I listened as a good Christian man commented on another senseless news tragedy.
He said, "At least we know that God has everything under control."
His implication is that God causes all events. Some modify this outlook and say, "Well, maybe He doesn't cause them, but He allows them" and contained in that view is that God somehow approves of what happens.
When this position is taught, it is called Calvinism. More often, it is not so much taught in a formal way as it is caught through seemingly harmless dialogue like the extractions from conversations noted above. But,these thoughts are not harmless. They project a view of God that is entirely inconsistent with Jesus, who is the exact imprint of God's nature
(Hebrews 11:3). Neither are they biblical- at least, I don't believe that they are. I will not settle the debate between the Armenians (those who believe man is a free moral agent) and the Calvinists, but I want to weigh in with you, my readers.
Do you agree that God caused 9/11? That He is responsible for your divorce or the premature death of your loved one? Do you believe that everything that happens is ordained by God? Do you believe that belief in God's sovereignty requires that you believe He causes everything? I maintain that there are other wills at work in the affairs of man. There is demonic influence (e.g. Luke 11:13-17) and human will (Matthew 23:37; Hosea 8:4).
As I look at Scripture, I see that God sometimes causes things, and that most often, the troubles we face are of our own making or because of the devil's influence, or a combination of the two. We don't like that word "sometimes." We'd like things to be more simple, but it is not usually difficult to figure out when God is at work. Consider His claim that He is the author of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17) and that He has demonstrated that He is the source of health and healing (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3; 107:20; Matthew 8:17).
When I learn of people who say they hate God because they are convinced He caused the sexual and physical abuse they endured as a child, I want to say, "The God I serve hates that god too. Jesus hates that god. That "God" is not the Father of Jesus. It is the "god of this world."
We need to liberate ourselves and those we care about from such monstrous notions of God. May God set us free to see that there is no unChristlike feature in God (John 14:9).