God's Sovereignty Over Evil

Often in reading John Calvin I come across unfamiliar words like "cavil" or "cavils."  Exactly what is a "cavil" anyway?  In the context of Calvin's Insitutes and Calvin's Calvinism a "cavil" is a trivial objection to the plain teaching of Holy Scripture on the issues of sovereign grace, unconditional election and absolute predestination.  Denying God's providence by appealing to general guidance of history over against God's being in control of all the details of history is a "cavil".  Denying that God controls the future but only "foreknows" the future is a "cavil."  Obviously, if God foreknew that Hitler would commit genocide against 6 millon Jews and millions of other ethnic minorities, saying that God merely "foreknew" this would happen does not resolve the dilemma of the problem of evil.  If God is omnipotent, then God is well able to prevent such atrocities.  Saying that God stood back and did nothing but merely "foreknew" this would happen does not remove the fact that ultimately the buck stops with God.  (Deuteronomy 29:29; Romans 11:33-36).

Logically, the only acceptable answer to this question is that God is perfectly just in permitting evil.  Nothing God does, including the decree to permit atrocities and evil acts of men and nations, is wrong.  To accuse the Creator of evil is to commit idolatry since we are mere creatures.  (Romans 9:19-22; Romans 3:3-8).  There is no law to which God is accountable since He is the source of the moral law and He is by nature holy, just, and perfect.  (Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6; Isaiah 46:9-11; Isaiah 14:24; Romans 9:11-23).

Charlie