and again in Christian circles is the question of free will and predestination. In this blog post, I would like to address one dimension of this. First of all, I should clarify that I am writing from the perspective of the "Five Points of Calvinism". While the theology of John Calvin, and Reformed Christianity as a whole, is far broader than this one issue, a central belief is that God has sovereignly chosen individuals to be saved in Christ, and has appointed the means by which that will be realised. A very common objection raised against "Calvinism" is the false assumption that it must eliminate human free will. The whole situation can be, wrongly, understood in rather mechanical, deterministic terms, whereby God makes all the decisions and then implements them with humans cast in the role of "robots" who are coerced into believing in Christ and loving God. While, at times, "Calvinism" has been expressed and/or...