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Articles

Predestination and the Wagers of Sin

Robert Howell suggests a surprising reason for piety.

“We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he determined within himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others” (Calvin, Institutes 3.21.5).

Calvinists and their ilk believed that there are a group of people, the Elect, who are predestined by God to partake of the fruits of Heaven while the rest are headed for a less salubrious fate.

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