Predestination

Predestination is the belief that God has already chosen from before the world was created that some are to be damned to an eternity in Hell, and others are to be rewarded by an eternity in Heaven.

Predestination is a belief held by by Calvinists; according to Calvinists, God's decision is totally arbitrary yet completely just; he does not base his decision on what people have done or will do in the future.

Arminians, on the other hand, hold that God does not so much choose, as infalliably predict, who will believe and, persevering, be saved. Although God knows from the beginning of the world who will go where, the choice is still with the individual.

Lutherans also believe in predestination, but they differ from Calvinists. Lutherans believe in single predestination, in which God only chooses who to save, while those he does not choose are damned not by his intent but merely by default. Calvinists believe in what is called double predestination, that is that God chooses both who to save and who to damn. Calvinists believe that double predestination is the necessary deductive logical position from any form of single predestination that does not include universal salvation.

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