How do we reconcile divine sovereignty and human will?  For ages and ages, philosophers and theologians have wrestled with this unsolvable puzzle.  If we can choose, but God is in control, are we really choosing?
     Many, many books have been written on this topic, and I will not attempt to rehash every argument involved in the debate.  I will say that ultimately, we will never fully understand precisely how these two apparently incompatible conditions fit together.  We embrace the mystery.
     This notwithstanding, a group of scientists and theologians, funded by the John Templeton Foundation (John Templeton, for those who follow the stock market, the now deceased founder of the hugely successful Templeton Fund) are embarking on a two year study to ascertain how God may or may not work through "indeterminate" processes.  In other words, thinking back to the opening question of this blog, they are trying to understand how we can (or cannot) juxtapose the idea of a providential and sovereign God with the indeterminancy (unless one is of the ilk that we have none) of human choice.  What is the theological value, if any, of randomness?
     Although we must wait for a couple of years to hear this group's conclusions, from my humble vantage point, I will observe that randomness has massive theological value.  Who wants to live in a airtight and robotic world?  And what kind of a God would make a world in which nothing is left to chance, in which there is absolutely no openendedness?  Not to deny that God is sovereign, but that it seems that randomness is the stuff of life.  It is the ground of adventure, the fuel of achievement, the impetus of personality and value.  If life were not contingent, if life were not indeterminate, it would not really be any fun.  Sure, we might be safe in a controlled world, but wouldn't we rather sacrifice safety for a genuinely lived existence?
     And if God really is there, we need not worry about whether our lives, regardless of how we live them or how they turn out, have a point.  They do.  Enjoy the mystery!