Book Review: Predestination

Predestination, part of The Little Black Book series written by Scott Petty, teaches about God's design and purpose for each individual, that we are not here by mistake.  Geared towards teenagers,this was a short, simple read at only 84 pages. The author writes with teenage lingo and is relational the his readers. Petty writes about how involved God is in nature as well as the lives and individuals. This book is straight to the point and addresses many questions teens may have. The only problem I had with the book was the author's view on free choice and salvation. Petty believes humans do not have absolute freedom. He equates absolute freedom with doing things that God does not know about. I believe we do have free choice, and just because we have free choice does not mean that God does not know about it. He gave us a choice and He already knows what our choice will be. Also Petty believes there is a select group of people "destined" to go to heaven. Petty explains that God has chosen specific people to go to heaven and He draws them to Him. On the contrary, according to the Bible (John 3:15, Acts 2:39, & 2 Peter 3:9), it is not the Lord's will that any should perish. The promise of salvation is for everyone. Everyone is called to salvation, but not everyone answers. God gave everyone a free choice, and that choice began in the garden. I have a few other concerns about the book, however, the author does well at explaining his own point of view on predestination.