On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here are some comments made by a man named Matt on that page and Ben’s responses:
Matt’s Comment 1: I have struggled with this concept as well, and while it seems unfair that people are born basically condemned to hell (some say they will not be, if they die before the age of understanding, others say it’s unclear) but it is true nonetheless.
Ben’s Response 1: Yes, there is an age when we become morally accountable because we come to fully understand the moral nature of our choices. Until then, God does not hold us accountable for our sins (Romans 7:7-11). While we cannot help being born with a sinful nature nor can we help eventually sinning in accordance with that sinful nature, we are accountable because God provides a way of escape. His grace is at work in us, and He will hold us accountable depending on how we respond to the grace given us. If we resist the grace of God that will ultimately leads us to redemption in Christ, we are responsible for all of those sins and even our sinful state as a result of refusing the grace, forgiveness and escape that God has given us (Romans 7:24, 25).
Matt’s comment 2: I struggle also with the idea that there are people who are as yet not even conceived who are more or less destined (according to foreknowledge) to hell, because they do not exist yet, hence are not under sin,
Ben’s Response 2: God’s foreknowledge dose not destine us to anything. God’s foreknowledge is simply knowledge in advance. It does not cause our future actions or choices, but simply foreknows them. It does not cause our destiny, but simply foreknows it, and foreknows it as conditional rather than unconditional. Here is a short but good article on the topic: https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/thomas-ralston-on-freedom-of-the-will-part-8/.
Matt’s Comment 3: There is no real difference between foreknowledge and destiny, because if God sees that end, yet doesn’t change it, it is as if we wee destined to it. A person who has not yet been conceived has a destiny according to foreknowledge, i.e. God knows what they will choose and or do, therefore they are destined to hell or heaven. The only way it would not be a destiny, is if God changed it against the will of the person. This is why we have Calvinists and Arminians, because the issue is so confusing and people have a tendency to take sides on just about any issue; it’s just our nature. There’s really no way around it, whether you come from a Calvinist or Arminian background, we all have a destiny that only God knows; in the end, it really doesn’t matter who chose it; it exists.
Ben’s Response 4: The point is that God’s foreknowledge does not cause our destiny, which is what I wrote above. You seemed to be saying that God’s foreknowledge somehow sealed our destiny. That is not the case at all. Yes, we all have a destiny, if by that you mean that we will all ultimately end up in heaven or hell, but how or why we get to that place does make all the difference in this debate. God’s foreknowledge is not a factor in how or why we will ultimately end up in either place.
