Letter 8: Faustus, bishop, to his beloved in Christ.

Faustus, bishop, to his beloved in Christ. You have written about the question that will not go away: if God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated, and if he wills all to be saved, then why are not all saved? I will tell you what I think, and I want to be clear that I am speaking as a bishop who is also a human being trying to think clearly, not as an oracle. The answer I reject: that God simply does not will all to be saved, that the elect are chosen and the rest are chosen for damnation, and that this is somehow consistent with the goodness and justice of God. I reject this not because I cannot construct the argument — I can, and I know the texts it draws on — but because I think it violates something more fundamental about what we know of God from the Gospel. The father in the parable of the prodigal son is not the father of one son. He is the father of both, and he watches the road for both. The answer I hold: God genuinely offers salvation to all. The human will genuinely receives or refuses that offer. The refusal is real, and it has consequences that are real. God does not cause the refusal; he permits it, which is different, because if he did not permit it, the acceptance would not be genuine either. Freedom requires the possibility of refusal or it is not freedom. This is not a complete answer. I do not have a complete answer. But I believe it is more honest than the alternatives. Faustus