Predestination and God’s foreknowledge
Predestination is the doctrine that God has predestined some people (the elect) to be his adopted children before he even breathed the universe into existence. The perfect scripture that clearly outlines this definition is Ephesians 1:4-5. The author states as follows: v4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: v5 having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Basically that’s the gist about the term predestination.
Foreknowledge on the other hand is the ability to have knowledge of future events and is associated with omniscience. The perfect scripture that embraces this definition is Romans 9:10-12 which states as follows: v10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; v11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) v12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Christians from all walks of life and different denominations are divided on whether God predestines some to be saved and others to be damned which makes things rather easy for me in pointing out inconsistencies. As a matter of fact, I will just use their views to point out the inconsistencies in scripture. There are two major schools of thought concerning this subject namely Arminianism and Calvinism. Some Christians hold the Calvinistic view while others are in the Arminian camp and the rest usually are in between sharing some views from both camps. It is my contention that neither of these groups is wrong but I slightly think the Calvinists are right considering the evidence in scripture. But even if my criticism turns out wrong about these views, it only proves my point namely there are inconsistencies in the Bible.
Calvinism
Calvinism is of the view that humans contribute nothing with regards to their salvation. The whole saving process is entirely done by God and by that I mean all the persons of the trinity. Calvinists believe in total depravity and therefore man is incapable of doing anything to attain his salvation. They also believe salvation is secure (once saved always saved). According to Calvinists God indeed predestines some to be redeemed while others to be damned. Scriptures they use to support their view include:
John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:65
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Galatians 1:15
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace…
Acts 13:48
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Acts 16:14
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Ephesians 1:4-6
v4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: v5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, v6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
John 15:16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Arminianism
Arminianism however, is of the view that humans can do something about their salvation by responding to the gospel message and obeying. They have the freewill to do so and if they don’t, they choose their own destiny. This is where the famous saying from evangelical Christians is derived namely: “God does not send people to hell, you send yourself there.” And of course the Armenians believe that Salvation is not secure, it is possible to lose your salvation. So Armenians believe God does not predestine some to be saved and others to perish. According to this camp you need to work out your salvation. So these two camps are essentially polar opposites and that’s why most Christians find themselves in-between. Scriptures in support of Arminianism
Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
2nd Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Matthew 22:13-14
v13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. v14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Having presented the two major schools of thought, I want to move past this debate. I know the Calvinists are right, just like the Arminianists are, after all, the bible is contradictory. The point I want to address is whether God predestines others to hell or not and the theological implications of that. Looking at the scriptural evidence, I would have to agree with the Calvinists. Paul has a lot to say about this topic so let’s see what he has to say.
Does God predetermine others to go to hell?
Romans 9:11-12
v11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) v12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. v13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
The whole issue of foreknowledge and election before you are even born presents big problems, especially for a God who claims to be just and fair. Think about it. You are not even born and yet your life and destiny is determined. Imagine your creator hating you before you are even born. Just put yourself in the shoes of Esau, see things from his point of view. Do you think it’s fair? Of course not, it’s reprehensible. Even Paul realizes this and asks rhetoric questions to try and justify what I think is indefensible.
Romans 9:14-16
v14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. v15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. v16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
So in verse 14, Paul claims that God is not unrighteous (unjust) for determining Esau’s destiny or hating him before he’s born. And what reason does he give to justify this position? He quotes Yahwe in Exodus telling Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But hang on just a second, what does mercy have to do with determining someone’s destiny before they are even born? What does having mercy on whom he has mercy or compassion got to do with hating Esau before he’s born? Paul clearly asks rhetoric questions but surely dodges to answer them. So this thing of God showing mercy and compassion on whomever he chooses is clearly a red herring. It doesn’t answer his questions in verse 14. And what I would really like to know is why God hates Esau and love Jacob before conception if truly he is not unrighteous. Paul doesn’t answer this question with all his clever apologetics. Even if we say God is sovereign and can do whatever he wants without being accountable; the fact that he claims to be just means that he should live up to that standard and should therefore be accountable. Otherwise justice becomes meaningless
Romans 9:17-18
v17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. v18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
God decides to harden Pharaoh’s heart thereby tempering with his freewill so that he can show off his power in all the earth? That doesn’t seem right. And instead of punishing Pharaoh for his crimes, God kills all the first born sons of Egypt including children of slaves and animals. What did the slaves and animals ever do to God? That’s not just. In verse 18 Paul concludes therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Paul is basically saying God can do anything he wants so shut up. But if he can do whatever he wants and we have no say in anything he does, why is he defending him? Why is he laboring to present God as just and fair?
Romans 9:21-23
v21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? v22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: v23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory
Paul claims that God is like a potter, he can use the same clay to either make one vessel to honour and another to dishonor. He goes on to say what if God willing to show his wrath and make known his power decided to bore with great patience the vessels of his wrath prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the vessels of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory? So what if he did these things? What is it to you?
Are you getting Paul’s argument? He says just like a potter, God can create some people for the sole purpose of destroying them. These are the vessels made in dishonor and meant for destruction, so that the lack people who will be saved (vessels of mercy) can forever praise his glory. Why in the world would God create some people who will eventually end up in hell as vessels of destruction? If you dare ask such question, Paul’s brilliant answer is But who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ (Romans 9:20) YES, that is exactly what we should demand, if God is creating some of us to end up in hell as vessels of destruction, definitely we should ask why, any sane person would.
Not only does God determine our eternal destiny before we are even born, but he specifically creates some as vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. This is wickedness of the highest order from someone who claims to be infinitely merciful beyond human comprehension. And I can hear some Arminianists counter argue that God does not create some people for the sole purpose of burning them in hell, human beings have the freewill to either obey the gospel or reject it. Either believe or don’t believe. You are responsible for your own destiny. However, I would also contend that belief is not a choice but a conviction. If you are not convinced deep down that Jesus truly came back from the dead or that he was the real Jewish messiah or he is God for that matter, there’s no way you can fake your belief. If you are not convinced, you are not convinced. You can’t even convince yourself that you believe when deep down you don’t.
And people will end up in hell simply because they did not believe or find the gospel story persuasive? The Cornelius story in the book of Acts 10 usually comes to mind when discussing this issue. Imagine a good charitable law abiding citizen who is harmless with a personality of Cornelius. Now imagine this Cornelius does not find the gospel story exactly persuasive or convincing. Would it be morally just to burn such a person for all eternity with no mercy simply because he was not convinced that a man 2000 years ago came back from the dead and he happens to be the Son of God? Really? Even Jesus’ own disciple Thomas was not convinced despite witnessing the resurrection miracles Jesus performed and him saying he is the life and resurrection. He had all the evidence that we currently don’t have and yet he could not believe. If some disciples doubted (aka unbelief), would you blame someone today for not believing the resurrection story? Again I ask, would it be right to burn a Cornelius-type of a person simply because he was not convinced that the resurrection happened and didn’t find the gospel story persuasive? See also Every Skeptic is Justified since Thomas.
That would be wickedness of the highest order for a God who claims to be infinitely merciful beyond human understanding. And God created him deliberately to go to hell as a vessel of destruction? This is a God and gospel (good news) that Christians are selling. There is literally nothing good about this news. If broad is the way that leads to destruction and the majority of humans are on that path, it is not good news at all. It is in fact bad news. And would anyone be comfortable and enjoy heaven knowing fully well that some of their friends and family are burning in anguish and agonizing torture somewhere for all eternity. Personally, I wouldn’t enjoy heaven with such knowledge; heaven would become hell for me. Unless God tempered with my mind, I wouldn’t be a free person.
To sum up, I want to state the fact that everything in this post is agreed or disagreed among Christians. This is evidence that scripture is inconsistent, rather than me being an unreasonable skeptic. If Christians can agree and disagree with me it only proves my point. I think the Calvinists are right though, predestination is taught in scripture and God does elect people even before their conception. The Armenian camp may oppose that salvation is not secure, but how can it not be secure if God already chose you before the foundation of the world? (Ephesians 1:4-6). I didn’t address the various views of hell like annihilationism but this is a topic for another day. Foreknowledge does not take away your freewill is another common objection the Arminian camp brings up but the same argument still stands. Before the world began God already chose or predestined the elect, so it’s not the will of man but the will of God. If you are chosen, you are chosen but if you are not you are doomed. Moreover, no man comes to Jesus unless God the father draws him. (John 6:44)
Christian Responses
theology debunked 