Necessity, Contingency and the Freedom of God

In this paper I attempt to argue that Antonie Vos' claims respecting the relations between Calvin and Reformed Orthodoxy regarding the doctrine of God are exaggerated, with no convincing support. I argue, from the writings of Calvin, that he is not a necessitarian, but holds that God wills freely, choosing between alternatives in one eternal act. Furthermore, I have argued, on conceptual grounds, that in any case the doctrine of synchronic contingency applied to the life a timelessly eternal God does not deliver an intelligible account of divine freedom.