Editing Predestination (section)

==History==
=== Pre-Christian period ===
Some have argued that the [[Book of Enoch]] contains a deterministic worldview that is combined with dualism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malan |first=J. C. |date=1983 |title=Enochic (apocalyptic) and Christian perspectives on relationships: A tentative comparison of striking aspects and underlying lines of thinking revealed in 1 Enoch and the New Testament |journal=Neotestamentica |volume=17 |pages=84–96 |jstor=43047851 |issn=0254-8356}}</ref> The [[book of Jubilees]] seems to harmonize or mix together a doctrine of free will and determinism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sigal |first=Philip |title=The Emergence of Contemporary Judaism, Part I and II: The Foundations of Judaism from Biblical Origins to the Sixth Century A.D.}}</ref>

[[Ben Sira]] affirms free will, where God allows a choice of bad or good before the human and thus they can choose which one to follow.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=PhD |first1=Mary A. Ehle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eht9G-MGuAQC&dq=Sirach+free+will&pg=PA46 |title=Foundations for Preaching and Teaching®: Scripture Backgrounds for 2014 |last2=Hiesberger |first2=Jean Marie |last3=Mazza |first3=Biagio |last4=CSJ |first4=Mary M. McGlone |last5=OSB |first5=Abbot Gregory J. Polan |last6=Simeone |first6=Denise |last7=Turner |first7=Paul |date=2014 |publisher=Liturgy Training Publications |isbn=978-1-61671-079-8 |language=en}}</ref>

=== New Testament period ===
There is some disagreement among scholars regarding the views on predestination of [[Second Temple period|first-century AD Judaism]], out of which Christianity came.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} [[Josephus]] wrote during the first century that the three main Jewish sects differed on this question. He argued that the [[Essenes]] and [[Pharisees]] argued that God's providence orders all human events, but the Pharisees still maintained that people are able to choose between right and wrong. He wrote that the [[Sadducees]] did not have a doctrine of providence.

Biblical scholar [[N. T. Wright]] argues that Josephus's portrayal of these groups is incorrect, and that the Jewish debates referenced by Josephus should be seen as having to do with God's work to liberate Israel rather than philosophical questions about predestination. Wright asserts that Essenes were content to wait for God to liberate Israel while Pharisees believed Jews needed to act in cooperation with God.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=15}} [[John M. G. Barclay|John Barclay]] responded that Josephus's description was an over-simplification and there were likely to be complex differences between these groups which may have been similar to those described by Josephus.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=16}} [[Francis Watson (theologian)|Francis Watson]] has also argued on the basis of [[4 Ezra]], a document dated to the first century AD, that Jewish beliefs in predestination are primarily concerned with God's choice to save some individual Jews.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=17}}

However some in the Qumran community possibly believed in predestination, for example [[1QS]] states that "God has caused (his chosen ones) to inherit the lot of the Holy Ones".<ref>{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-p5DwAAQBAJ&dq=predestination+Odes+of+Solomon&pg=PA88 |title=Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-31300-2 |language=en}}</ref>

In the [[New Testament]], [[Letter to the Romans|Romans]] 8–11 presents a statement on predestination. In [[Romans 8]]:28–30, Paul writes,{{blockquote|We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=25}}}}
Biblical scholars have interpreted this passage in several ways. Many say this only has to do with service, and is not about salvation. The Catholic biblical commentator Brendan Byrne wrote that the predestination mentioned in this passage should be interpreted as applied to the Christian community corporately rather than individuals.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=29}} Another Catholic commentator, [[Joseph Fitzmyer]], wrote that this passage teaches that God has predestined the [[universal salvation|salvation of all humans]].{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=31}} [[Douglas Moo]], a Protestant biblical interpreter, reads the passage as teaching that God has predestined a certain set of people to salvation, and predestined the remainder of humanity to [[reprobation]] ([[damnation]]).{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=32}} Similarly, Wright's interpretation is that in this passage Paul teaches that God will save those whom he has chosen, but Wright also emphasizes that Paul does not intend to suggest that God has eliminated human free will or responsibility. Instead, Wright asserts, Paul is saying that God's will works through that of humans to accomplish salvation.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=33}}

=== Patristic period ===
==== Pre-Nicene period ====
[[Origen]], writing in the third century, taught that God's providence extends to every individual.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=38}} He believed God's predestination was based on God's foreknowledge of every individual's merits, whether in their current life or a [[pre-existence|previous life]].{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=39–40}}

Gill and Gregg Alisson argued that Clement of Rome held to a predestinarian view of salvation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murrell |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pq1JAwAAQBAJ&dq=predestination+Clement+of+Rome&pg=PT32 |title=Predestined to Believe: Common Objections to the Reformed Faith Answered, Second Edition |date=2009 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-62189-175-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Allison |first=Gregg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH8oAfw-bHMC&dq=predestination+Clement+of+Rome&pg=PT832 |title=Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine |date=2011 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=978-0-310-41041-6 |language=en}}</ref>

Some verses in the [[Odes of Solomon]], which was made by an Essene convert into Christianity, might possibly suggest a predestinarian worldview, where God chooses who are saved and go into heaven, although there is controversy about what it teaches.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carson |first1=D. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UFAJ4zmxF8C&dq=predestination+odes+of+solomon&pg=PA54 |title=Justification and Variegated Nomism |last2=O'Brien |first2=Peter Thomas |last3=Seifrid |first3=Mark A. |date=2001 |publisher=Isd |isbn=978-3-16-146994-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Denzer |first=Pam |title=Odes of Solomon: Early Hymns of the Jewish Christian Mystical Tradition |url=https://www.academia.edu/4440268}}</ref>{{sps|certain=yes|date=April 2022}}<ref name="DeConick">{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-p5DwAAQBAJ&dq=predestination+odes+of+solomon&pg=PA88 |title=Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas |date=2015|publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-31300-2 |language=en}}</ref> The Odes of Solomon talks about God "imprinting a seal on the face of the elect before they existed".<ref name="DeConick" /> The [[Thomasines]] saw themselves as children of the light, but the ones who were not part of the elect community were sons of darkness. The Thomasines thus had a belief in a type of election or predestination, they saw themselves as elect because they were born from the light.<ref name="DeConick"/>

[[Valentinus (Gnostic)|Valentinus]] believed in a form of predestination, in his view humans are born into one of three natures, depending on which elements prevail in the person. In the views of Valentinus, a person born with a bad nature can never be saved because they are too inclined into evil, some people have a nature which is a mixture of good and evil, thus they can choose salvation, and others have a good nature, who will be saved, because they will be inclined into good.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karamanolis |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91cmEAAAQBAJ&dq=predestination+Valentinus&pg=PT153 |title=The Philosophy of Early Christianity |date=2021 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62823-8 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Irenaeus]] also attacked the doctrine of predestination set out by Valentinus, arguing that it is unfair. For Irenaeus, humans were free to choose salvation or not.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfT_DwAAQBAJ&dq=Free+will+irenaeus&pg=PA220 |title=Fate, Providence and Free Will: Philosophy and Religion in Dialogue in the Early Imperial Age |date=2020 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-43638-1 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Justin Martyr]] attacked predestinarian views held by some Greek philosophers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knell |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNLYDwAAQBAJ&dq=free+will+justin+martyr&pg=PT37 |title=Sin, Grace and Free Will: A Historical Survey of Christian Thought (Volume 1): The Apostolic Fathers to Augustine |date=2017 |publisher=ISD LLC |isbn=978-0-227-90567-8 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Post-Nicene period ====
{{See also|Augustinian soteriology}}
Later in the fourth and fifth centuries, [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430) also taught that God orders all things while preserving human freedom.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=44}} Prior to 396, Augustine believed that predestination was based on God's foreknowledge of whether individuals would believe, that God's grace was "a reward for human assent".{{sfn|Levering|2011|pp=48–49}} Later, in response to [[Pelagius]], Augustine said that the sin of [[pride]] consists in assuming that "we are the ones who choose God or that God chooses us (in his foreknowledge) because of something worthy in us", and argued that it is God's grace that causes the individual act of faith.{{sfn|Levering|2011|pp=47–48}} Scholars are divided over whether Augustine's teaching implies [[double predestination]], or the belief that God chooses some people for damnation as well as some for salvation. Catholic scholars tend to deny that he held such a view while some Protestants and secular scholars affirm that Augustine did believe in double predestination.{{sfn|James|1998|p=102}}

Augustine's position raised objections. [[Julian of Eclanum]] expressed the view that Augustine was bringing [[Manichean]] thoughts into the church.{{sfn|Chadwick|1993|p=232}} For [[Vincent of Lérins]], this was a disturbing innovation.{{sfn|Chadwick|1993|p=233}} This new tension eventually became obvious with the confrontation between Augustine and [[Pelagius]] culminating in condemnation of [[Pelagianism]] (as interpreted by Augustine) at the [[Council of Ephesus]] in 431. Pelagius denied Augustine's view of predestination in order to affirm that salvation is achieved by an act of free will.

The [[Council of Arles (475)|Council of Arles]] in the late fifth century condemned the position "that some have been condemned to death, others have been predestined to life", though this may seem to follow from Augustine's teaching. The [[Second Council of Orange]] in 529 also condemned the position that "some have been truly predestined to evil by divine power".{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=37}}

In the eighth century, [[John of Damascus]] emphasized the freedom of the human will in his doctrine of predestination, and argued that acts arising from peoples' wills are not part of God's providence at all. Damascene teaches that people's good actions are done in cooperation with God, but are not caused by him.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=60}}

[[Prosper of Aquitaine]] (390 – c. 455 AD) defended Augustine's view of predestination against semi-Pelagians.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Prosper of Aquitaine {{!}} Christian polemicist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Prosper-of-Aquitaine|access-date=2021-10-29|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> [[Marius Mercator]], who was a pupil of Augustine, wrote five books against Pelagianism and one book about predestination.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Henry Wace: Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Marius%20Mercator,%20a%20writer|access-date=2021-12-02|website=www.ccel.org – Christian Classics Ethereal Library}}</ref> [[Fulgentius of Ruspe]] and [[Caesarius of Arles]] rejected the view that God gives free choice to believe and instead believed in predestination.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gumerlock |first=Francis X. |title=Predestination in the century before Gottschalk (Part 1) |url=https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2009-3_195.pdf |journal=Evangelical Quarterly: An International Review of Bible and Theology |volume=81 |issue=3 |year=2009 |pages=195–209|doi=10.1163/27725472-08103001 }}</ref>

[[John Cassian|Cassian]] believed that despite predestination being a work that God does, God only decides to predestinate based on how human beings will respond.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Battle for Grace Alone by R.C. Sproul|url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/battle-grace-alone|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Ligonier Ministries|language=en-US}}</ref>

Augustine stated, "And thus Christ's Church has never failed to hold the faith of this predestination, which is now being defended with new solicitude against these modern heretics."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Philip Schaff: NPNF1-05. St. Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf105.xxi.iii.lxvii.html |access-date=2021-12-02 |website=www.ccel.org – Christian Classics Ethereal Library}}</ref>
=== Middle Ages ===
[[Gottschalk of Orbais]], a ninth-century [[Saxon]] monk, argued that God predestines some people to hell as well as predestining some to heaven, a view known as double predestination. He was condemned by several synods, but his views remained popular. Irish theologian [[John Scotus Eriugena]] wrote a refutation of Gottschalk.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=70}} Eriugena abandoned Augustine's teaching on predestination.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=69}} He wrote that God's predestination should be equated with his foreknowledge of people's choices.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=74}}

In the thirteenth century, [[Thomas Aquinas]] taught that God predestines certain people to the [[beatific vision]] based solely on his own goodness rather than that of creatures.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=80}} Aquinas also believed that people are free in their choices, fully cause their own sin, and are solely responsible for it.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=78}} According to Aquinas, there are several ways in which God wills actions. He directly wills the good, indirectly wills evil consequences of good things, and only permits evil. Aquinas held that in permitting evil, God does not will it to be done or not to be done.{{sfn|Levering|2011|pp=78–79}}

In the thirteenth century, [[William of Ockham]] taught that God does not cause human choices and equated predestination with divine foreknowledge.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=88}} Though Ockham taught that God predestines based on people's foreseen works, he maintained that God's will was not constrained to do this.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=89}} Medieval theologians who believed in predestination include: [[Ratramnus]] (died 868),{{sfn|EncyclopaediaE|2024-04-03}} [[Thomas Bradwardine]] (1300–1349),{{sfn|dePrater|2015|pp=37}} [[Gregory of Rimini]] (1300–1358),{{sfn|EncyclopaediaE|2024-04-08}} [[John Wycliffe]] (1320s–1384),{{sfn|Stacey|2024}} [[Johann Ruchrat von Wesel]] (died 1481),{{sfn|Schaff|1997|loc=§ 75}} [[Girolamo Savonarola]] (1452–1498){{sfn|Schaff|1997|loc=§ 76}} and [[Johann von Staupitz|Johannes von Staupitz]] (1460–1524).{{sfn|dePrater|2015|pp=42–43}}

The medieval [[Catharism|Cathars]] denied the free will of humans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cathar Texts: The Book of the Two Principles|url=http://gnosis.org/library/cathar-two-principles.htm|access-date=2021-12-01|website=gnosis.org}}</ref>

=== Reformation ===
[[John Calvin]] rejected the idea that God permits rather than actively decrees the damnation of sinners, as well as other evil.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=102}} Calvin did not believe God to be guilty of sin, but rather he considered God inflicting sin upon his creations to be an unfathomable mystery.{{sfn|Levering|2011|p=104}} Though he maintained God's predestination applies to damnation as well as salvation, he taught that the damnation of the damned is caused by their sin, but that the salvation of the saved is solely caused by God.{{sfn|Levering|2011|pp=105–106}} Other [[Protestant Reformers]], including [[Huldrych Zwingli]], also held double predestinarian views.{{sfnm|James|1998|1p=30|Trueman|1994|2p=69}}