Predestination The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine

Predestination - the idea that God foreordains one's eternal destiny - is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. In this groundbreaking history the first of its kind Peter Thuesen shows that far from being only about the age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will the debate over predestination is inseparable from other central Christian beliefs and practices - the efficacy of the sacraments the existence of purgatory and hell the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs - and has fueled theological conflicts across denominations for centuries. Thuesen reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans and shows how even contemporary megachurches preach a purpose-driven outlook that owes much to the doctrine of predestination. For anyone wanting a fuller understanding of religion in America Predestination offers both historical context on a doctrine that reaches back 1600 years and a fresh perspective on today's denominational landscape.

Predestination - the idea that God foreordains one's eternal destiny - is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. In this groundbreaking history the first of its kind Peter Thuesen shows that far from being only about the age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will the debate over predestination is inseparable from other central Christian beliefs and practices - the efficacy of the sacraments the existence of purgatory and hell the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs - and has fueled theological conflicts across denominations for centuries. Thuesen reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans and shows how even contemporary megachurches preach a purpose-driven outlook that owes much to the doctrine of predestination. For anyone wanting a fuller understanding of religion in America Predestination offers both historical context on a doctrine that reaches back 1600 years and a fresh perspective on today's denominational landscape.

Alternative names:

• ISBN Predestination ( The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine ) book English Paperback 328 pages
• ISBN Predestination ( The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine ) book English Paperback 328 pages