Response to Is Determinism Biblical Debate - Israel Trujillo vs Drew Mack @provisionistperspective

Let me address something head-on—a view so toxic it blurs the very line between God and man. In a recent debate, a Calvinist argued that every thought, every choice, even every passion is predetermined by God. He claimed that because God determines everything, our actions are nothing more than extensions of His will. And if something evil happens, well, then it’s all on Him.
Now, think about that for a moment. If every thought in your mind, every emotion, every decision is preordained, then who are you? Are you merely a mindless automaton—a puppet on divine strings—losing your very personhood? If God determines every single detail, then you cease to be distinct from Him. You’d essentially be saying that your thoughts and your passions are nothing but God’s thoughts and passions. And that’s where the absurdity—and even blasphemy—hits its peak. In fact, when you start putting your own thoughts and actions in the place of God’s, claiming they are God's, you are, in effect, setting yourself up as an antichrist. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:4, where the man who exalts himself above every object of worship is warned against.)
2 Thes 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself up as if he is God.

Let’s be blunt: if determinism means that everything is fixed, then every single act, every decision, every passion is merely a predetermined echo of God's will. That view doesn't liberate us—it reduces us to nothing more than cosmic cogs in a machine. And if that’s true, then the very notion of moral accountability evaporates. How can you hold someone responsible for actions they had no genuine control over? It's like punishing a puppet for simply following its strings.
In this framework, not only are our free will and personhood undermined, but it also leads to the horrifying implication that God's predetermined plan could justify even the worst atrocities—because every evil act would just be part of His unchanging decree.
I reject this view because it transforms God into a cold, distant, and dangerously tyrannical figure—a 'frozen God' who is indifferent to our suffering, who strips away our individuality, and who blurs the sacred boundary between Creator and creature. That's not the picture of a loving, redeeming God that the Bible proclaims; it's a dehumanized, monstrous system where, if something goes horribly wrong, the blame shifts from our own evil choices to a deterministic God who is supposedly responsible for every detail.
I stand for a different truth: salvation is a free gift—entirely accomplished by Jesus Christ. Our role is not to earn or add to that gift but simply to receive it with the inherent faith that God has already placed within us. Think of it this way: You don't create the sunrise by believing it's going to rise—you simply witness it and trust in its reality. Similarly, when you put your faith in Jesus, you are not contributing to salvation; you are accepting the gift that Jesus, the Passover Lamb, has fully provided on the cross.
To claim that our own faith somehow 'earns' salvation is to claim that we had a hand in creating what Jesus accomplished. That is not only theologically unsound—it’s an outright insult to the grace of God. Our salvation is not a product of our cooperation or our work; it is 100% of God's provision. Just as a person who accepts a $10,000 Rolex as a free gift from someone who earned it is not responsible for its creation, we are not responsible for earning salvation. We simply receive it.
So ask yourself: if you truly believe that every thought and action is predetermined, then where does personal responsibility begin? If you are nothing more than a puppet following divine strings, then who is to blame when things go wrong? And if our choices have no real impact, then don’t we all cease to be persons—becoming nothing more than reflections of a predetermined plan? That’s not freedom; that’s a dead, frozen existence.
Our salvation, our choices, and our very lives are meant to be dynamic, real, and free—rooted in the living, ever-present grace of Jesus Christ. We don’t earn salvation; we receive it as a free gift. And to suggest otherwise is to blur the sacred distinction between what is created and what is Creator—a notion that is as theologically perverse as it is morally bankrupt.