Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension

by D. A. Carson

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2002

Overview

Both theology and philosophy wrestle with the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. In Christianity, this tension is particularly acute because God is both omnipotent and benevolent.

This tension underlies numerous other questions about the nature of God, the meaning of free will and choice, the concept of divine repentance, the reign of God, and perhaps most of all, the significance of the incarnation.

Renowned scholar D.A. Carson brings clear insights and finely-honed exegetical skills to this important issue. In his treatment, the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility is not so much as a problem to be solved as a framework to be explored.

Key Features

• Wrestles with the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility
• Explores issues related to the omnipotence and benevolence of God
• Interacts with difficult questions related to the nature of God

Contents

Top Highlights

“Yahweh himself is to be credited with sanctifying the people. Clearly, that Yahweh is the sanctifier does not relieve the Israelites of their responsibility to sanctify themselves; and conversely, that responsibility does not entail Yahweh’s passivity in their sanctification.” (Pages 10–11)

“God does not stand behind evil action in precisely the same way that he stands behind good action.” (Page 36)

“Once again, then, the divine activity calls for response, not fatalism; while human calling and seeking do not make the divine activity contingent.” (Page 14)

“The sovereignty-responsibility tension is almost impossibly broad. It lies at the heart of questions about the nature of God, and it poses difficult conundra about the meaning of human ‘freedom’. The most common questions it raises are well known. If God is absolutely sovereign, in what sense can we meaningfully speak of human choice, of human will? In what way are we to relate passages which stress divine transcendence and omnipotence with those which speak of divine repentance? How does the shape of the sovereignty-responsibility tension affect the problem of theodicy? Must God be reduced to accommodate the freedom of human choice? Does significant human responsibility so lean on power to the contrary that God becomes contingent?” (Page 1)

“But the point to note is the manner in which divine sovereignty and human responsibility are here interrelated. Contrary to views which see divine sovereignty and human responsibility as mutually limiting, the former does not in fact alleviate the latter, while the latter in no way curtails the former.” (Page 11)

Product Details

• Title: Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension
• Author: D. A. Carson
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2002
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 284
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. John › Theology; Providence and government of God › Biblical teaching; Theological anthropology › Christianity--Biblical teaching; Liberty › Religious aspects--History of doctrines; Providence and government of God › Judaism--History of doctrines; Theological anthropology › Judaism--History of doctrines
• ISBNs: 9781579108595, 1579108598
• Resource ID: LLS:DVNSVRRSPNSBLTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:26:02Z

About D. A. Carson

D.A. Carson (b. 1946) is one of the most respected New Testament scholars in the world. A respected teacher, author, and speaker, he is currently research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the president of The Gospel Coalition. He has served as pastor of Richmond Baptist Church and as the first dean of the seminary of Northwest Baptist Theological College, now known as Northwest Baptist Seminary. Logos has collected his sermons—including audio—in the D.A. Carson Sermon Archive.

Carson lectures in academic and church settings around the world, and is the author of more than 50 books, including Exegetical Fallacies, Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John, The Gagging of God, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14 and the Intolerance of Tolerance. He is the editor of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series, and coedited of the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament with G.K. Beale, and the Studies in New Testament Greek series with Stanley Porter. You can find more of Carson’s work in the Baker D.A. Carson Collection (15 vols.).