Predestination
predestination: Keith M Avery
Predestination is a theological idea that takes two main forms.
The first is the belief, articulated by St. Augustine, that some individuals are divinely predestined to reside in an eternal heaven. Many believe the following New Testament passage supports this view:
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23, NIV).
The second, often called double predestination (sometimes dual predestination), is the belief that God predestines some for everlasting heaven and others for eternal hell.
A much debated question arises here as to whether God would actively endorse or, perhaps, passively permit eternal damnation. This question relates to other questions concerning God’s absolute goodness and power.
Gottschalk of Orbais, an unorthodox theologian of the 9th-century, met imprisonment for holding the view of double predestination.
Later, the Protestant reformer John Calvin made double predestination central to his theology, this being a major point of difference from Catholic theology.
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Posted on May 4, 2010, in P and tagged Determinism, heaven, hell, religion, theology. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
There is a site on Gottschalk of Orbais where an introduction on his life and works is available. It also has a page with his Latin writings, including Gottschalk’s major work De praedestinatione (On Predestination).
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