Questions tagged [predestination]
The doctrine that all events have been willed by God
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How do Protestants who believe in predestination interpret "plant" in Matt 15:13?
How do Protestants who believe in predestination interpret "plant" in Matt 15:13:
He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
Should the plants be ...
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Does Predestination apply to all people or just the major characters God needed for His plans for us to unfold?
Certainly verses like Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5 are about God and important figures agreeing that God created THEM as individuals with a soul and spirit before they were born (or even before He ...
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Are there statistics on denominational belief in predestination and unconditional election by century?
Since the Reformation and especially the influence of John Calvin, a part of the church has believed doctrines of sovereign, unconditional election, predestination, and eternal security in a multitude ...
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Arminianism's Human's Free Will in light of Proverbs 16:4 & Proverbs 16:33 (since said verses strongly suggest support for Calvinism's predestination)
Proverbs 16:4
The Lord has made everything for [c]its own purpose,
Even the wicked for the day of evil.
16:4 Hebrew OT: Westminster Leningrad Codex כֹּ֤ל פָּעַ֣ל יְ֭הוָה
לַֽמַּעֲנֵ֑הוּ וְגַם־רָ֝שָׁ֗ע ...
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How do Christians who believe in libertarian free will respond to R.C. Sproul's critique in the article "What Is Free Will?"?
I'm referring to this article: What Is Free Will?, which is a transcript of a sermon by Reformed Theologian R.C. Sproul (a video recording of the sermon is available in the same article). I highly ...
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How can God be loving and just whilest creating people for His wrath? I cannot wrap my head around Calvinism!
I just recently left a church that I attended for nearly a decade that is rooted in Calvinist beliefs. I am really struggling with their conception of the Lord and their understanding of the scripture....
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According to Arminians, why do they find Calvinism distasteful or inaccurate? [duplicate]
R.C. Sproul, a Reformed thinker said in his book “Chosen by God” that: “Jimmy Swaggart has made it clear that he considers the Reformed view a demonic heresy.” (Page 7)
Obviously, disagreements can ...
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What is the Biblical basis for Conditional Election?
From Wikipedia:
In Christian theology, conditional election is the belief that God chooses for eternal salvation those whom he foresees will have faith in Christ. This belief emphasizes the ...
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What is the biblical basis for NOT believing that everyone has a fair chance to be saved?
In my previous question If everyone has a fair chance to be saved, then how is this reconciled with Romans 10:11-17 & John 6:44?, I laid out two conditions for scoping purposes:
This question is ...
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Romans 9 from an Arminian Perspective
Arminians, how do you interpret Romans 9 from an Arminian perspective? Specifically, verses 13-23.
Specifically, the traditional Calvinistic understanding of Romans 9 is that it teaches predestination ...
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predestination beliefs
Reformed Protestants believe that God selected individuals at the time of the beginning of the world and predestined those individuals for salvation.
Orthodox believe that God knew at the time of the ...
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In what sense are "vessels of mercy prepared beforehand" in Romans 9:23?
Rom 9:23 "What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared beforehand for glory"
I'm trying to better understand various ...
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Why does the debate over election/predestination matter?
I have finally come to think the election debate is de facto rather esoteric. First, I have heard prominent Christian figures say belief in election is not necessary for salvation. But even more so, ...
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Is the doctrine of "Particular Election" synonymous with that of "Unconditional Election"?
I learned today, from The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, that the phrase "Damned if you do and damned if you don't" was coined by Lorenzo Dow, the 19th century American preacher. According ...
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What is the Catholic understanding of Predestination and Freewill?
Is predestination a Catholic doctrine? If so, how does the Catholic Church harmonise the doctrine of predestination against freewill?
The Catechism of the The Catholic Church states:
"Not only ...
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What do Reformed Christians understand by God's foreordination?
The reformed, Westminster Confession of faith, reads in chapter three:
God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His
own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes ...
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How do Christians that advocate libertarian free will interpret Romans 9:14-24?
Romans 9:14-24 (ESV):
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I ...
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If an individual sins because God "hardened their heart", does that make God the direct responsible of the sin (i.e. a sinner)? [closed]
In the Bible we find passages such as:
Exodus 7:3-4
3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you.
Exodus 11:9-10
9 The Lord ...
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How can children who are not elect be a gift from God? [closed]
How can children who are not elect be a gift from God?
Scripture tells us that children are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
When a parent has surrendered "birth control"...
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Predestination and human knowledge [closed]
Is there any denomination that claim to know it is possible for humans to know where a human is predestined to go after death?
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According to Catholics, who are "the elect"?
Calvinists believe that God unconditionally elects certain people to believe, these are His "elect"
I am trying to figure what Catholics believe. This article states "A true biblical understanding of ...
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God's foreknowledge according to the Calvinist?
I read from this link-1
Romans 8:29 means that God “fore-loved” certain people, and
predestinated them
And from this link-2
1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was "foreknown before the foundation of ...
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Is there a consensus among early Christians on Romans 9?
How did the early church interpret St. Paul in Romans 9? Is there a consensus in early Christianity regarding the relation between predestination and free will?
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How do Calvinists understand the argument that only the Ephesian church were elect in the context of Ephesians?
I was talking to an individual and he told me that the Calvinist premise that we were elect before the creation of the world is false because the verse in Ephesians 1 is taken out of context. He said ...
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What is the Arminian view of God's providence?
Disclaimer: This question is not intended to suggest that God is not sovereign under Arminianism. It is simply a question for clarification, as I haven't really found a detailed description. Also, I ...
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Romans 9:14 to 9:24 and free will
Do all Christians believe in predestination? If not, for those who don't, how do they explain Romans 9:14 - 9:24?
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! ...
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How does election work according to mainstream Presbyterian thought?
In the Presbyterian church, does election require that we both receive God's call and answer it? Or is it only that we need to have been chosen? Could this be a question of understanding God as not ...
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Did John Calvin teach that souls 'pre-existed'?
My understanding of Calvin's teaching on Paul's expression of foreknowledge, election and predestination is that all of these are within the eternal Deity.
That which occurred within Deity (I ...
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1 John 3:20 what does it mean "He knows everything" according to Calvinist Single Predestination?
This question as a continuation of my question here, because the question before is not "tight".
1 John 3:20
For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.
Trying to put my ...
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1 Peter 2:7-8 different meaning on other language
1 Peter 2: (7) Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But
to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone," (8)and, "A stone that causes people to
...
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What do Calvinists teach about the Election of mankind? Is it before or after the Creation?
From this link:
Calvin also reminds us that Paul states that the love God had for us
before the creation of the world had always been founded in Christ
From this link:
Calvinists believe that ...
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How is God's Predestination according to Calvinist?
I've just read from this link, an explanation by John Piper :
Nobody is in hell that doesn't deserve to be there and
isn't in active rebellion to God
Because my own interpretation that Total ...
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According to the Catholic Church, why should we pray if God has already decided the best future for all of us?
According to Roman Catholic Church,
if God knows everything, including the future (which he does, if he's
omniscient)
Refer : What is the biblical evidence for God's omnipotence and ...
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What is an overview of the different predestination beliefs?
I once saw a listing of around 20 different views of predestination on a site. I can't find it any more. I know my own view is a bit unorthodox, but it works cleanly with the biblical text.
What is ...
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Was Saint Augustine a Calvinist on divine foreknowledge?
It is my understanding that Calvinism conflates God's passive will with His active will—i.e., the fact that He knows something will occur due to His divine foreknowledge and allows said thing to occur ...
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What does St. Augustine allude to when he writes in 'Confessions'?
In Book 1 of St. Augustine's 'Confessions', we read "Tell me, O God, I beg you; in your mercy tell me, pitiable creature that I am, did my infancy come after some other period of my existence which is ...
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Calvinist Disagreement with Valentinian Gnosticism on Predestination
For the record, I do not believe Calvinists are cryto-Valentinians. I do not believe Calvinists are Gnostics, so please understand my question knowing I am not trying to paint anyone in a good or bad ...
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According to Calvin, how can God be loving if he created people to go to hell?
I struggle with John Calvin writing that God created people to go to the lake of fire (Institues, Volume 3, Chapter 21, Section 5). How could a loving, merciful, and gracious God create people so that ...
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Thomistic Predestination and Free Will
What is the role of free will in Thomistic predestination?
My understanding of Thomist teachings:
people have free will to do what they want
everyone gets sufficient amount of grace (Sufficient for ...
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Is there a Christian philosopher who has published a book challenging compatibilism from the point of view of hard determinism?
A.W Pink in "The sovereignty of God" says in the introduction- "Two things are beyond dispute: God is sovereign, man is responsible". That compatibilist point of view is compared to Libertarian ...
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To whom the Election applied according to the Calvinist (TULIP)?
A. To every human (including Adam and Eve) who will exist in the future.
B. To every human (except Adam and Eve) who will exist in the future.
C. To every human who will exist in the future after ...
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What is the easy and less complicated definition of predestination [Calvinism]?
I am finding it difficult to understand the Calvinistic ideas of limited atonement and predestination. Does limited atonement mean that only a chosen people called the elect will attain salvation? If ...
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According to Reformed Theology, how does omniscience relate to election?
If before the creation, God had planned everything from A to Z of the life on the earth since it's created until the end of day and every life of each individual from A to Z since he/she was born ...
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How do monergists respond to Bible verses that support the doctrine of synergism?
How do Lutherans, Calvinists and other protestants that believe in monergism respond to biblical passages that seem to support synergism such as these?
For example:
"Be perfect, therefore, as ...
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What does John 3:16 mean according to Calvinism?
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I originally believed the sentence above is like an ...
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How would a Calvinist interpret Matthew 13:37-40?
(37) He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
(38) The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the
kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, (39) and the ...
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To the Calvinist, does Phillipians 1:29 mean that all the Philippians will go to heaven because all of them have already been elected?
Philippians 1:29
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
My understanding :
1. The word "you" is all of the Philippians.
...
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How do molinists justify a world where not everyone freely chooses salvation?
Assuming not all humans on earth will become Christians. Many have lived and died that have not. The Bible is clear that many will fall away and perish.
If Molinism is true,
Then either:
A. There ...
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Was the Second Council of Quierzy (853) controlled by Hincmar against the Augustinians?
In a lecture, Reformed theologian and church historian Douglas Kelly says:
Hincmar controlled a council – it was not a really representative council. He stacked it. […] The semi-Augustinian, proto-...
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According to Calvinists, why did God say what He did to Cain in Genesis 4:7?
Both high and low Calvinists from this Wiki say that God authorized the Fall, by which all deserve to be condemned.
Me: If there is no predestination at all, both Cain and Abel will end up in hell.
...
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