I never said God specifically preordained someone to murder a child or any such ting. What I did say was God predestined everything according to His purpose.
In posts earlier in this thread, you said things to that effect. (Later today I can try to go back and point some of those posts of yours, where this was what it sounded as though you were conveying.)
So God does allow child murderers to do their thing to a point, He does restrain them and sometimes He allows them to do their thing.
So what you are saying here is that "God allows child murderers to do their thing, to a point" not that He SCRIPTED THEM to (before time--as in, He WROTE IT [before time] TO HAPPEN [in time], so therefore it did happen [it was "predestined" and "pre-ordained" to happen [everything was, according to that view]);
...so, when it comes to Romans 9:17 (re: Pharaoh), where it says,
"For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth":
--the Calvinist basically says (of this verse about Pharaoh), "[for this same purpose] have I RAISED THEE UP [/CREATED you]...";
--whereas the text itself does not convey such an idea (that has to be "READ INTO" the text--an INJECTED "idea"), but rather (more like this):
"[for this same purpose] have I raised thee up [to a position of prominence... as "Pharaoh"], that..." (in other words, using those circumstances to effect certain ends / outcomes / results; But the text does NOT say what the Calvinist insists it says, that God CREATED Pharaoh TO DO those things (as in, [before time] SCRIPTED HIM TO DO THEM [CREATED HIM TO DO THEM]... and everyone / everything else that ever takes place in this world)
See the difference?
Do you accept the "Calvinist" version of this Rom9:17 passage (since you are "Calvinist," as you say)?