Friday, October 10, 2008

God and chance. Are they compatible?

I had been reading from the theologian R.C. Sproul that "if chance exists in any size, shape or form, God cannot exist. The two are mutually exclusive. If chance existed, it would destroy God's sovereignty. If God is not sovereign, He is not God. If He is not God, He simply is not. If chance is, God is not. If God is, chance is not"

I was curious if this was necessarily true, or if it would be possible for a sentient First Cause to create chance as a subservient force.

I'm not sure if I understand the logic flow in the quoted statement. How would chance destroy God's sovereignty? Is causality necessary for God to exist? If so, what about free will?

I'm sort of stumped on this puzzle, and any help would be appreciated.