Divine Sovereignty - Confusions Regarding Freedom and Power

Divine sovereignty does not preclude human freewill. For God to be sovereign doesn't mean that He has to charter the course of every action on earth according to His will -- to stay, allow, or carry out everything on His own. In that case, "sovereignty" itself would be emptied of meaning, since it can only apply to that which can be ruled, particularly in a political sense. For instance, we call India a "Sovereign Republic"; it doesn't mean that all Indians are devoid of freewill. But, all Indians certainly are called to submit to the Law of the State. That is sovereignty. If the world were what it is in history because of divine predetermination, then freedom of will wouldn't exist; meaning, that the world would be like a big machine that an operator is operating; the machine has no will of its own and so can submit to none by its own free choice; it is amoral. But the human world is not so; it is governed on ethical and socio-political laws that call on virtues such as wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.

Divine sovereignty means that God is the Lord of the universe and defiance of His authority is the greatest punishable offence.

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