One of the darker worldviews available today is determinism, which claims humans have no free will. While it sounds dark, many Christian apologists would argue it is the logical option if we don’t believe in God. How did the worldview of determinism develop, and why do some people find it appealing?
What Is the Philosophy of Determinism?
The term determinism describes several philosophies or studies. The common element is that they all claim events are inevitable. No choice is possible; all things are determined (by physical laws, by some strict deity, etc.).
The philosophical view of determinism reports that humans have no choice in life. According to the determinists, a human being can make a conscious choice; the belief that this choice shows humans have free will is ultimately an illusion. For example, if someone growing up in a totalitarian country finds a way to escape to a country where they can be free, that individual would not be free since, according to determinism, everything is already pre-determined.
A few worldviews apply determinism to claim that a supernatural god controls everything. Generally, though, determinism is today associated with secular worldviews that claim nothing divine or supernatural happens in the real world. Consequently, this context has no transcendent point of reference for goodness, beauty, and truth. All of life is nature, red tooth, and claw, as Alfred Lord Tennyson puts it in his poem of lament In Memoriam. If there is no transcendent reality, then life is completely meaningless. As humans living in an empty cosmos, we must fabricate our own meaning in a meaningless universe without objective truth.
Who Are Some Famous Supporters of Determinism?
The Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius was one of the first thinkers to promote determinism. According to Lucretius, the reality of the problem of evil was objective proof against the existence of a good and loving God or gods. In his Epicurean view, though this life is a gift, we are still trapped in a deterministic universe where death is the end. In this context, one must live a life filled with a healthy amount of hedonism.
The late author Christopher Hitchens was a big proponent of determinism. Hitchens’ books (most famously, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything) and articles critiqued the idea of a transcendent reality other than what can be explained empirically. Hitchens viewed the Christian worldview as a form of depraved sadomasochism and, ultimately, a delusion. For Hitchens, deterministic materialism was a much better way to live one’s life than submitting to a celestial dictator who created everyone sick and commanded them to be made well. As clever as Hitchens was, he gave a caricature of the Christian faith. Friends like Christian apologist and mathematician John Lennox challenged Hitchens’ arguments in debates. To some extent, his brother Peter Hitchens challenged determinism in books like Rage Against God.
Does Determinism Fit Christianity’s View of Predestination?
Determinism leads to one of the toughest philosophical questions: is there free will? Many philosophers argue there are two options: Either human beings have free will, or free will is an illusion fabricated by wishful thinking, and humanity is not free.
A few theologians who take a strong view of God’s sovereignty have explored theological determinism, where predestination and divine election mean we don’t choose salvation. However, most historically orthodox Christian thinkers state that Christianity affirms some element of free will. Therefore, the assumption we can only have free will or complete sovereignty is apparently mistaken. There is a paradox between grace and works where they can work together. As Paul writes in Philippians 2:12, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Some theologians, such as John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, have tried to explain the paradox through a systematic argument. Whether it can be fully explained through logic or is something beyond finite human understanding is up for debate. Regardless, a paradox is not the same as a contradiction, which would be literally impossible. There is no contradiction between the reality of a good and loving Creator and a finite human being’s free will.
Even theologians who take strong Calvinist views on predestination agree that Christians cannot believe in secular determinism, that life was entirely created by accident without any divine plan. In the Christian worldview, there is no such thing as an accident. God is sovereign, and human beings have free will simultaneously.
Why Should Christians Know about Determinism Today?
Christians should be aware of determinism because it is a popular view that informs culture in various ways. Therefore, we must watch out for its ideas appearing in unexpected places. As Colossians 2:8 states, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” This verse from one of Paul’s letters affirms that true wisdom, hope, and joy are found in knowing Christ and not in old or new philosophies that offer a contradictory view of what matters.
Christians should also know that determinism offers a false answer to the suffering and bleakness we live with. In this worldview, no hope or redemption is offered to people looking for meaning and purpose. The us vs. them conflicts (over politics, religion, or any other viewpoint) continue with no possible resolution.
Christians should also watch out for determinism because it seemingly offers a bleak but free way to live. Many determinists recognize it leads to a nihilistic worldview but struggle with the implications. In this view, nothing in daily life ultimately matters, and everything is meaningless. Although nihilism could lead to that without the love of Christ being the objective point of reference, many skeptics who live a deterministic life do good in the world, exude compassion, and try to make the world a better place by being a good human being. However, as Paul explains in Romans, life is not simply about being a good human being. It is about recognizing we are fallen, broken sinners beloved by Christ.
How Can Christians Respond to Determinism?
Christians can offer several loving responses to the bleak world of determinism.
First, we can ask people why humanity craves freedom and beauty if it doesn’t exist. Throughout history, humans have asked: Where do we find hope in a bleak world filled with chaos? Is change and redemption possible? These questions point to the fact that the human heart desires justice, love, hope, joy, and the transcendent. It all points to the reality that human beings were meant for more.
These transcendent desires have never died out and are universal throughout history. A good example of this from literature is the chapter on hope from C.S. Lewis’s classic book Mere Christianity. Lewis himself struggled to find hope after losing his mother at a young age and suffering the trauma of World War I. This suffering caused Lewis to be a staunch atheist. Still, his longing for the eternal, roused by the power of story, art, different landscapes of Nature, and mythology, showed him the limits of determinism and helped Lewis embrace faith in Christ. Lewis could communicate his personal experience of finding hope in Christ through various World War II radio broadcasts, which became the basis for Mere Christianity. The book has helped millions of people worldwide find hope in Christ.
If our questions about meaning show we desire things like joy and hope, we can then show people how Christianity offers an answer to those desires. In the Christian worldview, reason, imagination, and faith are not mutually exclusive. Great Christian writers and thinkers such as Lewis, Lennox, George MacDonald, Madeleine L’Engle, and J.R.R. Tolkien attest to this and have inspired millions worldwide on their faith journey.
We can also help people consider whether determinism offers a good future since it claims that there is nothing beyond death. In the Christian worldview, death is not the end. Although every human being dies because of the fall of our ancestors in the beginning, we have the hope of eternal life.
Since Christianity offers a vision of the future, it also shows how we can live well and contribute to a good future. We live in the “already, but not yet” worldview where we know Christ has redeemed us, the kingdom of God has arrived and is moving, and a good future is coming as God’s plans are fulfilled. We are fallen human beings living in time and space, where hope can sometimes feel distant. Yet through Christ, we are redeemed and can do good works that will have eternal effects. Through acts of kindness, justice, compassion, and human love, and creating different works of art, we proclaim the king of God in the here and now and the future marriage of heaven and earth.
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Justin Wiggins is an author who works and lives in the primitive, majestic, beautiful mountains of North Carolina. He graduated with his Bachelor's in English Literature, with a focus on C.S. Lewis studies, from Montreat College in May 2018. His first book was Surprised by Agape, published by Grant Hudson of Clarendon House Publications. His second book, Surprised By Myth, was co-written with Grant Hudson and published in 2021. Many of his recent books (Marty & Irene, Tír na nÓg, Celtic Twilight, Celtic Song, Ragnarok, Celtic Dawn) are published by Steve Cawte of Impspired.
Wiggins has also had poems and other short pieces published by Clarendon House Publications, Sehnsucht: The C.S. Lewis Journal, and Sweetycat Press. Justin has a great zeal for life, work, community, writing, literature, art, pubs, bookstores, coffee shops, and for England, Scotland, and Ireland.
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