The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum A burning question

Thank you, Pilgrim, and my apologies. I would have looked it up myself, but at the moment I was pressed for time and only wished for a boiled down definition of it, unless it is too complicated a doctrine to boil down.

The "down and dirty" answer is: Double Predestination is taught incontrovertibly in Scripture. There are two "views", however, concerning it. One is truth and the other is false. First the false: God, out of all mankind before the Fall, determined both the salvation of some and the damnation of others without ANY consideration of the Fall. In short, God is equally responsible for the sins committed and judged by the reprobate as He is for the imputation of righteousness to the elect. This is classical known as "positive - positive predestination".<br><br>The other view, which has been embraced by the overwhelming majority of Christians throughout the ages, (Augustinian predestination), teaches that God foreordained the end of all men; some to everlasting life and the remainder to everlasting punishment. However, the Fall is taken into account in His determination, whether one holds to a Supralapsarian or Infralapsarian view of the decree(s). In this view, God is directly responsible for the salvation of the elect, but He is not responsible for the ultimate cause of the reprobate. For the non-elect are damned due to their own willingness to continue in sin. And it is upon that basis that they are judged and cast into hell. Looking at it from the divine perspective, God simple chose not to give His saving grace to the reprobate, but "permitted" them to continue in their natural (fallen) state and to suffer the consequences of it. This is classically known as "positive - negative predestination".<br><br>The two articles I referred you to will elaborate on both the "positive and negative" aspects of double predestination (Sproul's Double Predestination) and this sticky element of "permission", which some have wrongly assumed means something akin to "Deism". This is discussed also in Shedd's article.<br><br>ENJOY!!<br><br>In His Grace,