Article January 1, 2018 Issue

Predestinated for good

Hank Teller

Predestination has long been a troubling concept for a number of people of faith. Sixteenth-century reformer John Calvin himself called this grim theological point of Calvinism the “horrible decree.” This belief that only a select few will receive salvation, while vast numbers will be lost without recourse, no matter what one’s efforts are to reform, was indeed discomforting to many and is still held by some today.

In contrast to this concept, one idea that has been deeply healing is the understanding that God is Love, completely good, a biblical teaching that is made clear in Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, wrote in No and Yes, “What God knows, He also predestinates; and it must be fulfilled” (p. 37). Anything God predestinates for man must be good, because God is Love and God is good.

What does God know about man? Everything! And it’s all good. Genesis, chapter 1, states that God made man (both male and female) in His image and likeness. He gave man dominion and declared that man and His entire creation were very good (see verses 27, 28, 31). This means that God does not create evil or send bad things to His creation to straighten us out. Although evil may appear to be real to the material senses, there is no evil in God’s creation, and there is nothing to straighten out. The inspired Word of the Bible reveals God’s great love and care for man in maintaining man’s likeness to, oneness with, and inseparability from Him.

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