I am not a Calvinist who is hard wired and without choice...
With that said, everyone has this capacity created in them by God.
As created beings created in the image of God we have attributes very much like God’s. We see this in our creative nature. In the things we build and design. We see this at a very intense level in the world of technology. The world in which I am currently in as a profession.
Technology’s goals, more specifically in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI), are not to just program systems that require constant hard coding and input in the sense that they cannot “think or act on their own” but instead the closer that man gets to designing systems that look and react as humanly as possible with minimal input is seen as the true measure of success for AI.
Man will never achieve what God has in this regards.
God created beings that can truly think and choose on their own. Man may get close but he will never truly achieve it but it is truly interesting but not surprising that man would have the same goal that God did at the onset of creation.
With the created ability to choose, Eve chose to eat of the forbidden fruit as did Adam. Sin then came into the world as the result. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ can anyone ever be saved. We cannot choose to save ourselves but we can choose to accept salvation through the Cross freely, or we can reject it. That is what makes God so very sovereign. God designed man with the capacity to love, obey and serve Him as well as the capacity to do the contrary. Satan and one-third of the angles choose to rebel against God as well.
While the Calvinist can point to a scripture here or there that shows how sovereign God is and that He controls all things they cannot just ignore the many scriptures that show where God lays a choice before men and where men choose to either obey or not to obey.
I will provide just a few strong examples towards this.
Peter pointed out that it is the sinner’s ‘own’ lusts and the fact that they were ‘willingly’ ignorant contrary to God’s truths that destines them to the future fiery judgment of God. If the sinner had no choice then their lusts would not be their own nor would their ignorance be willing.
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:3-7
Paul points this truth out in the believer as well that they were not just confident in the desire to be present with God but it was a willing desire to do so. One cannot will do anything if they have no choice in the matter.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8
Joshua was clearly pro-choice and not a Calvinist. If he had no choice then he would have been in error to say he did have a choice to choose the Lord. If he did not then that would make the Word of God in error as well. This is not the case by no means.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord , choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord . And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord , to serve other gods; For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord ; for he is our God. Joshua 24:15-18
So like Joshua said, “choose you this day whom ye will serve”…
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