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Predestination: Biblical and Theological Paths
Predestination has been the subject of perennial controversy among Christians, although in recent years theologians have shied away from it as a divisive and unedifying topic. In this book Matthew Levering argues that Christian theological reflection needs to continue to return to the topic of predestination, for two
Firstly, predestinarian doctrine is taught in the New Testament. Reflecting the importance of the topic in many strands of Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament authors teach predestination in a manner that explains why Christian theologians continually recur to this topic.
Secondly, the doctrine of predestination provides a way for Christian theologians to reflect upon two fundamental affirmations of biblical revelation. The first is God's love, without any deficiency or crimp, for each and every rational creature; the second is that God from eternity brings about the purpose for which he created us, and that he permits some rational creatures freely and permanently to rebel against his love. When theologians reflect on these two key biblical affirmations, they generally try to unite them in a logical synthesis. Instead, Levering argues, it is necessary to allow for the truth of each side of the mystery, without trying to blend the two affirmations into one.
Levering pairs his discussion of Scripture with ecumenically oriented discussion of the doctrine of predestination in through the ages through the figures of Origen, Augustine, Boethius, John of Damascus, Eriugena, Aquinas, Ockham, Catherine of Siena, Calvin, Molina, Francis de Sales, Leibniz, Bulgakov, Barth, Maritain, and Balthasar. He concludes with a constructive chapter regarding the future of the doctrine.
Firstly, predestinarian doctrine is taught in the New Testament. Reflecting the importance of the topic in many strands of Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament authors teach predestination in a manner that explains why Christian theologians continually recur to this topic.
Secondly, the doctrine of predestination provides a way for Christian theologians to reflect upon two fundamental affirmations of biblical revelation. The first is God's love, without any deficiency or crimp, for each and every rational creature; the second is that God from eternity brings about the purpose for which he created us, and that he permits some rational creatures freely and permanently to rebel against his love. When theologians reflect on these two key biblical affirmations, they generally try to unite them in a logical synthesis. Instead, Levering argues, it is necessary to allow for the truth of each side of the mystery, without trying to blend the two affirmations into one.
Levering pairs his discussion of Scripture with ecumenically oriented discussion of the doctrine of predestination in through the ages through the figures of Origen, Augustine, Boethius, John of Damascus, Eriugena, Aquinas, Ockham, Catherine of Siena, Calvin, Molina, Francis de Sales, Leibniz, Bulgakov, Barth, Maritain, and Balthasar. He concludes with a constructive chapter regarding the future of the doctrine.
- GenresTheologyChristianity
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 2011
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About the author
Matthew Levering
128 books60 followersMatthew Levering (PhD, Boston College) is professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Ezra & Nehemiah in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. He is also coauthor of Holy People, Holy Land and Knowing the Love of Christ.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 24, 2017
As Levering demonstrates in this short work, predestination has been a subject of significant, perhaps inescapable controversy since the earliest days of the Church. Levering selects sixteen theologians of significance from Origen to Balthasar and presents their views sequentially, bookending them with a review of the Biblical witness and his own thoughts on the matter.
Levering adumbrates the horns of the dilemma in clear terms. He points out that treatments of predestination in Christian theology generally tend toward or imply one of the following heterodoxies: (1) that all are saved by God, (2) that God does not will the salvation of all, or (3) that human action superadded to grace is necessary to salvation. If the scriptures affirm that grace encompasses the whole act of salvation, and that God desires none should perish, then will not all be saved? If however we affirm that some are lost, we are seemingly forced to decide whether this is because God declines to grant them grace (deficiency in universality), or whether because humans have independent ability to accept or resist grace (deficiency in efficacy). The post-Nicene Church marginalized (1), and since the Patristic age the question of predestination has been a battleground between, on the one hand, the doctrines of Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin, whose emphasis on the total sufficiency of grace resulted in struggles with (2), and, on the other hand, various dissenters and the eastern tradition of John of Damascus, which proved susceptible to (3).
Levering, a Catholic, seems to favor the Augustinian reading of St Paul, but he offers even radically different views, like those of Bulgakov, a charitable hearing. His conclusion is that we must hold in tension the two scriptural truths that (1) God’s love is altogether universal and (2) God’s providence is altogether without remainder. To him, that both of these can be true and yet some are damned is a paradox and a mystery that must be maintained, and he points to St Catherine of Siena and St Francis de Sales as examples of this balance. Levering’s favoring of two saints not typically counted great theologians is interesting, and no doubt some will find his ultimate answer a cop-out. Rather more disappointing to me is how brief and facile (if polite) his responses often are to other views.
This brings me to the only major problem with this book, which relates to length and focus. For a work of such scope and ambition, it is on the short side. If Levering wanted chiefly to argue his preference for paradox, he probably should have reduced the number of interlocutors to a few representatives of the dispute to put his own position in relief. If Levering’s aim was to present the scope of historical Christian views on predestination, he probably should have spent more time unpacking his interlocutors’ views on their own terms and examining the relations between them. As it is, most of the book is comprised of brief summaries, concluded by Levering arguing his own position in a mere twenty-five pages.
That said, as an accessible, concise, fair-minded introduction to a complex topic, Predestination: Biblical and Theological Paths is superb and recommended.
Levering adumbrates the horns of the dilemma in clear terms. He points out that treatments of predestination in Christian theology generally tend toward or imply one of the following heterodoxies: (1) that all are saved by God, (2) that God does not will the salvation of all, or (3) that human action superadded to grace is necessary to salvation. If the scriptures affirm that grace encompasses the whole act of salvation, and that God desires none should perish, then will not all be saved? If however we affirm that some are lost, we are seemingly forced to decide whether this is because God declines to grant them grace (deficiency in universality), or whether because humans have independent ability to accept or resist grace (deficiency in efficacy). The post-Nicene Church marginalized (1), and since the Patristic age the question of predestination has been a battleground between, on the one hand, the doctrines of Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin, whose emphasis on the total sufficiency of grace resulted in struggles with (2), and, on the other hand, various dissenters and the eastern tradition of John of Damascus, which proved susceptible to (3).
Levering, a Catholic, seems to favor the Augustinian reading of St Paul, but he offers even radically different views, like those of Bulgakov, a charitable hearing. His conclusion is that we must hold in tension the two scriptural truths that (1) God’s love is altogether universal and (2) God’s providence is altogether without remainder. To him, that both of these can be true and yet some are damned is a paradox and a mystery that must be maintained, and he points to St Catherine of Siena and St Francis de Sales as examples of this balance. Levering’s favoring of two saints not typically counted great theologians is interesting, and no doubt some will find his ultimate answer a cop-out. Rather more disappointing to me is how brief and facile (if polite) his responses often are to other views.
This brings me to the only major problem with this book, which relates to length and focus. For a work of such scope and ambition, it is on the short side. If Levering wanted chiefly to argue his preference for paradox, he probably should have reduced the number of interlocutors to a few representatives of the dispute to put his own position in relief. If Levering’s aim was to present the scope of historical Christian views on predestination, he probably should have spent more time unpacking his interlocutors’ views on their own terms and examining the relations between them. As it is, most of the book is comprised of brief summaries, concluded by Levering arguing his own position in a mere twenty-five pages.
That said, as an accessible, concise, fair-minded introduction to a complex topic, Predestination: Biblical and Theological Paths is superb and recommended.
April 30, 2025
The conversation about predestination frequently resembles a sports game - one side lobs verses about the unconditional love of God over the net (Ezekiel 33:11, Luke 11:10, 1 Timothy 2:4, Matthew 18:12) while the other returns with powerful assertions about unilateral sovereign election (Romans 8:30, Ephesians 1, John 17:2). And more often than not large chunks of the biblical witness are excluded from both sides. There is a lot on the line (God's innocence, human free will, sovereign authority, etc.), and the difficulty of maintaining all scriptural truths in proper tension causes many to despair. Levering enters this conversation not as one promising a tidy logical solution, but rather offering a historically informed embrace of the two truths of God's love and sovereignty. Despite the manifold contradictions they seem to present to each other, he resolves, alongside Francis de Sales and Catherine of Siena, not to try to shove out either one in favor of the other.
The book is primarily descriptive, covering significant thinkers like Augustine, Eriugena, Occam, Origen, John Damascene, Balthasar, and Maritain in a cursory overview of the theological history of predestination. Levering's engagement with them is rather terse and left me wanting fuller expositions and defenses, but was helpful nonetheless as an introduction to some theologies I was less familiar with (Maritain and Eriugena especially). Though he tends to stay dissatisfied with most positions, the bulk of his presentation is fair-minded and lets the theologians on offer freely speak. The cursory coverage, however, left much (all out too much) to be explored, causing me to be dissatisfied with most of the systems he played out. His final constructive section admirably seeks to defend the providential theology of Augustine and Aquinas and the idea of divine permission, while still holding to the universal love and goodness of God ( embracing the mystery propoundex by de Sales and Catherine of Siena). Ultimately an incredible dissonance (exceeding productive tension and appropriate respect for rational constraint) seems to remain, and thus I am not content with such a position, but I could not possibly fault anyone for taking it.
Every Christian must confront the challenge of reconciling divine love and providential ordination. Levering's books does well to highlight the strength of the challenge, by highlighting the insufficiencies of a dozen or so perfectly coherent systematic theologies. Calvin illustrates this problem best. He collapses permissive and active will, makes nonsense of of divine precepts (by arguing that God wills against something through his law and yet often wills that same prohibited act in reality), and admits that God has seemingly contradictory wills (how event he greatest being could simultaneously desire damnation and the salvation of all is beyond me), yet he presents a mostly coherent self-contained system. Theologies of predestination tend to be this way - coherent, yet inattentive to critical pieces of Christ's message. How we can imagine a Christ who weeps for Jerusalem and passes over the damned is evidently an immense challenge for any mind.
Thus, we are left with a daunting and often discouraging conundrum. But the size of the challenge may indicate that the terms of the discussion need to be shifted beyond what Levering and (his representations) of past theologians restrict them to. I tend to think such efforts are best conducted in the sophiology of Bulgakov and the theo-dramas of Balthasar and Barth. Likely, they do not have the exact vocabulary pinned down, but their creative directions seem the most promising. We can only hope that future work will continue to work closer to a productive tension.
The book is primarily descriptive, covering significant thinkers like Augustine, Eriugena, Occam, Origen, John Damascene, Balthasar, and Maritain in a cursory overview of the theological history of predestination. Levering's engagement with them is rather terse and left me wanting fuller expositions and defenses, but was helpful nonetheless as an introduction to some theologies I was less familiar with (Maritain and Eriugena especially). Though he tends to stay dissatisfied with most positions, the bulk of his presentation is fair-minded and lets the theologians on offer freely speak. The cursory coverage, however, left much (all out too much) to be explored, causing me to be dissatisfied with most of the systems he played out. His final constructive section admirably seeks to defend the providential theology of Augustine and Aquinas and the idea of divine permission, while still holding to the universal love and goodness of God ( embracing the mystery propoundex by de Sales and Catherine of Siena). Ultimately an incredible dissonance (exceeding productive tension and appropriate respect for rational constraint) seems to remain, and thus I am not content with such a position, but I could not possibly fault anyone for taking it.
Every Christian must confront the challenge of reconciling divine love and providential ordination. Levering's books does well to highlight the strength of the challenge, by highlighting the insufficiencies of a dozen or so perfectly coherent systematic theologies. Calvin illustrates this problem best. He collapses permissive and active will, makes nonsense of of divine precepts (by arguing that God wills against something through his law and yet often wills that same prohibited act in reality), and admits that God has seemingly contradictory wills (how event he greatest being could simultaneously desire damnation and the salvation of all is beyond me), yet he presents a mostly coherent self-contained system. Theologies of predestination tend to be this way - coherent, yet inattentive to critical pieces of Christ's message. How we can imagine a Christ who weeps for Jerusalem and passes over the damned is evidently an immense challenge for any mind.
Thus, we are left with a daunting and often discouraging conundrum. But the size of the challenge may indicate that the terms of the discussion need to be shifted beyond what Levering and (his representations) of past theologians restrict them to. I tend to think such efforts are best conducted in the sophiology of Bulgakov and the theo-dramas of Balthasar and Barth. Likely, they do not have the exact vocabulary pinned down, but their creative directions seem the most promising. We can only hope that future work will continue to work closer to a productive tension.
October 29, 2021
A very interesting overview of the history of the doctrine of predestination, going as far back as Second-Temple Judaism and reaching to the 20th century. It is short and to the point, which is good for an exploration like this. I enjoyed it. However, his brief arguments are unlikely to dissuade you of your particular position, if you have any. In particular, I think Calvin's position is not well addressed.
February 5, 2013
A modest contribution to a heated, mind-dizzying subject. The book is largely descriptive, with very brief critical comments appended at the end of his expository sections. The constructive part is a mere 20 pages, half of which is taken up with thin exegetical work. I appreciate the interaction with David Bentley Hart. One must experience the full force of his blows to neoscholastic, banezian determinism.
His retrieval of Catherine de Siena and his interaction with Francis de Sales is interesting and promises more than what is actually delivered. A little bit of courage to sharpen the paradox would have been welcomed and praiseworthy. As it stands, Levering's work deserves only our sincerest sympathy (no condescension intended)
His retrieval of Catherine de Siena and his interaction with Francis de Sales is interesting and promises more than what is actually delivered. A little bit of courage to sharpen the paradox would have been welcomed and praiseworthy. As it stands, Levering's work deserves only our sincerest sympathy (no condescension intended)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews