Predestination

Predestination is the doctrine that God determines beforehand the ultimate destiny or salvation of persons. Christian traditions differ over how divine determination relates to human freedom and responsibility.

Arminianism: A Protestant theological tradition that emphasizes human response to prevenient grace and rejects unconditional election. It holds that election is conditioned on God’s foreknowledge of faith, unlike unconditional predestination.
Election (Christianity): The Christian doctrine that God chooses particular people or a community for a purpose or salvation. Predestination often names the prior divine choice described as election.
Paul the Apostle: An early Christian missionary and letter-writer whose writings became central to Christian theology. Romans and Ephesians contain passages central to later arguments about election and predestination.
John Calvin: A sixteenth-century French theologian and Protestant reformer based in Geneva. Calvin’s account of election and reprobation became a defining Reformed formulation.
Canons of Dort: A 1619 Reformed doctrinal statement responding to the Remonstrant controversy. They set out a prominent Calvinist account of election, grace, and perseverance.
Pelagianism: A Christian teaching associated with Pelagius that denies original sin and emphasizes unaided human moral ability. Its account of human ability conflicts with predestination grounded in divine grace.
Divine providence: The doctrine that God sustains and governs creation and its events. Predestination is one account of providence applied to human destiny.
Augustine of Hippo: A late antique Christian bishop and theologian whose writings shaped Western Christianity. His anti-Pelagian works developed influential accounts of grace, election, and predestination.
Jacobus Arminius: A Dutch Reformed theologian whose teaching prompted the Arminian controversy. His critique of strict predestination helped form a lasting alternative within Protestant theology.
Westminster Confession of Faith: A 1646 Reformed confession adopted by English and Scottish Presbyterian churches. Its chapter on God’s decree gives a detailed confessional statement of predestination.

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