HOW GENESIS DISPROVES THEOLOGICAL DETERMINISM

Aug 18

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." - Genesis 3:22-24

WHAT WE HOPE TO REVEAL

While we don’t intend to cover every position instituted in Calvinism, we will cover Theological Determinism which is a by-product of the Institutes of Calvin, or at least what Calvinism is taught as today. We highly recommend you read a book by John C. Lennox called “Determined To Believe” that covers this issue indepth, nonetheless we shall endeavor to add our theological findings to the pot of current discourse as it regards Free Will, and Theological Determination.

In this article, we want to specifically focus our efforts on Genesis 3:22-24. Taking special care to observe what the plain reading of the text reveals. It is important that readers know that proper application of good biblical hermeneutics was applied to the text. No trickery, no mental gymnastics, just straight, rational, logical reading of the text.

What we hope to reveal, is that there is a confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) that manifests itself when you apply Theological Determinism to the text above. It reveals, what can only be described as: God orchestrated things, to stop God from orchestrating other things, while God wanted to orchestrate the thing he wanted to stop. It reveals that if Calvinistic Theological Determinism is true, God operates with multiple competing and contradictory wills that in the end present God as a god of confusion, and not the God of the bible.

DEFINING TERMS

Before we proceed into our main discourse, we want to define some terms to avoid strawmanning anyone's position, while also defining ours. To state it plainly, we are not Calvinists, but we are also not Arminians. Those two are often presented like the only two theological positions a person can take, but that simply is not true. Both claim to be biblical, but both are oppositional, neither can be true at the same. Either one is correct, and the other incorrect, or both are incorrect blending correct things with incorrect things. This is the position we hold, that there are statements of Calvinism we may partly agree with if properly defined, and likewise the same for Arminian view points. Altogether our goal should not be, that we as Christians should become Calvinists, or Arminians, but Christians altogether. It brings to mind a powerful verse on this wise, warning us not to make a man our leader, but Christ alone. Warning us that any additional phrasing affixed to the Word Christian is to make null and void what it is to be a Christian, which is a Christ follower. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 says

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Now indeed, was Joseph Arminius crucified for you? Was Calvin crucified for you? Or was it Christ? Fair it would be if either was indeed crucified for you, but neither were. Thus you are called to be a Christian. Not a Calvinist, not an Arminian. But a Christian, so let us be Christian together. That is at least our goal in this, to encourage you to think rationally and to do away with terms affixed to our faith. Let our faith be one of the Bible, defined by the Bible, and not according to any man’s institutes or doctrines. And with that we define our terms as we understand them. Both of ours, and of the opposing view point. We ask you would question your position, as much as you question ours, and that you would become a Christian true and true. Neither a Calvinist, nor an Arminian, but a Christian. Using only the Bible as your guide.

When we say “Free Will” we mean: A person's ability to freely choose from their circumstance, without the intervention of Divine Will forcing a certain outcome from them. This does not mean total freedom of accomplishment in what an individual chooses, but rather the individual is able to freely make a choice and pursue it. They have their own mind, with their own desires, and their own pursuits.This does not mean that they are fully able to accomplish their desires by their will alone however. By saying free will, we are not saying freedom to accomplish anything unabated, but rather freedom to choose to pursue that which the unique individual or individuals decide. An example of this is the tower of Babel: Man in their free choice built a tower to the heavens, and it says in Genesis 11:6-7 that because they had one language, and one desire, that nothing would be restrained from them. God went down to confound their language, to prevent this from happening. Wish shows essentially what we will show in another section of Genesis below: That man has freedom of choice, freedom of thought, and freedom of ability, without unabated freedom of accomplishment. Another verse that echoes this is James 4:6 where God resists those who are proud, but gives grace to the humble.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” -Revelation 22:17 KJV

We acknowledge that outside factors such as place of birth, cultural barriers, or socioeconomic status can influence a person's decisions, yet these are not total in their effect, they are merely competing interferences to choice. Someone intellectually challenged may not fully grasp the depth of the Gospel, yet can still accept it; likewise, great intellect does not guarantee belief. There are many with seemingly less intelligence who have responded to truth, and many with seemingly great intelligence who have rejected it, and vice versa. Truth exists outside of us, revealed by the Spirit of Truth, and the Truth is Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

Therefore, regardless of circumstance, a person retains the ability to freely choose. If this were removed, as in theological determinism, there would be no true individual, only extensions of God Himself. In such a system no one is truly saved, for in order for something to be saved it must truly exist as its own being. If all things are extensions of God, then God has saved no one, and has sinned through us who could not choose otherwise, an impossible notion. Such a god would be the author of sin and, carried to its conclusion, the director of an elaborate play, moving puppets by Himself. We utterly reject this blasphemous idea, for God cannot sin nor lie, yet His creatures have done so and thus need saving. Free will is the singular thing that makes a creation a creation and not an extension of the Creator, and must be retained if Scripture is to remain true.

When we say “Theological Determinism” (as held in Calvinistic systems) we mean:

The irresistible influence of God to cause otherwise free creatures to obey His decrees against their own personal will. That all events, decisions, and outcomes are ordained by God from before creation, according to His eternal decree. Nothing occurs apart from His sovereign will, including the choices of men and women. Human decisions always unfold exactly as God has determined, in accordance with His purposes. Calvinists commonly speak of two aspects of God’s will:

Moral (or preceptive) will: what God commands and delights in, such as righteousness and obedience.
Decretive will: what God has ordained to come to pass in history, including events and choices that may, in themselves, be contrary to His moral will, but which He uses to fulfill His greater plan.

In this framework, God’s decree extends to every detail of life, from the rise and fall of nations to the smallest decisions of individuals. This includes salvation and judgment: some are chosen or elected to eternal life, while others are passed over or ordained to eternal judgment, all ultimately to the praise of His glory and the display of His power. While holding that God ordains all things, adherents also affirm that He does so in such a way that He remains holy and just, and not the author of sin. They maintain that even the sinful acts of creatures occur under His sovereign plan, serving purposes known fully only to Him.

When we say “Divine Will” we mean:

The intent, desire, and purpose of God, as revealed to us in His Word and known fully only to Him, which is accomplished in His creation. Scripture speaks of His will in categories men often use, such as God’s Moral Will, His Sovereign Will, and His Permissive Will. However it is categorized, we define it simply as His Will: meaning God can will or desire for humans to be perfect, while also decreeing that they have freedom of choice, without influencing that choice, and rewarding them with good or evil according to their decisions, without losing sovereignty or control.

God allowing freedom shows greater control than decreeing every single micro-decision, for regardless of what we do, God’s will shall come to pass. That, to us, is the marvelous majesty of God on display. His sovereignty is truly shown in that, despite man’s attempts, even in the face of a futuristic god-like AI overlord, God’s plans and purposes for mankind and all of creation cannot be defeated. His will shall come to pass, regardless of free choices. His will is not threatened by our actions, any more than a boot is threatened by an ant. To insist that God must determine every decision is to bind God Himself to determinism, making Him act only by the force of determinism, which is to put Him in a box. To this we wholeheartedly disagree.

THE CASE FOR BIBLICAL FREE WILL

When reading scripture, it is always best NOT to apply ANY theological framework to the text, but instead read it as it is. If you do this, you will see clear indication of free will, with clear indication of God being sovereign to resist the will of man, in accordance to His purpose. As mentioned earlier, we find this not only here, but in several passages of scripture, passages such as:

Genesis 3:22-24 - Tree of Life Guarded
Adam and Eve, now knowing good and evil, could have taken from the tree of life and lived forever. God drove them out and set Cherubim and a flaming sword to prevent it.
Genesis 11:1-9 - Tower of Babel
Humanity united to build a tower to heaven. God confounded their language and scattered them to halt their plan.
Genesis 20:1-7 - Abimelech and Sarah
Abimelech intended to take Sarah as his wife, but God came to him in a dream, warned him, and withheld him from sinning.
Genesis 31:24 - Laban and Jacob
Laban pursued Jacob, intending harm, but God warned Laban in a dream not to speak to Jacob “either good or bad.”
Exodus 14:1-31 - Egypt Pursues Israel
Pharaoh’s army pursued Israel to destroy them, but God parted the Red Sea for Israel and closed it upon the Egyptians.
Numbers 22:22-35 - Balaam and the Angel of the LORD
Balaam set out to curse Israel, but God sent an angel to block his way, turning the curse into a blessing.
2 Kings 6:8-23 - Syrian Army Blinded
The Syrians intended to capture Elisha, but God struck them with blindness at Elisha’s prayer.
Genesis 19:1-11 - Men of Sodom Blinded
The men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house to commit sexual violence, but the angels struck them with blindness so they could not find the door.
Jonah 1:1-17 - Jonah Fleeing to Tarshish
Jonah’s will was to flee from God’s command, but God sent a storm and a great fish to redirect him.
Acts 9:1-9 - Saul on the Road to Damascus
Saul intended to arrest Christians, but the risen Christ stopped him, blinded him, and changed his course forever.
Acts 16:6-10 - Paul Forbidden to Preach in Asia
Paul and his companions desired to preach in Asia and Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit “forbade” and “suffered them not,” sending them instead to Macedonia.

And in all this text we see the same pattern, where God is sovereign, man can freely choose, but God’s will is ultimately done regardless of your choice. Sovereignty is not defined by continual active control, but total power over outcome. Free will is not defined by total ability to achieve your desires, but simply having the ability to act on your desires, free from God overruling it internally. God may in fact overrule your choice, but that is always done externally.

WHAT ABOUT PHARAOH?

It would be appropriate at this point to question this presupposition above “God may in fact overrule your choice, but that is always done externally.” and directly point to Pharaoh, where the text indicates that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 9:12, Exodus 10:1, Exodus 10:20, Exodus 14:8)

But would you be surprised to know that throughout the story, the Bible mentions 3 different hardenings of Pharaoh's Heart?

Pharaoh Hardened His Own Heart (Exodus 8:15, Exodus 8:32, Exodus 9:34)
Pharaoh’s Heart Was Hardened by Circumstance (Exodus 7:13, Exodus 7:22, Exodus 8:19)
God Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart (Exodus 9:12, Exodus 10:1, Exodus 10:20, Exodus 14:8)

Scripture reveals that Pharaoh’s heart was not always hardened by God, but that both his will alone, and circumstance combined with his will, hardened his heart. If you examine the story, Pharaoh starts off with the strength to harden himself against the commands of God. God presses further against Pharaoh through the signs of Moses and Aaron, and this compels Pharaoh to turn a blind eye and harden his heart. Lastly Pharaoh though desiring to resist God to the end, was beginning to give in. So God hardened his heart. Otherwise why the hardening if it were not “softening” to the onslaught of God’s glorious signs and wonders. It is scripturally accurate to say, if it were not for God giving Pharaoh strength to keep resisting, Pharaoh would have caved in prematurely. From all prior accounts of Pharaoh’s heart position, he had no intention of letting God’s people go, in any circumstance, even before the mighty works of God. But the human heart cannot resist God forever.

In that scenario, what does God do, does he force through circumstance the change of Pharaoh's heart as Theological Determinism would suggest? Or rather does God empower the Pharaoh to continue in his defiance of God?

The answer is God actually does the opposite of what theological determinism would suggest, he strengthens the heart of the Pharaoh, so the Pharaoh can continue to resist. While this verse is often used to prove theological determinism, it actually shows the opposite is true, and that Pharoah had free will.

The Calvinist will say “See God ordained the heart of Pharaoh against Pharaoh's will!” but the opposite is true. God caused the heart of Pharaoh to remain strong in his derision and hatred of God. God did not create in Pharaoh’s heart submittance, which arguably seemed to be occurring, but God instead gave Pharaoh strength to do what he had always been doing.

Additionally, the main Hebrew words used for “harden” in this account are חָזַק (chazaq) meaning “to strengthen, make firm, fortify,” and כָּבֵד (kabed) meaning “to make heavy or insensible.” Neither term inherently means “to create” a new will or desire, which strongly contradicts the Calvinist claim.. In the narrative, God is not forming rebellion where none existed, He is strengthening what was already there, giving Pharaoh the resolve to persist in the defiance he had already chosen. This is judicial hardening: God confirming a man in the path he himself has taken. Far from proving theological determinism, the account of Pharaoh proves the opposite, God did not override Pharaoh’s will to resist, He upheld it until His purposes were accomplished.

THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL HARDENING

This concept of God’s Judicial Hardening is heavily emphasized in the scriptures, that show the God is not creating wills in men’s hearts, but instead confirming it. Scriptures that show this are:

God resisting the proud, but gives grace to the humble: James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.
God gives people over to a reprobate minds: Romans 1:24-28.
God sends a strong delusion because people do not love the truth: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.
God blinds and hardened Israel because of their rejection of Him: Isaiah 6:9-10; John 12:39-40; Romans 11:7-8.
God hardened the spirit of King Sihon so he would be delivered into Israel’s hand: Deuteronomy 2:30.
God hardened the hearts of Canaanite kings so they would be destroyed: Joshua 11:20.
God caused Eli’s sons to ignore correction because He intended to judge them: 1 Samuel 2:25.
God sent a lying spirit to Ahab’s prophets to bring him to destruction: 1 Kings 22:19-23.

And while the calvinist would be delighted to add these to their repertoire of verses proving God’s irresistible will, I would implore such an one, to examine the content of these examples. Every single one is not a change, or a new will, given by God, such as in the claim of repentance or salvation, but each one is a staying of the current heart position of the individuals, so they may reach the fullest extent of their coming judgement. The verses that bring this all into balance are Romans 1:24-28 and 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” - Romans 1:24-28

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

This Brothers and Sisters, is Judicial Hardening. In all accounts from Pharaoh to the New Testament Epistles, God hardens people over to judgement who reject the counsel of His word. Nowhere in scripture do we see hardening or changing of the heart to repentance through divine will, but only hardening of the hearts to reserve unto judgement (2 Peter 2:9-10)

DEALING WITH THE TEXT IN QUESTION

Finally after a long discourse, we arrive at the text in question which initially sparked this entire thing. It was needful to cover a good range of preliminary objections and positions before addressing this, because without establishing those things, the below would be discarded entirely for the Calvinist reader. We hope our brief coverage has, in the very least, opened the door to said Calvinist, to begin examining the scriptures differently than before. It is in that hope that we raise the clear objections we have to the Theological Deterministic implications of the following verse, let us read it, and then examine it.

From the text we can see that man could choose:

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”

God says man could “put forth his hand” and eat of the tree of life, even though this was against His will.
Without intervention, man could act contrary to God’s desire.

We see man’s driven out:

“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man;”

God drives Adam out, showing by the action of driving/compelling, that Adam wanted to stay.
God’s will was contrary to Adam’s, Adam exhibited free will, but God prevented Adam from accomplishing his free will.

We see God’s will is enforced:

“and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

God places Cherubim and a flaming sword to block anyone from reaching the tree.
This was active prevention against a real possibility, not a light show for thematic expression.

The plain conclusion is:

Man has a genuine will of his own; God can stop it when necessary, but does not cause man’s will and then block it.

LOGICAL ISSUES OF THE DETERMINISTIC RENDERING

Calvinists will often distinguish between God’s moral will (what He commands and delights in) and His decretive will (what He ordains to come to pass). They claim there is no contradiction if God morally wills one thing but decrees the opposite for a greater purpose.

However, if we apply this distinction to Genesis 3:22-24, the text produces not a mystery, but a cycle of God opposing Himself at every stage:

God’s Moral Will: Man must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God’s Decretive Will (per Calvinism): God ordains that man desire and eat from that very tree.
→ First conflict: God decrees what He forbids.

God’s Moral Will: Man must not eat from the tree of life while sinful.
God’s Decretive Will: God ordains that man desire to eat from the tree of life.
→ Second conflict: God decrees the pursuit of what He commands against.

God’s Moral Will: Man must be driven out of Eden to prevent eating from the tree of life.
God’s Decretive Will: God ordains that man desire to remain in Eden.
→ Third conflict: God decrees the very will He must then overrule.

God’s Moral Will: The way to the tree of life must be guarded by Cherubim and a flaming sword.
God’s Decretive Will: God ordains that man still desire and attempt to reach the tree.
→ Fourth conflict: God ordains the very attempts He spiritually blocks.

The Calvinist defense will usually say that God’s “two wills” are not in conflict because they operate in different senses, one being moral, the other decretive. But in this case, both wills are directed at the same specific action (eating from the tree), with opposite determinations.

If God determines every human desire, then the sinful desire for the tree is also from His decretive will.
If He then prevents the fulfillment of that desire, He is resisting what He Himself irresistibly caused.
This is not simply “permitting” sin for a greater good, it is actively instilling the will to sin and then opposing it, and punishing it.

The problem that arises is not that God permits evil, Scripture affirms He does. It is that, under Determinism, God compels the very evil He commands against, then frustrates it.

The common defense is simply, “It’s a mystery.” But this is not mystery in the biblical sense (truths once hidden but now revealed); it is special pleading, an appeal to mystery used to shelter an incoherent system from scrutiny. In any other field of study, when an explanation ends with “I don’t know, but it’s still true,” we rightly recognize it as intellectual surrender—a refusal to test one’s claims by the same rational standards applied elsewhere. In theology, such evasions are worse, because they attach irrationality to the character of God Himself. It is not humility to cloak contradiction in pious language; it is the abdication of honest reasoning.

In philosophical critique, it’s also called irrational fideism, which is a belief that refuses correction by reason even when the contradiction is explicit.

While they appeal to Mystery, we simply appeal to the biblical text and say, “well if you don’t apply your theological deterministic framework, there is no need to insert the phrase “”it is a mystery” because a perfectly theologically and biblically accurate doctrine already exists, and require no special pleading, no appeals to mystery, and no intellectual suicide to believe.

CONCLUSION: THE CLEARER DOCTRINE

The testimony of Scripture leaves no room or need for the tangled knots of theological determinism. From Pharaoh to the kings of Canaan, from the sons of Eli to the nation of Israel, God’s hardening is never the instilling of rebellion where none existed, it is the strengthening of an already stubborn will so that judgment may come in its fullness. This is the biblical doctrine of free will and judicial hardening: man chooses his path, and God, in sovereign justice, may confirm him in it.

Such a doctrine preserves the righteousness of God, affirms the real accountability of man, and requires no evasive appeals to “mystery” to excuse contradiction. Where determinism portrays God as compelling what He forbids, the biblical account shows Him resisting the proud, giving grace to the humble, and handing over the unrepentant to the very course they have chosen.

This is the plain reading of the text. No special pleading. No intellectual surrender. Only the God of truth, dealing righteously with the hearts of men.

I implore you fellow believers, to abandon Calvin, Arminius, and all others who routinely appeal to doctrines outside of scripture, and to be truly Sola Scriptura:

Romans 16:17-18
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

1 Timothy 6:3-5

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.