Predestination

​Predestination is a Calvinist doctrine that God decides, independently of a person’s exercise of freedom and manifestation of good will, who will be saved and who will be damned. According to this system people can do nothing at all about their salvation, all people deserve to damned by justice but some are saved as a favor to manifest the grace of God. John Calvin was a French theologian who left the Catholic Church in 1533. The Catholic Church does not believe in predestination. The Council of Trent taught that all people have been called to the status of adopted children of God. The Catholic tradition insists that God not only makes a declaration of worthiness for salvation but he also transforms us and makes us new creatures in Christ and the Holy Spirit. God offers the gift of inner transformation to all people. No one is excluded beforehand. Only a free choice to reject God’s grace can prevent this.  God wills the salvation of all people and will achieve that purpose unless people choose to reject salvation by their own choice. The Catholic tradition strongly emphasizes the freedom of people to make decisions that matter. Neither heaven nor hell is imposed on anyone by God. Both are states of being which are consequences of their own choices.