What is Wrong With Molinism?

Molinism and the Question of Divine Sovereignty

Molinism is a system of theology that attempts to reconcile divine sovereignty and human freedom. It was devised by Luis de Molina, a 16th century Jesuit priest, who said that prior to creating the world, God knew what we would do in any given circumstance.

God created those circumstances and put people in them, knowing the decisions we would make, so that his purposes are ultimately achieved through our free will actions. Molinist William Lane Craig wrote the following, By his middle knowledge, God knows all the various possible worlds which he could create and what every free creature would do in all the various circumstances of those possible.

Worlds.

For example, God knew that Peter, if he were to exist and be placed in certain circumstances, would deny Christ three times. So God created that world. Well that sounds strange, doesn't it? In Craig's example, the only decision Peter can make is the one God knew Peter would make in the circumstances he put Peter in.

In the Molinist universe, Peter does not have free will. And neither does God. For he cannot do what we won't do. God's will is determined by our will, even before we come into existence. That is just absurd.

God’s Eternal Decree and Human Dependence

Acts 15 .18 says known to God from eternity are all his works. And Acts 17 .25 says God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything. Molinism is a false doctrine named after the heretic who came up with it because he hated the doctrine of God's sovereign decree.

The Bible says God knows the future because he has determined it. Isaiah 46 .10 says that God has declared the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose when we understand the text.