These ideas I am about to present are not meant to answer
every objection to the idea of predestination or election, but to explore some thoughts on
the subject. I am one who spent the first ten years of his Christianity considering the
concept of predestination or election to be ridiculous. But having gone
through a paradigm shift,
the result of much struggling with my thoughts. I want to share some
of those thoughts with you regarding this subject.I cannot think of any other single word that when
spoken in most modern Christian circles will be met with more objection, and ridicule than
the word predestination. Modern Christianity has somehow associated this word with the
most backward of thinking. The reasons this idea is rejected lie in two areas of thought
that are seen and believed by most Christians to be self evident biblical truths. The
first one is the idea or belief that man does and must have a free will, and any idea that
implies that man is not in complete control of his eternal destiny by virtue of his free
will is automatically thrown out. The other one is the idea that God is so loving of a
being, and loves mankind to such a degree that He would never will or predestine any
person to an eternity of punishment. These are powerful propositions, and vast numbers of
modern Christians believe, teach, and preach these ideas as eternal Biblical truths. Many
of them passionately argue against anyone or anything that seems to challenge this
paradigm. And I understand this because I was one of them for many years of my Christian
experience. But ultimately my belief that the bible is inspired by God, that the authors
of the bible actually meant to say specific things under the influence of the Holy Spirit,
and that these specific things they meant to say are the true meaning of scripture, fueled
my desire to pursue biblical truth, and ushered in a shift in my world view.
I am not now going to attempt to show you using what I would call sound biblical
interpretational skills, why I have come to believe in this great doctrine of election.
There are many more brilliant men than I who can do this. But instead I would like to
share with you some thoughts I have wrestled with in reckoning with the problems that the
modern view of the will of man and the Character of God present when approaching the
doctrine of election or predestination.