Predestination
Fated from eternity
Predestination is the theological doctrine that God has foreordained all events, especially the eternal fate of human souls.
In Calvinist Christianity, predestination holds that God chose before creation who would be saved and who damned, independent of human action or merit.
The concept raises profound questions about free will: If our fates are predestined, do our choices matter?
More loosely, predestination suggests any outcome that feels inevitable or fated.
Predestinarian Protestant theology
- electionOrganized public voting
- divine decreeGod's official pronouncement
- foreordinationPredetermined divine decree
- salvationDeliverance from harm
sovereignty · grace · reprobation · eternal life · Augustine · damnation · chosen · elect
Preordained future outcome
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
- fortuneWealth or destiny
- lotLarge amount or portion
- doomUnavoidable grim fate
ordained · written · stars · inevitable · inescapable · fated · meant to be · cosmic
Doctrine of causal necessity
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- causationProduction of effects
libertarianism · moral responsibility · agency · choice · theodicy · omniscience · foreknowledge · contingency
Hinting at later events
- prophecyForetelling of future events
- chosen oneProphesied special individual
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
- foretoldPredicted future events
tragic hero · Greek tragedy · Oedipus · Macbeth · self-fulfilling · inevitable · doom · hubris
Calvinism
Predestinarian Protestant theology
- electionOrganized public voting
- divine decreeGod's official pronouncement
- foreordinationPredetermined divine decree
salvation · sovereignty · grace · reprobation · eternal life · Augustine · damnation · chosen · elect · unconditional
kismet
Preordained future outcome
doom · ordained · written · stars · inevitable · inescapable · fated · meant to be · cosmic · predetermined
determinism
Doctrine of causal necessity
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- necessityIndispensable requirement
causation · libertarianism · moral responsibility · agency · choice · theodicy · omniscience · foreknowledge · contingency · inevitability
foreshadowing
Hinting at later events
- prophecyForetelling of future events
- chosen oneProphesied special individual
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
foretold · tragic hero · Greek tragedy · Oedipus · Macbeth · self-fulfilling · inevitable · doom · hubris · fate
Predestinationfree will
Autonomous choice capacity
self-determination · human agency · free choice · autonomy · volition
Predestinationchance
Likelihood of occurrence
randomness · contingency · indeterminism · accident · fortuity
predestine, predestined, predestines, predestining, destination, destine, destined, destines, destiny