Historically, the Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther (1484-1546) and the 95 theses of “protest” he nailed to the door of the Cathedral in Wurms, Germany. Luther was not the only theologian of the Reformation, however; he was joined by Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531), John Calvin (1509 – 1564), Heinrich Bullinger (1504 – 1575), Theodore Beza (1519 – 1605), John Knox (1514 – 1572), and others. They all focused on reforming the Roman Catholic Church according to scripture, from which they felt the Church had strayed.
Out of these beginnings, three main groups of Protestants emerged: the Lutherans, the Anabaptists, and the Reformed Church. The Reformed Church followed most closely the teachings of Calvin, and is sometimes referred to simply as Calvinism. It began in central Europe but soon spread to Holland, England, and Scotland, and became associated with the Puritans who so famously colonized Massachusetts. Calvinism differed from both Roman Catholicism and the other Protestant movements in a number of ways, but the best known, and least understood, of these is the Doctrine of Predestination. Predestination actually goes back to St. Augustine in the fourth century, but it was Calvin and his predecessors who brought it to the forefront of the Reformed Faith.
In the Westminster Confession of Faith (1643), Predestination is laid out as one of “God’s Eternal Decrees” (Chapter III of the Westminster Confession). “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death” (BC 6.016). This sounds both harsh and elitist: some are elected for salvation, and others are doomed to damnation. It should be remembered that it was written in the 17th century, and that the Westminster Confession was the first to place it in “God’s Decrees” — previous Confessions, such as the Second Helvetic Confession, places the doctrine in the section on salvation.
The two most common (and mistaken) understandings of the doctrine of Predestination are, first, that all is fixed and we are merely puppets with no free will, and second, that those who believe in Predestination are certain that they are among those “predestinated unto everlasting life” and therefore believe themselves to be above other believers. In fact, both of these mistaken views look as predestination as a past action of God; Calvin understood and taught that no human could know or understand God’s actions, past, present, or future. Instead, he taught that this was about the present and the future.
Calvin referred to Jesus Christ as “the mirror of election.” He struggled, as many theologians, pastors, and ordinary people do, with the question of why, when exposed to the teachings of Jesus, some believe, while others do not. He brought the question down to a very simple one: Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? To him, if the answer is yes, then you are “elected” into salvation and eternal life. You don’t have to sit around and wonder what God planned for you in some long-distant past.
The other side of this is that no believer can know the future for non-believers. No one can know when the Holy Spirit will move in another and bring them into the elect. To quote Presbyterian theologian Donald McKim, “Whether or not they are saved — this is God’s decision.. It is not our place to judge…[or] to speculate.” When viewed with this explanation, Predestination should be a comfort. God saves, where mere humans are incapable of saving themselves.
(References used and cited: McKim, Donald K. Presbyterian Beliefs. Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2003; McKim, Donald K. Introducing the Reformed Faith. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001; Book of Confessions: Study Edition, Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 1996: Kincaid, Jacob L., Rev. Dr. – Personal Communication, 2007)
