Active vs. Passive Reprobation

(The following is an edited response to an inquiry on the topic.)

The motive (of passive reprobation), of course, is to distance God from direct contact or involvement with evil and yet to keep God in control over evil in some way. Most modern Reformed writers commit this error. As I show in my Commentary on Ephesians, Reformers such as Luther and Calvin gave strong hints and at times even direct assertions that reprobation must be active, but even they were not always consistent, since the motive to "exonerate" or "excuse" God was still present at times.

My objection, in short, is that it is biblically wrong and metaphysically impossible to distance God from evil like this. It is implicit deism or dualism.

Recommended:

Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Ephesians.

Vincent Cheung, "The Problem of Evil."

Gordon Clark, God and Evil.

Jay Adams, The Grand Demonstration.