Does Divine Sovereignty = Divine Rape?

While this may be difficult for some to believe, there are people who teach that if God did not grant humans free will that God would be a “divine rapist.”  I have read or heard this quip enough times now that I just can’t stand it anymore.

This sick sentiment is usually brought up in discussions concerning salvation or the problem of evil (often from an anti-Calvinist position). When it is asked why God couldn’t just create people who loved Him, or who at least never did evil, instead of giving them the power of free will, the response is often that love requires free will.  This is not so bad. But then sometimes the coup de grâce is delivered:  Without free will people would be forced to love God, and (as we all know), forced love is rape. And God is no divine rapist!

Gag. For those lacking the moral/logical/theological intuition to balk at such a crass response and think a bit more clearly about it, let me spell out the problem:

• Rape is violent sex (emphasis on violent). Violence is obviously not part of love, and sex does not equate to love either. Even romantic love, which sometimes involves sex, does not always equate to love (unless someone thinks the greatest commandment, “Love Thy God,” is to have sex with God, there should be no disagreement with this position). So neither violence nor sex can be equated to love.
• Love can be defined as the willing of the good of another and a desire for unity with another (unless someone thinks that God’s love for His creation means He wants to date it, there should be no disagreement with this either). So love cannot be equated to rape.
• Therefore love (“forced” or not) isn’t rape – period.

God’s sovereignty encompasses human free will actions, yet most agree that this does not ential forced actions. We may deal with this difficult doctrine how we will, but let’s eschew perverse parodies of orthodox positions whether we agree with such positions or not!