Catholic church predestination theory

Answer 1

Predestination is a theory by Calvinists, not Catholics. In this theory, Calvinists believe that the souls who would be saved have been predestined. This is contrary to the Catholic belief where all souls can be saved if they live their life according to God's will.

Answer 2

No, Catholics do not believe in predestination as defined by protestants. While God knows everything, he does not choose for us the path that we will follow. That is called free will. He knows in advance what path we will choose but it is because we chose the path and it was not by His will.

Roman Catholic AnswerYes, Roman Catholics have always believed in predestination, in it's widest sense it is the eternal decision of God; in a narrower sense it is the supernatural final destination of rational creatures (the angels and people), and in its strictest sense it is God's eternal decision to assume those creatures into heaven. This doctrine is proposed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the Church as a truth of revelation and attested by St. Paul in Romans 8:29-30. The main difficulty in the doctrine is whether God's eternal decision has been taken with or without consideration of human freedom. Catholic teaching holds that predestination by God does not deny the human free will. There have been numerous theories on how to reconcile the two but all admit with St. Paul (Romans 11:33 that predestination is an unfathomable mystery. extracted from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

For more information please read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 257, 600, 1007, 2012, 2783, 2823.

Answer 3

Roman Catholic AnswerI am assuming that the question should be "Do Catholics believe in predestination?" The answer to that question is yes, this doctrine is proposed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the Church as a truth of revelation. The doctrine of predestination is clearly attested by St. Paul (Romans 8:29-30). The main difficulty is when the doctrine of predestination (which refers to God's eternal decision to assume certain rational creatures into heaven) is looked at without consideration of human freedom. God never denies the human free will. Predestination is an unfathomable mystery. We must believe that God wills all of us to go to heaven; and that many will not make it to heaven because of their own free will that God has granted to them. Predestination does not mean that God wills anyone to eternal damnation, this is an error (a heresy) know as "double predestination" taught by Calvin. In other words, predestination means that God predestined everyone to be saved, but that He gives them their free choice to accept this or not. The fact that God already knows what your decision is going to be is because He is eternal and we are in time. In other words, you may know that it is going to be dark tonight, but that does not mean that you caused the world to be dark. Bottom line? God wills us all to go to heaven, some don't; the fact that some don't is NOT God's Will, but He has nevertheless predestined it-it is beyond our human understanding.

Answer 4

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Catholic AnswerYes, predestination is the clear and universal teaching of the Church, HOWEVER, predestination is NOT the same thing as the teaching of the Calvinist - that is a heresy, Calvin taught "double predestination", in other words, some people are predestined to hell: that is heresy. In your question you ask if predestination determines the ultimate fate of an individual - the answer to that is NO. God, in His Love and Mercy, allows each of us the freedom to CHOOSE our ultimate fate. Thus predestination is based on the fact that with God there is no time, no change, and He knows everything, including what we will choose before we were ever created. This is a great mystery, but, nevertheless, His predestination includes our human freedom, Fr. Hardon attempts to explain below, and three paragraphs from the Catechism that touch on this predestination. The important thing to remember is that our final destination - for eternity - is entirely our decision, which God, in His infinite Love for each of us, fully allows us to make.

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from

Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Predestination. [Complete predestination is the divine preparation of grace in the present life and of glory in the life to come] The doctrine is proposed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the church as a truth of revelation. The reality of predestination is clearly attested by St. Paul: "They are the ones he chose especially long ago and intended to become true images of the son, so that his Son, might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified and with those he justified he shared his glory." (Romans 8:29-30). All element of complete predestination are given: the activity of God's mind and will, and the principal stages of its realization in time.

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The main difficult in the doctrine of predestination is whether God's eternal decision has been taken with or without consideration of human freedom. Catholic teaching holds that predestination by God does not deny the human free will. Numerous theories have been offered on how to reconcile the two, but all admit with St. Paul (Romans 11:33) that predestination is an unfathomable mystery.

The Catechism covers predestination at length:

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from

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

600

To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination," he includes in it each person's free response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gather together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." (Acts 4:27-38; cf. Ps 2:1-2) For the sake of the accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness. (Cf. Mt26:54; Jn 18:36; 19:11; Acts 3:17-18)

2012

"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him . . . For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Rom 8:28-30)

2782

We can adore the Father because he has caused us to be reborn to his life by adopting us as his children in his only Son: by Baptism, he incorporates us into the body of his Christ; through the anointing of his Spirit who flows from the head to the members, he makes us other "Christs."

God, indeed, who has predestined us to adoption as his sons, has conformed us to the glorious Body of Christ. So then you who have become sharers in Christ are appropriately called "Christs." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. Myst. 3, 1: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca {Paris, 1857-1866} 33, 1088A.

The new man, reborn and restored to his God by grace, says first of all, "Father!" because he has now begun to be a son. (St. Cyprian, De Dom. Orat. 9: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina {Paris: 1841-1855} 4, 525A.)