CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA_ Predestination.pdf

662015 CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Predestination

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Predestination

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Predestination (Latin praelig destinare) taken in its widest meaning is every Divine decreeby which God owing to His infallible prescience of the future has appointed andordained from eternity all events occurring in time especially those which directlyproceed from or at least are influenced by mans free will It includes all historical factsas for instance the appearance of Napoleon or the foundation of the United States andparticularly the turningshypoints in the history of supernatural salvation as the mission ofMoses and the Prophets or the election of Mary to the Divine Motherhood Taken in thisgeneral sense predestination clearly coincides with Divine Providence and with thegovernment of the world which do not fall within the scope of this article (see DIVINEPROVIDENCE)

Theology restricts the term to those Divine decrees which have reference to thesupernatural end of rational beings especially of man Considering that not all men reachtheir supernatural end in heaven but that many are eternally lost through their own faultthere must exist a twofold predestination (a) one to heaven for all those who die in thestate of grace (b) one to the pains of hell for all those who depart in sin or under Godsdispleasure However according to present usages to which we shall adhere in the courseof the article it is better to call the latter decree the Divine reprobation so that the termpredestination is reserved for the Divine decree of the happiness of the elect

A

The notion of predestination comprises two essential elements Gods infallibleforeknowledge (praeligscientia) and His immutable decree (decretum) of eternal happinessThe theologian who following in the footsteps of the Pelagians would limit the Divineactivity to the eternal foreknowledge and exclude the Divine will would at once fall intoDeism which asserts that God having created all things leaves man and the universe totheir fate and refrains from all active interference Though the purely natural gifts of Godas descent from pious parents good education and the providential guidance of mansexternal career may also be called effects of predestination still strictly speaking the



term implies only those blessings which lie in the supernatural sphere as sanctifyinggrace all actual graces and among them in particular those which carry with them finalperseverance and a happy death Since in reality only those reach heaven who die in thestate of justification or sanctifying grace all these and only these are numbered among thepredestined strictly so called From this it follows that we must reckon among them alsoall children who die in baptismal grace as well as those adults who after a life stainedwith sin are converted on their deathshybeds The same is true of the numerous predestinedwho though outside the pale of the true Church of Christ yet depart from this life in thestate of grace as catechumens Protestants in good faith schismatics JewsMahommedans and pagans Those fortunate Catholics who at the close of a long life arestill clothed in their baptismal innocence or who after many relapses into mortal sinpersevere till the end are not indeed predestined more firmly but are more signallyfavoured than the lastshynamed categories of persons

But even when mans supernatural end alone is taken into consideration the termpredestination is not always used by theologians in an unequivocal sense This need notastonish us seeing that predestination may comprise wholly diverse things If taken in itsadequate meaning (praeligdestinatio adaeligquata or completa) then predestination refers toboth grace and glory as a whole including not only the election to glory as the end butalso the election to grace as the means the vocation to the faith justification and finalperseverance with which a happy death is inseparably connected This is the meaning ofSt Augustines words (De dono persever xxxv) Praeligdestinatio nihil est aliud quampraeligscientia et praeligparatio beneficiorum quibus certissime liberantur [ie salvantur]quicunque liberantur (Predestination is nothing else than the foreknowledge andforeordaining of those gracious gifts which make certain the salvation of all who aresaved) But the two concepts of grace and glory may be separated and each of them bemade the object of a special predestination The result is the soshycalled inadequatepredestination (praeligdestinatio inadaeligquata or incompleta) either to grace alone or to gloryalone Like St Paul Augustine too speaks of an election to grace apart from the celestialglory (loc cit xix) Praeligdestinatio est gratiaelig praeligparatio gratia vero jam ipsa donatio Itis evident however that this (inadequate) predestination does not exclude the possibilitythat one chosen to grace faith and justification goes nevertheless to hell Hence we maydisregard it since it is at bottom simply another term for the universality of Gods salvificwill and of the distribution of grace among all men (see GRACE) Similarly eternal electionto glory alone that is without regard to the preceding merits through grace must bedesignated as (inadequate) predestination Though the possibility of the latter is at onceclear to the reflecting mind yet its actuality is strongly contested by the majority oftheologians as we shall see further on (under sect III) From these explanations it is plainthat the real dogma of eternal election is exclusively concerned with adequatepredestination which embraces both grace and glory and the essence of which St Thomas(I Q xxiii a 2) defines as Praeligparatio gratiaelig in praeligsenti et gloriaelig in futuro (theforeordination of grace in the present and of glory in the future)



In order to emphasize how mysterious and unapproachable is Divine election the Councilof Trent calls predestination hidden mystery That predestination is indeed a sublimemystery appears not only from the fact that the depths of the eternal counsel cannot befathomed it is even externally visible in the inequality of the Divine choice The unequalstandard by which baptismal grace is distributed among infants and efficacious gracesamong adults is hidden from our view by an impenetrable veil Could we gain a glimpse atthe reasons of this inequality we should at once hold the key to the solution of themystery itself Why is it that this child is baptized but not the child of the neighbourWhy is it that Peter the Apostle rose again after his fall and persevered till his death whileJudas Iscariot his fellowshyApostle hanged himself and thus frustrated his salvationThough correct the answer that Judas went to perdition of his own free will while Peterfaithfully coshyoperated with the grace of conversion offered him does not clear up theenigma For the question recurs Why did not God give to Judas the same efficaciousinfallibly successful grace of conversion as to St Peter whose blasphemous denial of theLord was a sin no less grievous than that of the traitor Judas To all these and similarquestions the only reasonable reply is the word of St Augustine (loc cit 21)Inscrutabilia sunt judicia Dei (the judgments of God are inscrutable)

B

The counterpart of the predestination of the good is the reprobation of the wicked or theeternal decree of God to cast all men into hell of whom He foresaw that they would die inthe state of sin as his enemies This plan of Divine reprobation may be conceived either asabsolute and unconditional or as hypothetical and conditional according as we consider itas dependent on or independent of the infallible foreknowledge of sin the real reason ofreprobation If we understand eternal condemnation to be an absolute unconditionaldecree of God its theological possibility is affirmed or denied according as the questionwhether it involves a positive or only a negative reprobation is answered in theaffirmative or in the negative The conceptual difference between the two kinds ofreprobation lies in this that negative reprobation merely implies the absolute will not togrant the bliss of heaven while positive reprobation means the absolute will to condemn tohell In other words those who are reprobated merely negatively are numbered among thenonshypredestined from all eternity those who are reprobated positively are directlypredestined to hell from all eternity and have been created for this very purpose It wasCalvin who elaborated the repulsive doctrine that an absolute Divine decree from alleternity positively predestined part of mankind to hell and in order to obtain this endeffectually also to sin The Catholic advocates of an unconditional reprobation evade thecharge of heresy only by imposing a twofold restriction on their hypothesis (a) that thepunishment of hell can in time be inflicted only on account of sin and from all eternitycan be decreed only on account of foreseen malice while sin itself is not to be regarded asthe sheer effect of the absolute Divine will but only as the result of Gods permission (b)that the eternal plan of God can never intend a positive reprobation to hell but only anegative reprobation that is to say an exclusion from heaven These restrictions are



evidently demanded by the formulation of the concept itself since the attributes of Divinesanctity and justice must be kept inviolate (see GOD) Consequently if we consider thatGods sanctity will never allow Him to will sin positively even though He foresees it inHis permissive decree with infallible certainty and that His justice can foreordain and intime actually inflict hell as a punishment only by reason of the sin foreseen weunderstand the definition of eternal reprobation given by Peter Lombard (I Sent dist40) Est praeligscientia iniquitatis quorundam et praeligparatio damnationis eorundem (it is theforeknowledge of the wickedness of some men and the foreordaining of their damnation)Cf Scheeben Mysterien des Christentums (2nd ed Freiburg 1898) 98mdash103

The Catholic dogma

Reserving the theological controversies for the next section we deal here only with thosearticles of faith relating to predestination and reprobation the denial of which wouldinvolve heresy

The predestination of the elect

He who would place the reason of predestination either in man alone or in God alonewould inevitably be led into heretical conclusions about eternal election In the one casethe error concerns the last end in the other the means to that end Let it be noted that wedo not speak of the cause of predestination which would be either the efficient cause(God) or the instrumental cause (grace) or the final cause (Gods honour) or the primarymeritorious cause but of the reason or motive which induced God from all eternity toelect certain definite individuals to grace and glory The principal question then is Doesthe natural merit of man exert perhaps some influence on the Divine election to grace andglory If we recall the dogma of the absolute gratuity of Christian grace our answer mustbe outright negative (see GRACE) To the further question whether Divine predestinationdoes not at least take into account the supernatural good works the Church answers withthe doctrine that heaven is not given to the elect by a purely arbitrary act of Gods will butthat it is also the reward of the personal merits of the justified (see MERIT) Those wholike the Pelagians seek the reason for predestination only in mans naturally good worksevidently misjudge the nature of the Christian heaven which is an absolutely supernaturaldestiny As Pelagianism puts the whole economy of salvation on a purely natural basis soit regards predestination in particular not as a special grace much less as the supremegrace but only as a reward for natural merit

The Semipelagians too depreciated the gratuity and the strictly supernatural character ofeternal happiness by ascribing at least the beginning of faith (initium fidei) and finalperseverance (donum perseverantiœ) to the exertion of mans natural powers and not tothe initiative of preventing grace This is one class of heresies which slighting God andHis grace makes all salvation depend on man alone But no less grave are the errors intowhich a second group falls by making God alone responsible for everything and



abolishing the free coshyoperation of the will in obtaining eternal happiness This is done bythe advocates of heretical Predestinarianism embodied in its purest form in Calvinism andJansenism Those who seek the reason of predestination solely in the absolute Will of Godare logically forced to admit an irresistibly efficacious grace (gratia irresistibilis) to denythe freedom of the will when influenced by grace and wholly to reject supernatural merits(as a secondary reason for eternal happiness) And since in this system eternal damnationtoo finds its only explanation in the Divine will it further follows that concupiscence actson the sinful will with an irresistible force that there the will is not really free to sin andthat demerits cannot be the cause of eternal damnation

Between these two extremes the Catholic dogma of predestination keeps the golden meanbecause it regards eternal happiness primarily as the work of God and His grace butsecondarily as the fruit and reward of the meritorious actions of the predestined Theprocess of predestination consists of the following five steps (a) the first grace ofvocation especially faith as the beginning foundation and root of justification (b) anumber of additional actual graces for the successful accomplishment of justification (c)justification itself as the beginning of the state of grace and love (d) final perseverance orat least the grace of a happy death (e) lastly the admission to eternal bliss If it is a truthof Revelation that there are many who following this path seek and find their eternalsalvation with infallible certainty then the existence of Divine predestination is proved(cf Matthew 2534 Revelation 2015) St Paul says quite explicitly (Romans 828 sq)we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good to such asaccording to his purpose are called to be saints For whom he foreknew he alsopredestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren And whom he predestinated them he also called Andwhom he called them he also justified And whom he justified them he also glorified(Cf Ephesians 14shy11) Besides the eternal foreknowledge and foreordaining theApostle here mentions the various steps of predestination vocation justification andglorification This belief has been faithfully preserved by Tradition through all thecenturies especially since the time of Augustine

There are three other qualities of predestination which must be noticed because they areimportant and interesting from the theological standpoint its immutability thedefiniteness of the number of the predestined and its subjective uncertainty

(1) The first quality the immutability of the Divine decree is based both on the infallibleforeknowledge of God that certain quite determined individuals will leave this life in thestate of grace and on the immutable will of God to give precisely to these men and to noothers eternal happiness as a reward for their supernatural merits Consequently the wholefuture membership of heaven down to its minutest details with all the different measuresof grace and the various degrees of happiness has been irrevocably fixed from all eternityNor could it be otherwise For if it were possible that a predestined individual should afterall be cast into hell or that one not predestined should in the end reach heaven then God



would have been mistaken in his foreknowledge of future events He would no longer beomniscient Hence the Good Shepherd says of his sheep (John 1028) And I give themlife everlasting and they shalt not perish forever and no man shall pluck them out of myhand But we must beware of conceiving the immutability of predestination either asfatalistic in the sense of the Mahommedan kismet or as a convenient pretext for idleresignation to inexorable fate Gods infallible foreknowledge cannot force upon manunavoidable coercion for the simple reason that it is at bottom nothing else than theeternal vision of the future historical actuality God foresees the free activity of a manprecisely as that individual is willing to shape it Whatever may promote the work of oursalvation whether our own prayers and good works or the prayers of others in our behalfis eo ipso included in the infallible foreknowledge of God and consequently in the scopeof predestination (cf St Thomas I Q xxiii a 8) It is in such practical considerationsthat the ascetical maxim (falsely ascribed to St Augustine) originated Si non espraeligdestinatus fac ut praeligdestineris (if you are not predestined so act that you may bepredestined) Strict theology it is true cannot approve this bold saying except in so far asthe original decree of predestination is conceived as at first a hypothetical decree which isafterwards changed to an absolute and irrevocable decree by the prayers good works andperseverance of him who is predestined according to the words of the Apostle (2 Peter110) Wherefore brethren labour the more that by good works you may make sureyour calling and election

Gods unerring foreknowledge and foreordaining is designated in the Bible by thebeautiful figure of the Book of Life (liber vitaelig to biblion tes zoes) This book of life is alist which contains the names of all the elect and admits neither additions nor erasuresFrom the Old Testament (cf Exodus 3232 Psalm 6829) this symbol was taken over intothe New by Christ and His Apostle Paul (cf Luke 1020 Hebrews 1223) and enlargedupon by the Evangelist John in his Apocalypse [cf Apocalypse 2127 There shall notenter into it anything defiled but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb(cf Revelation 138 2015)] The correct explanation of this symbolic book is given bySt Augustine (City of God XX13) Praeligscientia Dei quaelig non potest falli liber vitaelig est(the foreknowledge of God which cannot err is the book of life) However as intimatedby the Bible there exists a second more voluminous book in which are entered not onlythe names of the elect but also the names of all the faithful on earth Such a metaphoricalbook is supposed wherever the possibility is hinted at that a name though entered mightagain be stricken out [cf Apocalypse 35 and I will not blot out his name out of the bookof life (cf Exodus 3233)] The name will be mercilessly cancelled when a Christiansinks into infidelity or godlessness and dies in his sin Finally there is a third class ofbooks wherein the wicked deeds and the crimes of individual sinners are written and bywhich the reprobate will be judged on the last day to be cast into hell (cf Revelation2012) and the books were opened and the dead were judged by those things whichwere written in the books according to their works It was this grand symbolism ofDivine omniscience and justice that inspired the soulshystirring verse of the Dies irœ



according to which we shall all be judged out of a book Liber scriptus proferetur in quototum continetur Regarding the book of life cf St Thomas I Q xxiv a 1mdash3 andHeinrichshyGutberlet Dogmat Theologie VIII (Mainz 1897) section 453

(2) The second quality of predestination the definiteness of the number of the electfollows naturally from the first For if the eternal counsel of God regarding the predestinedis unchangeable then the number of the predestined must likewise be unchangeable anddefinite subject neither to additions nor to cancellations Anything indefinite in thenumber would eo ipso imply a lack of certitude in Gods knowledge and would destroyHis omniscience Furthermore the very nature of omniscience demands that not only theabstract number of the elect but also the individuals with their names and their entirecareer on earth should be present before the Divine mind from all eternity Naturallyhuman curiosity is eager for definite information about the absolute as well as the relativenumber of the elect How high should the absolute number be estimated But it would beidle and useless to undertake calculations and to guess at so and so many millions orbillions of predestined St Thomas (I Q xxiii a 7) mentions the opinion of sometheologians that as many men will be saved as there are fallen angels while others heldthat the number of predestined will equal the number of the faithful angels

Lastly there were optimists who combining these two opinions into a third made thetotal of men saved equal to the unnumbered myriads of berated spirits But even grantedthat the principle of our calculation is correct no mathematician would be able to figureout the absolute number on a basis so vague since the number of angels and demons is anunknown quantity to us Hence the best answer rightly remarks St Thomas is to sayGod alone knows the number of his elect By relative number is meant the numericalrelation between the predestined and the reprobate Will the majority of the human race besaved or will they be damned Will oneshyhalf be damned the other half saved In thisquestion the opinion of the rigorists is opposed to the milder view of the optimistsPointing to several texts of the Bible (Matthew 714 2214) and to sayings of greatspiritual doctors the rigorists defend as probable the thesis that not only most Christiansbut also most Catholics are doomed to eternal damnation Almost repulsive in its tone isMassillons sermon on the small number of the elect Yet even St Thomas (loc cit a 7)asserted Pauciores sunt qui salvantur (only the smaller number of men are saved) Anda few years ago when the Jesuit P Castelein (Le rigorisme le nombre des eacutelus et ladoctrine du salut 2nd ed Brussels 1899) impugned this theory with weighty argumentshe was sharply opposed by the Redemptorist P Godts (De paucitate salvandorum quiddocuerunt sancti 3rd ed Brussels 1899) That the number of the elect cannot be so verysmall is evident from the Apocalypse (vii 9) When one hears the rigorists one is temptedto repeat Dieringers bitter remark Can it be that the Church actually exists in order topeople hell The truth is that neither the one nor the other can be proved from Scriptureor Tradition (cf HeinrichshyGutberlet Dogmat Theologie Mainz 1897 VIII 363 sq)But supplementing these two sources by arguments drawn from reason we may safely



defend as probable the opinion that the majority of Christians especially of Catholics willbe saved If we add to this relative number the overwhelming majority of nonshyChristians(Jews Mahommedans heathens) then Gener (Theol dogmat scholast Rome 1767II 242 sq) is probably right when he assumes the salvation of half of the human race lestit should be said to the shame and offence of the Divine majesty and clemency that the[future] Kingdom of Satan is larger than the Kingdom of Christ (cf W Schneider Dasandere Leben 9th ed Paderborn 1908 476 sq)

(3) The third quality of predestination its subjective uncertainty is intimately connectedwith its objective immutability We know not whether we are reckoned among thepredestined or not All we can say is God alone knows it When the Reformersconfounding predestination with the absolute certainty of salvation demanded of theChristian an unshaken faith in his own predestination if be wished to be saved theCouncil of Trent opposed to this presumptuous belief the canon (Sess VI can xv) S qd hominem renatum et justificatum teneri ex fide ad credendum se certo esse in numeropraeligdestinatorum anathema sit (if any one shall say that the regenerated and justified manis bound as a matter of faith to believe that he is surely of the number of the predestinedlet him be anathema) In truth such a presumption is not only irrational but alsounscriptural (cf 1 Corinthians 44 927 1012 Philippians 212) Only a privaterevelation such as was vouchsafed to the penitent thief on the cross could give us thecertainty of faith hence the Tridentine Council insists (loc cit cap xii) Nam nisi exspeciali revelatione sciri non potest quos Deus sibi elegerit (for apart from a specialrevelation it cannot be known whom God has chosen) However the Church condemnsonly that blasphemous presumption which boasts of a faithlike certainty in matters ofpredestination To say that there exist probable signs of predestination which exclude allexcessive anxiety is not against her teaching The following are some of the criteria setdown by the theologians purity of heart pleasure in prayer patience in suffering frequentreception of the sacraments love of Christ and His Church devotion to the Mother ofGod etc

The reprobation of the damned

An unconditional and positive predestination of the reprobate not only to hell but also tosin was taught especially by Calvin (Instit III c xxi xxiii xxiv) His followers inHolland split into two sects the Supralapsarians and the Infralapsarians the latter ofwhom regarded original sin as the motive of positive condemnation while the former(with Calvin) disregarded this factor and derived the Divine decree of reprobation fromGods inscrutable will alone Infralapsarianism was also held by Jansenius (De gratiaChristi l X c ii xi sq) who taught that God had preordained from the massa damnataof mankind one part to eternal bliss the other to eternal pain decreeing at the same timeto deny to those positively damned the necessary graces by which they might be convertedand keep the commandments for this reason he said Christ died only for the predestined(cf Denzinger Enchiridion n 1092shy6) Against such blasphemous teachings the



Second Synod of Orange in 529 and again the Council of Trent had pronounced theecclesiastical anathema (cf Denzinger nn 200 827) This condemnation was perfectlyjustified because the heresy of Predestinarianism in direct opposition to the clearest textsof Scripture denied the universality of Gods salvific will as well as of redemptionthrough Christ (cf Wisdom 1124 sq 1 Timothy 21 sq) nullified Gods mercy towardsthe hardened sinner (Ezekiel 3311 Romans 24 2 Peter 39) did away with the freedomof the will to do good or evil and hence with the merit of good actions and the guilt of thebad and finally destroyed the Divine attributes of wisdom justice veracity goodness andsanctity The very spirit of the Bible should have sufficed to deter Calvin from a falseexplanation of Rom ix and his successor Beza from the exegetical maltreatment of 1Peter 27shy8 After weighing all the Biblical texts bearing on eternal reprobation a modernProtestant exegete arrives at the conclusion There is no election to hell parallel to theelection to grace on the contrary the judgment pronounced on the impenitent supposeshuman guilt It is only after Christs salvation has been rejected that reprobationfollows (Realencyk fuumlr prot Theol XV 586 Leipzig 1904) As regards the Fathersof the Church there is only St Augustine who might seem to cause difficulties in theproof from Tradition As a matter of fact he has been claimed by both Calvin andJansenius as favouring their view of the question This is not the place to enter into anexamination of his doctrine on reprobation but that his works contain expressions whichto say the least might be interpreted in the sense of a negative reprobation cannot bedoubted Probably toning down the sharper words of the master his best pupil StProsper in his apology against Vincent of Lerin (Resp ad 12 obj Vincent) thusexplained the spirit of Augustine Voluntate exierunt voluntate ceciderunt et quiapraeligsciti sunt casuri non sunt praeligdestinati essent autem praeligdestinati si essent reversuri etin sanctitate remansuri ac per hoc praeligdestinatio Dei multis est causa standi nemini estcausa labendi (of their own will they went out of their own will they fell and becausetheir fall was foreknown they were not predestined they would however be predestined ifthey were going to return and persevere in holiness hence Gods predestination is formany the cause of perseverance for none the cause of falling away) Regarding Traditioncf Petavius De Deo X 7 sq Jacquin in Revue de lhistoire eccleacutesiastique 1904 266sq 1906 269 sq 725 sq

We may now briefly summarize the whole Catholic doctrine which is in harmony withour reason as well as our moral sentiments According to the doctrinal decisions of generaland particular synods God infallibly foresees and immutably preordains from eternity allfuture events (cf Denzinger n 1784) all fatalistic necessity however being barred andhuman liberty remaining intact (Denz n 607) Consequently man is free whether heaccepts grace and does good or whether he rejects it and does evil (Denz n 797) Just asit is Gods true and sincere will that all men no one excepted shall obtain eternalhappiness so too Christ has died for all (Denz n 794) not only for the predestined(Denz n 1096) or for the faithful (Denz n 1294) though it is true that in reality not allavail themselves of the benefits of redemption (Denz n 795) Though God preordained



both eternal happiness and the good works of the elect (Denz n 322) yet on the otherhand He predestined no one positively to hell much less to sin (Denz nn 200 816)Consequently just as no one is saved against his will (Denz n 1363) so the reprobateperish solely on account of their wickedness (Denz nn 318 321) God foresaw theeverlasting pains of the impious from all eternity and preordained this punishment onaccount of their sins (Denz n 322) though He does not fail therefore to hold out thegrace of conversion to sinners (Denz n 807) or pass over those who are not predestined(Denz n 827) As long as the reprobate live on earth they may be accounted trueChristians and members of the Church just as on the other hand the predestined may beoutside the pale of Christianity and of the Church (Denz nn 628 631) Without specialrevelation no one can know with certainty that he belongs to the number of the elect(Denz nn 805 sq 825 sq)

Theological controversies

Owing to the infallible decisions laid down by the Church every orthodox theory onpredestination and reprobation must keep within the limits marked out by the followingtheses (a) At least in the order of execution in time (in ordine executionis) the meritoriousworks of the predestined are the partial cause of their eternal happiness (b) hell cannoteven in the order of intention (in ordine intentionis) have been positively decreed to thedamned even though it is inflicted on them in time as the just punishment of theirmisdeeds (c) there is absolutely no predestination to sin as a means to eternal damnationGuided by these principles we shall briefly sketch and examine three theories put forwardby Catholic theologians

The theory of predestination ante praeligvisa merita

This theory championed by all Thomists and a few Molinists (as Bellarmine FranciscoSuaacuterez Francis de Lugo) asserts that God by an absolute decree and without regard toany future supernatural merits predestined from all eternity certain men to the glory ofheaven and then in consequence of this decree decided to give them all the gracesnecessary for its accomplishment In the order of time however the Divine decree iscarried out in the reverse order the predestined receiving first the graces preappointed tothem and lastly the glory of heaven as the reward of their good works Two qualitiestherefore characterize this theory first the absoluteness of the eternal decree and secondthe reversing of the relation of grace and glory in the two different orders of eternalintention (ordo intentionis) and execution in time (ordo executionis) For while grace (andmerit) in the order of eternal intention is nothing else than the result or effect of gloryabsolutely decreed yet in the order of execution it becomes the reason and partial causeof eternal happiness as is required by the dogma of the meritoriousness of good works(see MERIT) Again celestial glory is the thing willed first in the order of eternal intentionand then is made the reason or motive for the graces offered while in the order ofexecution it must be conceived as the result or effect of supernatural merits This



concession is important since without it the theory would be intrinsically impossible andtheologically untenable

But what about the positive proof The theory can find decisive evidence in Scripture onlyon the supposition that predestination to heavenly glory is unequivocally mentioned in theBible as the Divine motive for the special graces granted to the elect Now although thereare several texts (eg Matthew 2422 sq Acts 1348 and others) which might withoutstraining be interpreted in this sense yet these passages lose their imagined force in viewof the fact that other explanations of which there is no lack are either possible or evenmore probable The ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in particular is claimed bythe advocates of absolute predestination as that classical passage wherein St Paul seemsto represent the eternal happiness of the elect not only as the work of Gods purest mercybut as an act of the most arbitrary will so that grace faith justification must be regardedas sheer effects of an absolute Divine decree (cf Romans 918 Therefore he hath mercyon whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth) Now it is rather daring to quote oneof the most difficult and obscure passages of the Bible as a classical text and then tobase on it an argument for bold speculation To be more specific it is impossible to drawthe details of the picture in which the Apostle compares God to the potter who hathpower over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another untodishonour (Romans 921) without falling into the Calvinistic blasphemy that Godpredestined some men to hell and sin just as positively as he preshyelected others to eternallife It is not even admissible to read into the Apostles thought a negative reprobation ofcertain men For the primary intention of the Epistle to the Romans is to insist on thegratuity of the vocation to Christianity and to reject the Jewish presumption that thepossession of the Mosaic Law and the carnal descent from Abraham gave to the Jews anessential preference over the heathens But the Epistle has nothing to do with thespeculative question whether or not the free vocation to grace must be considered as thenecessary result of eternal predestination to celestial glory [cf Franzelin De Deo unothes lxv (Rome 1883)]

It is just as difficult to find in the writings of the Fathers a solid argument for an absolutepredestination The only one who might be cited with some semblance of truth is StAugustine who stands however almost alone among his predecessors and successorsNot even his most faithful pupils Prosper and Fulgentius followed their master in all hisexaggerations But a problem so deep and mysterious which does not belong to thesubstance of Faith and which to use the expression of Pope Celestine I (d 432) isconcerned with profundiores difficilioresque partes incurrentium quaeligstionum (cf Denzn 142) cannot be decided on the sole authority of Augustine Moreover the true opinionof the African doctor is a matter of dispute even among the best authorities so that allparties claim him for their conflicting views [cf O Rottmanner Der Augustinismus(Munich 1892) Pfuumllf Zur Praumldestinationslehre des hl Augustinus in InnsbruckerZeitschrift fuumlr kath Theologie 1893 483 sq] As to the unsuccessful attempt made by



Gonet and Billuart to prove absolute predestination ante praeligvisa merita by an argumentfrom reason see Pohle Dogmatik II 4th ed Paderborn 1909 443 sq

The theory of the negative reprobation of the damned

What deters us most strongly from embracing the theory just discussed is not the fact thatit cannot be dogmatically proved from Scripture or Tradition but the logical necessity towhich it binds us of associating an absolute predestination to glory with a reprobationjust as absolute even though it be but negative The wellshymeant efforts of sometheologians (eg Billot) to make a distinction between the two concepts and so to escapethe evil consequences of negative reprobation cannot conceal from closer inspection thehelplessness of such logical artifices Hence the earlier partisans of absolute predestinationnever denied that their theory compelled them to assume for the wicked a parallelnegative reprobation mdash that is to assume that though not positively predestined to hellyet they are absolutely predestined not to go to heaven (cf above I B) While it was easyfor the Thomists to bring this view into logical harmony with their praeligmotio physica thefew Molinists were put to straits to harmonize negative reprobation with their scientiamedia In order to disguise the harshness and cruelty of such a Divine decree thetheologians invented more or less palliative expressions saying that negative reprobationis the absolute will of God to pass over a priori those not predestined to overlookthem not to elect them by no means to admit them into heaven Only Gonet had thecourage to call the thing by its right name exclusion from heaven (exclusio a gloria)

In another respect too the adherents of negative reprobation do not agree amongthemselves namely as to what is the motive of Divine reprobation The rigorists (asAlvarez Estius Sylvius) regard as the motive the sovereign will of God who withouttaking into account possible sins and demerits determined a priori to keep those notpredestined out of heaven though He did not create them for hell

A second milder opinion (eg de Lemos Gotti Gonet) appealing to the Augustiniandoctrine of the massa damnata finds the ultimate reason for the exclusion from heaven inoriginal sin in which God could without being unjust leave as many as He saw fit Thethird and mildest opinion (as Goudin Graveson Billuart) derives reprobation not from adirect exclusion from heaven but from the omission of an effectual election to heaventhey represent God as having decreed ante praeligvisa merita to leave those not predestinedin their sinful weakness without denying them the necessary sufficient graces thus theywould perish infallibility (cf Innsbrucker Zeitschrift fuumlr kath Theologie 1879 203 sq)

Whatever view one may take regarding the internal probability of negative reprobation itcannot be harmonized with the dogmatically certain universality and sincerity of Godssalvific will For the absolute predestination of the blessed is at the same time the absolutewill of God not to elect a priori the rest of mankind (Suarez) or which comes to thesame to exclude them from heaven (Gonet) in other words not to save them While



certain Thomists (as Bantildeez Alvarez Gonet) accept this conclusion so far as to degradethe voluntas salvifica to an ineffectual velleitas which conflicts with evident doctrinesof revelation Francisco Suaacuterez labours in the sweat of his brow to safeguard the sincerityof Gods salvific will even towards those who are reprobated negatively But in vainHow can that will to save be called serious and sincere which has decreed from all eternitythe metaphysical impossibility of salvation He who has been reprobated negatively mayexhaust all his efforts to attain salvation it avails him nothing Moreover in order torealize infallibly his decree God is compelled to frustrate the eternal welfare of allexcluded a priori from heaven and to take care that they die in their sins Is this thelanguage in which Holy Writ speaks to us No there we meet an anxious loving fatherwho wills not that any should perish but that all should return to penance (2 Peter 39)Lessius rightly says that it would be indifferent to him whether he was numbered amongthose reprobated positively or negatively for in either case his eternal damnation wouldbe certain The reason for this is that in the present economy exclusion from heavenmeans for adults practically the same thing as damnation A middle state a merely naturalhappiness does not exist

The theory of predestination post praeligvisa merita

This theory defended by the earlier Scholastics (Alexander of Hales Albertus Magnus) aswell as by the majority of the Molinists and warmly recommended by St Francis de Salesas the truer and more attractive opinion has this as its chief distinction that it is freefrom the logical necessity of upholding negative reprobation It differs from predestinationante praeligvisa merita in two points first it rejects the absolute decree and assumes ahypothetical predestination to glory secondly it does not reverse the succession of graceand glory in the two orders of eternal intention and of execution in time but makes glorydepend on merit in eternity as well as in the order of time This hypothetical decree readsas follows Just as in time eternal happiness depends on merit as a condition so I intendedheaven from all eternity only for foreseen merit mdash It is only by reason of the infallibleforeknowledge of these merits that the hypothetical decree is changed into an absoluteThese and no others shall be saved

This view not only safeguards the universality and sincerity of Gods salvific will butcoincides admirably with the teachings of St Paul (cf 2 Timothy 48) who knows thatthere is laid up (reposita est apokeitai) in heaven a crown of justice which the justjudge will render (reddet apodosei) to him on the day of judgment Clearer still is theinference drawn from the sentence of the universal Judge (Matthew 2534 sq) Come yeblessed of my Father possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation ofthe world For I was hungry and you gave me to eat etc As the possessing of theKingdom of Heaven in time is here linked to the works of mercy as a condition so thepreparation of the Kingdom of Heaven in eternity that is predestination to glory isconceived as dependent on the foreknowledge that good works will be performed Thesame conclusion follows from the parallel sentence of condemnation (Matthew 2541 sq)



Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil andhis angels For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat etc For it is evident that theeverlasting fire of hell can only have been intended from all eternity for sin and demeritthat is for neglect of Christian charity in the same sense in which it is inflicted in timeConcluding a pari we must say the same of eternal bliss This explanation is splendidlyconfirmed by the Greek Fathers Generally speaking the Greeks are the chief authoritiesfor conditional predestination dependent on foreseen merits The Latins too are sounanimous on this question that St Augustine is practically the only adversary in theOccident St Hilary (In Ps lxiv n 5) expressly describes eternal election as proceedingfrom the choice of merit (ex meriti delectu) and St Ambrose teaches in his paraphraseof Rom viii 29 (De fide V vi 83) Non enim ante praeligdestinavit quam praeligscivit sedquorum merita praeligscivit eorum praeligmia praeligdestinavit (He did not predestine before Heforeknew but for those whose merits He foresaw He predestined the reward) Toconclude no one can accuse us of boldness if we assert that the theory here presented hasa firmer basis in Scripture and Tradition than the opposite opinion

Sources

Besides the works quoted cf PETER LOMBARD Sent I dist 40shy41 ST THOMAS IQ xxiii RUIZ De praeligdest et reprobatione (Lyons 1828) RAMIacuteREZ De praeligd etreprob (2 vols Alcalaacute 1702) PETAVIUS De Deo IXmdashX IDEM De incarnationeXIII LESSIUS De perfectionibus moribusque divinis XIV 2 IDEM De praeligd etreprob Opusc II (Paris 1878) TOURNELY De Deo qq 22shy23 SCHRADERCommentarii de praeligdestinatione (Vienna 1865) HOSSE De notionibus providentiaeligpraeligdestinationisque in ipsa Sacra Scriptura exhibitis (Bonn 1868) BALTZER Des hlAugustinus Lehre uumlber Praumldestination und Reprobation (Vienna 1871) MANNENS Devoluntate Dei salvifica et praeligdestinatione (Louvain 1883) WEBER Kritische Gesch derExegese des 9 Kap des Roumlmerbriefes (Wuumlrzburg 1889) Besides these monographs cfFRANZELIN De Deo uno (Rome 1883) OSWALD Die Lehre von der Gnade d iGnade Rechtfertigung Gnadenwahl (Paderborn 1885) SIMAR Dogmatik II section126 (Freiburg 1899) TEPE Institut theol III (Paris 1896) SCHEEBENshyATZBERGER Dogmatik IV (Freiburg 1903) PESCH Praeligl Dogmat II (Freiburg1906) VAN NOORT De gratia Christi (Amsterdam 1908) P0HLE Dogmatik II(Paderborn 1909)

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APA citation Pohle J (1911) Predestination In The Catholic Encyclopedia New YorkRobert Appleton Company Retrieved June 6 2015 from New Adventhttpwwwnewadventorgcathen12378ahtm

MLA citation Pohle Joseph Predestination The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 12 NewYork Robert Appleton Company 1911 6 Jun 2015lthttpwwwnewadventorgcathen12378ahtmgt

Transcription This article was transcribed for New Advent by Gary A Mros

Ecclesiastical approbation Nihil Obstat June 1 1911 Remy Lafort STD CensorImprimatur +John Cardinal Farley Archbishop of New York

Contact information The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight My email address iswebmaster at newadventorg Regrettably I cant reply to every letter but I greatlyappreciate your feedback mdash especially notifications about typographical errors andinappropriate ads



term implies only those blessings which lie in the supernatural sphere as sanctifyinggrace all actual graces and among them in particular those which carry with them finalperseverance and a happy death Since in reality only those reach heaven who die in thestate of justification or sanctifying grace all these and only these are numbered among thepredestined strictly so called From this it follows that we must reckon among them alsoall children who die in baptismal grace as well as those adults who after a life stainedwith sin are converted on their deathshybeds The same is true of the numerous predestinedwho though outside the pale of the true Church of Christ yet depart from this life in thestate of grace as catechumens Protestants in good faith schismatics JewsMahommedans and pagans Those fortunate Catholics who at the close of a long life arestill clothed in their baptismal innocence or who after many relapses into mortal sinpersevere till the end are not indeed predestined more firmly but are more signallyfavoured than the lastshynamed categories of persons

But even when mans supernatural end alone is taken into consideration the termpredestination is not always used by theologians in an unequivocal sense This need notastonish us seeing that predestination may comprise wholly diverse things If taken in itsadequate meaning (praeligdestinatio adaeligquata or completa) then predestination refers toboth grace and glory as a whole including not only the election to glory as the end butalso the election to grace as the means the vocation to the faith justification and finalperseverance with which a happy death is inseparably connected This is the meaning ofSt Augustines words (De dono persever xxxv) Praeligdestinatio nihil est aliud quampraeligscientia et praeligparatio beneficiorum quibus certissime liberantur [ie salvantur]quicunque liberantur (Predestination is nothing else than the foreknowledge andforeordaining of those gracious gifts which make certain the salvation of all who aresaved) But the two concepts of grace and glory may be separated and each of them bemade the object of a special predestination The result is the soshycalled inadequatepredestination (praeligdestinatio inadaeligquata or incompleta) either to grace alone or to gloryalone Like St Paul Augustine too speaks of an election to grace apart from the celestialglory (loc cit xix) Praeligdestinatio est gratiaelig praeligparatio gratia vero jam ipsa donatio Itis evident however that this (inadequate) predestination does not exclude the possibilitythat one chosen to grace faith and justification goes nevertheless to hell Hence we maydisregard it since it is at bottom simply another term for the universality of Gods salvificwill and of the distribution of grace among all men (see GRACE) Similarly eternal electionto glory alone that is without regard to the preceding merits through grace must bedesignated as (inadequate) predestination Though the possibility of the latter is at onceclear to the reflecting mind yet its actuality is strongly contested by the majority oftheologians as we shall see further on (under sect III) From these explanations it is plainthat the real dogma of eternal election is exclusively concerned with adequatepredestination which embraces both grace and glory and the essence of which St Thomas(I Q xxiii a 2) defines as Praeligparatio gratiaelig in praeligsenti et gloriaelig in futuro (theforeordination of grace in the present and of glory in the future)




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