Webster 1913: Sov”er*eign*ty, n.;
The quality or state of being sovereign, or of being a sovereign; the exercise of, or right to exercise, supreme power; dominion; sway; supremacy; independence; also, that which is sovereign; a sovereign state; as, Italy was formerly divided into many sovereignties.
Easton Bible Dictionary: of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15-23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).
Where does a right to do all things according to his own good pleasure imply that all things are actually being done so? Where does the concept that God CAN require that God IS? And how is it mocking the (in my opinion fallacious) equation of sovereignty with micro-management to say that if there is a supreme controlling all beings and interactions according to a supreme master plan, that the score of every athletic event is predetermined? They’d have to be so controlled! There’s no escaping it!
Here’s the big question: why would we be instructed to pray that things be done on Earth according to God’s Will as it is in Heaven, unless things are not being done on Earth according to His Will?
I don’t actually believe in the synonymous concept, as I think that this intellectual tradition stems from a time when the concept of God existing outside of the material construct of time was wholly inconceivable. But as I’ve replied to several thoughtful emailers today, I see the primary flaw running through these “Calvinist” (for lack of a better term) arguments being the constant equation of sovereignty with micro-management, or as I prefer to put it, uber control freakdom. The very notion that God controls all actions and interactions of his creatures stands firmly against everything I understand of God, both from the Bible and from my personal experience.
However, I freely admit, I could be wrong. I make no claim of grokking the fullness. I don’t question God’s ultimate sovereignty. I question whether he is putting it directly into use at this time on this planet.