When you say, "Okay," you are already admitting that God does not fore-CAUSE humans to do good or evil; rather, each person does evil or good by their own free will.
No, I don't think that follows. It proves that God takes responsibility for the evil in the world -- even the sin of Satan.
God was not created; rather God created Job, but as you can see, God did not cause Job to do good; rather, God commended Job for Jobs own faithfulness when talking with Satan.
While, given your theological perspective, one can understand the story that way. The text of Job does not rule out my theological perspective.
You again show Calvinism in false.
My point earlier is self-evident and doesn't rely on Calvinism. If a man allows another man to do wrong, that man is just as culpable for the evil as the second man. Look at the account of Job again.
Job 2:3:6
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime. Here we see the Lord and Satan conspiring together to test the integrity of Job. During this conversation, the Lord freely admits that Satan incited the Lord against Job -- a man he praised earlier. Satan is the agent of Job's injury, but the Lord is a coconspirator. The Lord approved of Job's injury and gave Satan permission to injure Job again. The Lord is responsible for Job's injury because, if he so chose, he had the authority and the means to stop Satan.
In Calvinism, God is not “allowing” a behavior, as if God foresaw it; rather, God is for-CAUSING their behavior.
Perhaps this is true of Calvinism I don't know. I don't think Calvin believed in "fore-causation" as you describe it. The concept of "fore-causation" places God on our level of existence. I don't know if Calvin believed that God was just another creature like us or not. I would give him the benefit of the doubt though.
The Bible doesn't teach the concept of "fore-causation", it teaches the concept of "fore-ordination."
Notice that God is not for-CAUSING Job’s behavior, nor is God for-CAUSING Satan’s behavior. They both are acting on their own, and God is dialoguing with Satan.
Let's go back to the movie example. Imagine someone made a movie about Job's experience. In this case, while it can be said that the director didn't cause Satan to injure Job, once the injury is recorded on film, it becomes predetermined within the context of the movie. From the audience's perspective, they experience each scene as if it is happening in real-time. However, the action took place earlier, and now that it is recorded on film, it cannot happen any other way.
Where do you see only one act? Did not Joseph's brothers "intend" and "act" when they put Joseph in a pit?
Yes. Here we see one act -- being thrown into a pit -- with two objectives. The goal of Joseph's brothers was to get rid of Joseph. The goal of God was to save Egypt from famine and through this to glorify his name.
One act -- two objectives -- two agents: 1) a human agent, and 2) a divine agent.
What the brothers intended for evil, God intended for good. That is what the Passages states.
God worked through circumstances to bring about good from that which God already foreknew was to take place.
Your conclusion doesn't follow logically from the facts. Joseph is not suggesting that God simply "fixed" a problem that he knew would arise. Rather, Joseph is saying that God actually orchestrated the problem in the first place. In fact, the Lord was the divine agent behind Joseph's entire story, which was just a mini-plot in a much larger story that God had orchestrated. This larger story was designed to teach Joseph's brothers some important lessons that would serve them well in their role as the patriarchs of Israel.
Who do you think caused the famine in the first place?
You are ignoring what God says through Jeremiah.
Of course I am ignoring what God said to Jeremiah. It doesn't follow that a metaphor must make the exact same point each time it appears. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord employs a potter metaphor to make one point, while Paul, in his letter to the Romans, also uses a potter metaphor to make an entirely different point. If I want to understand Paul's point, I would do well to avoid placing Jeremiah over Paul as an overlay. Understand Paul from within the context of his argument.
It follows because God never stated that he created anyone to repent. God does not cause anyone to do evil.
Perhaps you didn't catch my meaning earlier when I said that "God creates them repenting." In my view, "creation" and "causation" are two different things, especially as it pertains to God's creative action.
"Please remember what John said, 'All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.' This means that nothing falls outside the circle of 'all things.' This includes my sin, my repentance, and my redemption. Everything comes into being through Him."
Moreover, God doesn't cause or "fore-cause" anything. He speaks things into existence as it is written, "Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light." Everything that comes into being is spoken into existence by the creator.
Thankfully, that is not the God of the Bible.
I believe you mean to express your thankfulness that God is not a person who "fore-causes" evil. I get that. And I don't believe Calvin taught "fore-causation" so you are bumping up against a fiction. I agree with your effort to maintain the righteousness and holiness of God. And I agree that God does not "fore-cause" anything. But predestination is not necessarily fore-causation. There is another way that God can foreordain something without "fore-causing" it.
As we saw earlier, in the case of a movie, the plot is foreordained even though the characters act voluntarily within the context of the story. Actors bring a story to life by following a script. The script provides motivations and intentions for each character, allowing the audience to understand their actions. Therefore, the scriptwriter not only creates the characters but also the story's setting, time and location. The author is responsible for everything that is seen on the screen and all that happens in the hearts of the characters. The process is not "fore-causation"; the process is "foreordination."
God is not a passive observer of events that have already happened. Rather, he actively creates everything that happens in our reality in real-time. He is like a scriptwriter who not only creates people, but also their environment, time, location, and circumstances. He determines how they react to these circumstances and what motivates their actions. Therefore, God is responsible for every aspect of our reality.
God is leaving the choice completely up to each individual . . .
So, how does God "fix" things? You argue that God foreknew that Joseph's brothers would toss him into the pit. Okay. What did God do about it? In your view, nothing. God didn't rescue Joseph from the pit. Those in the caravan "rescued" Joseph voluntarily of their own free will. Did God put Joseph in jail with a food taster? In your view, no. The jailer acted voluntarily. So did the food taster and Potiphar and Potiphar's wife. Every single event in the story can be seen in terms of human choice. There is NOTHING in the story to suggest that God "fixed" anything. He may have had foreknowledge of events. But according to you, God didn't lift a finger to help Joseph anywhere along the way.
You see the problem?
Remember what our Apostle Paul wrote, "And we know that God causes
all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to
His purpose." Therefore, in order for God to work my life to the good, he has to cause everything in my life to work for the good. He has to cause everyone around me to work toward the good. The only way that Paul's word is true is if God works "ALL THINGS" to the good. Everything that happens along the way, whether good or bad, is being orchestrated "TO THE GOOD."
In order for God to save Egypt from a famine, God caused Joseph to have a dream, God caused his brothers to get jealous, God caused his brothers to throw them into a pit, . . . and so on and so on. The Good that God creates depends on his effort to arrange or direct the elements of every situation to produce his desired outcome.
God causes every single event and choice along the way. We can't escape this fact of our reality.