I ♥ Predestination (One: It's Not What You Think)

Among Christianity's handful of mind-bending doctrinal issues, it's hard to top Predestination as The Terminator of theological debates. I recently heard an entire sermon about it, prompting me to examine the subject in this space.

"The Saved and The Damned"
Rouen Cathedral, France

All the fuss about Predestination comes from its plain conflict with other doctrines. As posited by Augustine and interpreted by Calvin, Predestination subverts two key Christian beliefs: first that Jesus died for the sins of everybody, and second that everybody is free to receive Christ's saving grace. Seeking primarily to preserve what has come to be called God's "sovereignty," Calvin asserted that Jesus died for only some people (the "L" in TULIP stands for Limited Atonement). He also concluded that, since God's will must be done, grace is therefore irresistible (the letter "I"). Thus demolishing any notion of free will by contending that God forces his grace upon those he has pre-selected. On the upside, Calvin's five-point plan confirms the once-saved-always-saved creed, cherished by many believers. But I digress.

The word Predestination appears in exactly two passages in the Bible, both written by the Apostle Paul—once in a letter to the believers in Rome, the other to the Ephesians. He does not define it or explain it (though he does quote some OT scriptures that shed a little light on the subject...more on this in Part Three).

Of course the discussion can't avoid related concepts like foreknowledge and the elect and the chosen. The sermon I heard rejected Calvinism, but ended up endorsing the most demoralizing and extreme TULIP position, that of Double Predestination. DP has God not only pre-selecting which individuals would be saved, but intentionally creating others for the purpose of tormenting them in endless agony. That is to say, God not only knew in advance that Sister Buggins' wayward son would refuse to repent, but God actually pre-decided for Joe—pre-fabricating his refusal, and weaving it into his DNA—then creating Joe anyway, destined for the slow-roaster.

Turn in your hymnals to "I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy." 

If Predestination means pre-selection, then Sister Buggins gave birth to a spawn of Satan. Yikes. Lots of modern believers reject Calvinism, but for some reason when it comes to Predestination they allow Augustinian/Calvinist definitions to stand. Thus pre-destination continues to be widely assumed to mean pre-determination of which individuals will enter earthly life on the "saved" track and which are born on the "damned" track.

So having set the stage, let me say there is a Biblical, common-sense—and beautiful—case for non-Calvinist Predestination. One in which Jesus does die for the sins of all, and one which does not subvert free will.

Next time: 
I ♥ Predestination (Two: Prepared In Advance)