Religious Determinism (predestination) Flashcards
When were St. Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin born? When did they die? What churches did they belong to?
St. Augustine was born in 354 AD and died in 430 AD. Having been a Manichaen in the past, Augustine converted to Christianity in 387 after having been baptised by Ambrose. Augustine was an early church father who worked before the church split into the Catholic and Orthodox Church, and from there the Protestant churches; nevertheless, his writings have become a staple of Catholic theology.
John Calvin was born more than a millennium afterwards in 1509 and died in 1564. He was a prominent figure of the Protestant reformation and the man Calvinists draw their inspiration from.
Explain St. Augustine’s doctrine of Original Sin.
- St. Augustine believed that Adam and Eve had made the free choice to disobey God in the Garden of Eden, a choice which has had an almost indelible effect on human nature since then.
- As we were seminally present in Adam’s sin, we contract a part of his sin at birth; Augustine calls this Original Sin, which can only be washed away by baptism.
What are Augustine’s views on human nature?
- Augustine believed that humans were created with liberium arbitrium, the power to freely make choices. Therefore Adam’s choice was free and he had the ability to resist sin in his original state.
- However, the Fall means that human nature has been corrupted by Concupiscence, or a susceptibility to sin.
- As a result, though human beings still retain the ability to choose between their desires in this fallen state, those desires are bent away from God and holiness due to Concupiscence.
- In short, human beings still have liberium arbitrium, but they have lost moral libertas, or the ability to resist sin by their own efforts.
- Moral liberty can only be restored by God’s Grace acting upon the soul.
What was the Pelagian Controversy?
- The Pelagian Controversy was a theological dispute between St. Augustine and the British monk Pelagius.
- Pelagius believed that Augustine’s teachings encouraged the decadent moral attitudes in Rome, as it taught people that their sins were a result of their unchanging human nature, and that humans could only hope to act morally by the grace of God.
- Augustine found that this doctrine minimised the role of God’s grace in behaviour and salvation, and conflicted with God’s omnipotent nature. Pelagius’ doctrine meant that a human could achieve salvation by their own actions, which to Augustine was an affront to God himself.
- Though initially hinging upon the role of God’s grace, the dispute inevitably extended towards other issues such as whether the fall had an impact on our nature, and the necessity of baptism. It was as a result of these theological arguments that Augustine developed his ideas of Original Sin and predestination.
What role did God’s grace play in salvation for Augustine? Explain Augustine’s conception of predestination.
- Augustine believed that moral liberty could only be attained through God’s grace working upon the soul. This allows us to freely obey his will.
- Augustine believed that people were predestined to accept God’s initial grace of liberating the soul before their birth. Concupiscence and Original Sin make it impossible for humans to live Holy lives by their own efforts.
- Those who are chosen for salvation are called the elect, while those left in their sin are called the reprobates.
- Augustine did not believe that God actively condemns anyone to reprobation, but instead chooses to save a select few to receive his grace and salvation. Augustine’s notion of predestination was a positive one, called single predestination by the Catholic Church today.
- It can, however, be argued whether there is truly a difference between the single predestination of Augustine and double predestination espoused by figures such as Calvin. If an omnipotent God chooses not to save a person, (and it is only God that can save a person by Augustine’s own insistence) isn’t that the same as damning them?
- It also raises question concerning God’s omnibenevolence. If God can save all of humanity, why doesn’t he? Augustine stated that humans were incapable of understanding the motives behind God’s decision on who to elect and who to reprobate.
What did Calvin believe the result of Original Sin to be?
-Calvin believed that humanity was engulfed in total depravity as a result of the fall. This meant that humans were unable to respond to the invitation for salvation provided by God through the atonement of Jesus. Humanity cannot choose to repent and believe for themselves.
What were Calvin’s views on the sovereignty of God and the nature of scripture?
- Calvin believed in God’s absolute sovereignty over the happenings of the world. What may appear to us a chance occurrence is actually the providence of God working to accomplish his will. As such, God exercises total sovereignty over the election and reprobation of humans.
- Calvin also found the scripture to be the revealed word of God that takes precedence over what we can infer from our own experience; Calvin’s doctrine, therefore, is driven by scripture, for he believed that anything going beyond what is written in the Bible is mere human speculation.
Explain the doctrine of unconditional election.
- Because Calvin found humans to be totally depraved, along with his other Doctrine of absolute sovereignty of God, Calvin believed that God actively chose those who were to be redeemed and those who would be damned.
- God’s election separate from any regards to morality or will from the humans themselves, it rests completely within the will of God.
- Nevertheless, the elect can still be assured of their status because of an inward ‘calling of God’, a certainty that God has chosen them for salvation.
- Calvin believed that the elect received a twofold grace of justification and sanctification, distinct and yet inextricable from each other. Justification means that Jesus’ righteousness is imputed upon the person, meaning that they can reconciled with God after death. Sanctification is an ongoing process that gradually reforms and grows the person in holiness.
- As a result, though the elect will still sim, they will display signs of their status through the ways they behave; the same could be said for the reprobates.
What is TULIP? What does it mean?
TULIP, formally the Five Points of Calvinism, were drawn up by Calvinists at the Synod of Dort in 1609, some time after Calvin’s death. Though they primarily serve as a rebuttal to the Five Points of Arminianism proposed by the titular Arminian sect, they are useful to remember some of the central tenets of Calvinism. The flower-based acronym is a useful means of remembering the five points, and should not be mentioned by name in an exam.
T- Total Depravity. Human nature has been corrupted by the Fall of Adam and Eve; namely, our thinking, emotions and will are all compromised. Humans are unable to respond to God.
U- Unconditional Election. God chooses some humans to receive his twofold grace of justification and sanctification, splitting humanity into the elect and the reprobates. This decision is made solely by God’s will before our births, and is separate from any human decision.
L- Limited Atonement. Christ’s sacrifice and atonement was for the elect only. It is debatable whether Calvin himself went as far as limited atonement.
I- Irresistible Grace. This means that the elect cannot resist the call of God that saves them.
P- Perseverance of the Saints. This means that the elect will persist in their faith and will be glorified in Heaven; it is impossible for them to be lost to sin.
What scripture has been used to justify various forms of predestination?
- Romans 8:29-30: ‘And those he predestined, he also called: those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.’
- Ephesians 1:4-5: ‘For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.’
- (Unconditional election) Ephesians 2:8: ‘For it is by grace you are saved, through faith, and this is not yourselves, it is the gift of God.’
What are some arguments for and against the notion of predestination? Try to think of counterarguments to these points while going through them.
For:
- Predestination supports God’s omniscience and omnipotence, as it means humanity cannot save itself through its own acts. In addition to this, could there even be free will with a God who knows the future and is constantly involved with it?
- Predestination is merciful because God chooses to save the elect, who otherwise would have been damned (not applicable with Calvin’s explicit double predestination)
- Scriptural support such as Romans 8:29-30
Against:
- Predestination negates God’s omnibenevolence. If God is in complete control of who is saved, then why does he not save everyone? Bertrand Russel calls God ‘a monster’ because ‘A God that punishes or rewards on the basis of God’s own eternal decisions is unfair and immoral’.
- Predestination of our actions makes God the author of sin.
- Christian texts display a God that listens to our prayers and faith. Does this concur with a God that, despite any of our acts and desires, condemns most to hell and saves a select few?
Of course, this is not a comprehensive list, and if there are any points that you came up with yourself that you deem to be valid, then it is better for you to include them.
