Three Views on Election
Table of Contents
Election Overview 3
Conditional Election 4
Overview 4
Conditional Election and Fatalism 4
Conditional Election and Semi-Pelagianism 5
James Arminius and John Wesley 6
Unconditional Election 8
Overview 8
Double Unconditional Election 8
Gottschalk of Orbais 8
Ulrich Zwingli 9
Martin Luther 9
John Calvin 10
Single Unconditional Election 10
Augustine 10
Thomas Aquinas 12
Conclusion 13
Election Overview
Gregory A. Boyd & Paul R. Eddy, in their book across the spectrum, pose a scenario:
“While driving drunk, a person hits and kills a little girl. A Christian friend of the girl's parents tries to comfort them by reassuring them that ' God is in control' and that somehow' all things work together for good.' The mother is comforted by these words, but the father becomes enraged.' If God is behind my little girl's death,' he insists, ' he's not all-loving and all-good. Any God who would purposefully snuff out our little girl's life and leave us in this nightmare is cruel!' A second friend of the family agrees with the father and insists that God was not behind the tragedy. ' The drunk driver alone is to blame for your little girl's tragic death,' he tells the father. ' God is as saddened by this event as you are. Now he just wants to comfort the two of you.'1”
As we approach this discussion, we have to ask the question, how does our interpretation of the sovereignty of God and the free will of man color our ability to counsel, encourage, and teach the lost and hurting? Is friend one in the example above correct, or is it friend two? If it is friend one, then how do you handle God controlling of tragic events (or unwillingness to intervene), such as the reckless and seemin...
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...ook III)." CHURCH FATHERS: De Principiis, Book III (Origen). http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04123.htm (accessed May 1, 2014). Read about 5p (It was online)
Stephens, W. P.. The theology of Huldrych Zwingli. Oxford: Clarendon Press ;, 1986. Read 2p
The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. London: Burns, Oates & Washburne, Ltd., 1916. Read 6p
Wesley, John. Free grace a sermon preached at Bristol.. Boston: Bristol, printed. Philadelphia, re-printed by Ben. Franklin :, 1741. Read 2p
Wesley, John. Predestination calmly considered By John Wesley, M.A.. The 6th ed. London: Printed by J. Paramore: and sold at the New Chapel; and at the Rev. Mr. Wesley's preaching-houses in town and country, 1786. Read 5p
Zwingli, Ulrich, Samuel Macauley Jackson, and Clarence Nevin Heller. Commentary on true and false religion. Durham, N.C.: Labyrinth, 1929.Read 9p
Paley, William. “Natural Theology,” in Introduction to Philosophy. 6th edition. Perry, Bratman, and Fischer. Oxford University Press. 2013, pp. 47-51.
“Does belief in God influence decisions?” This question and many others are asked by countless readers after experiencing what is Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This thrilling post-apocalyptic novel follows the journey of a nameless father and son traveling down a long road after what can only be described as the end of the world as we know it. It centers around their fight for survival and their quest to find somewhere in this new world that’s safe. In the background of the gritty feature is the constant thought of God and his influence on moral decisions. McCarthy illustrates through the choices made by the characters how belief in God or lack thereof molds someone’s personal decisions and maybe even slants their moral compass in different directions.
Reason is the first of the complimentary Quadrilateral factors. Wesley’s belief went against that of the “Enlightenment Period” which believed that reason was above scripture. This is confirmed by Wesley’s ideology that scripture is first and through scripture we gain faith and faith comes through hearing the Word of God. He also belie...
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Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Trans. John W. Harvey. New York: Oxford UP, 1958. Print.
While Wesley is often praised for his work in theology, his impact on the African slave trade in 1787 is incredibly significant. Thomas Clarkson, a man who played a role in ending the African slave trade, wrote a letter to Wesley, calling him “the celebrated divine, to whose pious labors the religious world will be long indebted, undertook the cause of the poor Africans.” Wesley openly spoke and wrote against the practice of slavery, condemning it even though the economy of Georgia heavily depended on slave labor. In this time, especially in big cities such as Savannah, preaching against slavery put the speaker’s family and livelihood in jeopardy. A lot of white landowners despised Wesley for this, and he made numerous enemies for the sake
One would like to call this a defining point in John Wesley?s belief in grace as opposed to that Calvin. Wesley stated that the "grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL" (John Wesley Free Grace Sermon #2) Calvinist at the time, as well as now believe that grace is not free but is forced on some. Wesley believed in gracious assistance from above. Prevenient Grave, that grace which is given before we even seek God. In the sermon we have Wesley setting the basis of this grace.
Johnson, S. Lewis. “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians.” Bibliotheca Sacra 118 (1961): 147.
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
Barbour, Ian G. Religion in an Age of Science. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Print. (BL 240.2 .B368 1990)
3) The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas. Whether God Exists? 1920. New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/summa/100203.htm. K. Knight. 2003.
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologicae. Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Notre Dame, Indiana: Christian Classics, 1948