Theology of election
Matthew Cummings
Theology of Election
Religion 310 Paper #2
The Theology of Election
Within the framework of Christianity, God’s role in salvation is undoubtedly one of the biggest conundrums Christians have sought to answer. Historically, theologians have discussed, contemplated and questioned: who is it that God intends to grant salvation? Is salvation intended and offered to all, or does God predetermine those who will receive salvation? Biblical evidence and justification for either side of the argument exists, and on occasion this has resulted in a divided Christian community. As believers struggle to find truth in their interpretation of God’s will, many find themselves taking sides on either ends of the spectrum. This division amongst Christian thought exists primarily due to the seemingly incompatible nature of predestination and free will theologies. If God predetermines those who will be saved, then naturally it can be assumed that humans are incapable of freely acting towards salvation. Similarly if all humans have the ability to act on behalf of our salvation, it can be inferred that predestination is in fact false. However, I would argue that because the Bible supports the theologies of free will and predestination, both theologies must equally be correct despite their apparent inharmoniousness. In order to better understand free will, we must first familiarize ourselves with Christian theologian and philosopher Saint Augustine. In his early years, Augustine followed Manicheanism, which is the belief in a dualistic world where there are two Gods, one evil and one good. Soon however, this strain of thought didn’t satisfy Augustine, he felt as if it alleviated us from any sort of accountability for the evil we commit. Thus, he looked towards Platonism for answers; yet his struggle for fulfillment was only attained upon his conversion to Christianity. After his conversion, Augustine reformed his former views on evil
Theology of Election
Religion 310 Paper #2
The Theology of Election
Within the framework of Christianity, God’s role in salvation is undoubtedly one of the biggest conundrums Christians have sought to answer. Historically, theologians have discussed, contemplated and questioned: who is it that God intends to grant salvation? Is salvation intended and offered to all, or does God predetermine those who will receive salvation? Biblical evidence and justification for either side of the argument exists, and on occasion this has resulted in a divided Christian community. As believers struggle to find truth in their interpretation of God’s will, many find themselves taking sides on either ends of the spectrum. This division amongst Christian thought exists primarily due to the seemingly incompatible nature of predestination and free will theologies. If God predetermines those who will be saved, then naturally it can be assumed that humans are incapable of freely acting towards salvation. Similarly if all humans have the ability to act on behalf of our salvation, it can be inferred that predestination is in fact false. However, I would argue that because the Bible supports the theologies of free will and predestination, both theologies must equally be correct despite their apparent inharmoniousness. In order to better understand free will, we must first familiarize ourselves with Christian theologian and philosopher Saint Augustine. In his early years, Augustine followed Manicheanism, which is the belief in a dualistic world where there are two Gods, one evil and one good. Soon however, this strain of thought didn’t satisfy Augustine, he felt as if it alleviated us from any sort of accountability for the evil we commit. Thus, he looked towards Platonism for answers; yet his struggle for fulfillment was only attained upon his conversion to Christianity. After his conversion, Augustine reformed his former views on evil