Predestination—the idea that God foreordains each person's eternal destiny—is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. For centuries, theologians assumed that outright denial of the dogma amounted to atheism but disagreed on whether God elected persons for salvation unconditionally (apart from foreknowledge of their actions) or conditionally (because of their foreseen merit or faith). The book argues that today's denominational landscape cannot be understood apart from such predestinarian disputes dating back 1,600 years to Augustine. The age-old riddle of divin ... More

Predestination—the idea that God foreordains each person's eternal destiny—is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. For centuries, theologians assumed that outright denial of the dogma amounted to atheism but disagreed on whether God elected persons for salvation unconditionally (apart from foreknowledge of their actions) or conditionally (because of their foreseen merit or faith). The book argues that today's denominational landscape cannot be understood apart from such predestinarian disputes dating back 1,600 years to Augustine. The age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will was only one facet of the problem. A more practical religious concern was predestination's relationship to the sacraments: If a person's fate was already sealed, did baptism or the Eucharist have any saving effect? Predestination was also inseparable from questions about the doctrine of original sin, the existence of purgatory and hell, and the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs. The book reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians, but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans, who struggled to reconcile otherworldly predestination with confidence in this-worldly ritual. In addition, the book shows how a variety of newer groups, from Methodists to Mormons, derived a surprising measure of their initial energy from opposition to predestination. Even contemporary megachurches, which shun theological technicalities, preach a “purpose-driven” outlook owing much to the American career of this contentious doctrine.