Predestination

Predestination is a religious concept, which is about the relationship between God and His creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that before the creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. They believe that God orders some people to Heaven and all other people to Hell before they even are born.

Contrasted with other kinds of determinism

Predestination: The Divine foreordaining or foreknowledge of all that will happen; with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo and of John Calvin.

Predestination in Other Religions

Hinduism

In Hinduism, which consists of four schools, predestination does not play an important role, as most followers believe in karma, associated with free will. However, in the Dvaita school of Vaishnavism, the philosopher Madhvacharya believed in a similar concept.

Other websites

• "Determinism in Theology: Predestination" by Robert M. Kindon in The Dictionary of the History of Ideas (1973-74)
• Predestination
• Understanding Predestination in Islam
• Detailed Lecture on Islamic Perspective on Fate
• Occurrences of "predestination" in the Bible text (ESV)
• The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (1932) by Loraine Boettner (conservative Calvinist perspective)
• The Biblical Doctrine Of Predestination, Foreordination, and Election by F. Furman Kearley (Arminian perspective)
• "Predestination" from The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
• Academic articles on predestination and election (Lutheran perspective)