Hi William,

My answers to your 2 questions:

(1)It depends on what aspect of God's will you are referring to. I.e. was it God's purposive will that children be sacrificed to false gods (Jer. 7:31)? No. But did he permit it? Yes. Why? Free will <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Also, was it God's purposive will that the non-elect be damned (2 Pet. 3:9)? No. But he permits it. Why? Free will.

I've dealt with the various aspects of God's will in my paper on Determinism and Freedom. You can find it on my website: www.determinismandfreedom.blogspot.com

(2) Man's believing is caused primarily by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8).

Michael