God in Competition

The most frequent issue and discussion heard in my community and outside of mine is regarding free will debate. One thing i notice today is about the strong emphasis on the idea of freedom. The world in which we are living now is not like the old past, whereby freedom is limited to certain kind of people. So today, we are in a better state. Hence, everyone really love to talk about the idea of freedom and liberty, although most of people get the idea wrong. In the realm of Theology after Hegel, there is a tendency to move away from classical understanding of theism.To move away From Classical Theism to Theistic Personalism. The former emphasis the absolute libertarian will of God (But not in illogical sense, God cannot do something that contradict His nature) and limited freedom of man. The latter is focusing on the competition between divine and man with regards to freedom for both owned full freedom in equal manner. Thus, God in competition with man, that is what probably best described about the idea of Theistic Personalism. 

What so attractive with the doctrine of Theistic Personalism is that man is somewhat has shared and equal idea of freedom with God. The difference more into ''degree'' rather than ''kind''. The analogous understanding of freedom is refuted as we shared the same experience and understanding of freedom, like what God has. In classical notion of freedom, God is the source and ultimate ground of freedom whereby human move and have their being and gain its root from the great tradition of the past, Church Father and the Reformers. But Theistic Personalism detach from that root and creating a new nuance of freedom. Craig A. Carter In his book Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition argue that, ''If one takes a theistic personalist position, then one is automatically driven in an Armenian direction in which God's acts and our acts are on the same plane and therefore in direct competition. The more God acts, the less we do; the more we act, the less God does. it is a zero-sum game.''

Craig A. Carter got his point sharp to the core of the issue. If the freedom of God is difference only in ''degree'' rather ''kind'' or the context of all possible freedom exercised, then, it is extremely difficult to understand on how God will accomplish His plan and providence perfectly for there is a possibility of man to alter His Will and grand scheme of thing. By the idea of human having the Libertarian Freedom which is in competition with God, the only possibilities left is to believe God has granted human to shape their own destiny fully (Deist- God), or He is only capable of bringing things according to his Will, only if ''by any chance', human with their own libertarian freedom choose to do so (Lesser God). 

For me personally, this idea sound weird and contradict with many testimonies of the Scripture which has been said that He has a grand plan, a design for each and every one of us and will bring about the good thing that he has prepared before since eternity past. To bring the idea of libertarian Freedom  of man in a fore front, then it seems to suggest that God is somehow a ''Risk-Taker God.'' He did not know the output of and for certain, until the result of man choosing happening and only by then, God will knows after human choose something (believing/rejecting). The logical consequences of this theology is that not just God becoming the ''risk-taker'', He also become the God of ''plan changer.'' Fuzzy God I would say. He will always have plan B, if human somehow intervene with His plan, everyday. For me, this making God more looks like human or pagan gods, and that's the spirit of Enlightenment which revived again nowadays. To boxed God into Laboratory and scientific formula!

Moreover, speaking from the perspective of the text, the idea of libertarian freedom is more into philosophy rather than coming from the Biblical Theology as John Frame once put in his works that the idea of Libertarian Freedom never refer and hence lacking the foundation in the Bible. Bible anywhere affirm the Kingship of God, the God of all things.The Bible says, ''Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him'', This verse on Psalms 115:3 for instance, portray the Transcendency of God and what He capable of bring about freely, once again given the fact that He is God not mere human. That's one of the strongest way of saying that God is the only one who have the libertarian freedom, and therefore, God will never be the God in competition with human in the earth. It is apt like what Karl Barth describe of God, He is, ''the Wholly other, He is completely different (Ganz Ändernde)!''

I suspect the reason people disagree with the idea of Classical Theism of understanding God as the complete sovereign God is that the consequence of human being a mere puppet. Not at all, freedom of man is real but always in the context of God's freedom. It's a paradox, a beautiful paradox I would say. When we are ''imprisoned'' in God's hand, we gain our true freedom. Just like a fish in the water. Just like bird in the air. Human is created from God, for God, to God. For Him all the Glory! Outside God, human ''appear'' to be free, but they are actually not. For it is not what they are designed to and for.