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How do you respond to 1 Kings 8:58?
Solomon prays as he dedicates the temple, “The Lord our God be with us…[and] incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments…” (vs. 57-58).
Compatibilists sometimes cite biblical prayers such as this one to support the view that God determines the human heart. If this were the case, however, one wonders why humans would have to pray for this to happen. In this passage Solomon is simply realizing that the people of Israel will not be faithful to God on their own. Hence he asks God to move on people’s hearts. But neither this or any other biblical passage suggests that this spiritual influence is coercive.
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: 1 Kings 8
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