Predestination: A Guide for the Perplexed

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The concept of predestination has been an essential topic in theology and philosophy since at least the time of St. Augustine, and is notoriously among the most contentious of religious doctrines. Many people of faith have found the belief that God destines them for eternal joy a source of great comfort, but many others have found it deeply troubling. Above all, those who reject predestination have been motivated by concerns about the doctrines implications for human free will and divine responsibility for evil. Couenhoven addresses these issues by taking up two important questions: What does predestination actually imply, and How have great theologians defended their doctrines of predestination He answers these queries by analyzing why Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Barth found the doctrine attractive, and explaining the different ways in which they combined belief in predestination, freedom, and Gods goodness. The book concludes with a constructive chapter in which Couenhoven defends predestination as a doctrine of hope.

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Couenhoven provides a concise and balanced assessment of the predestinarian tradition and, in the final chapter, offers his own thoughtful if tentative conclusions. * Scottish Journal of Theology *
Couenhoven reminds us why predestination is important: not only is it part of the New Testament and the Christian tradition, but it speaks to all who believe and hope that God is in charge. Like Christs Cross and Resurrection, the doctrine of predestination insists that Gods grace is not defeated by sin and death. This is good news indeeddespite the difficulty in pinning down precisely how predestination should be defined! We are in Couenhovens debt for this wonderfully lucid and engaging introduction to a crucial aspect of the Gospel. * MATTHEW LEVERING, MUNDELEIN SEMINARY, USA *
Jesse Couenhoven has written a book that really is an illuminating guide for those perplexed by the apparently interminable debate about divine predestination and human freedom. He offers deft and agile commentary on major thinkers in the Christian tradition, and provides a thoughtful (and plausible) constructive account of his own at the end of the book. This is a clear, concise, and rewarding study that should be immediately placed in the hands of all those who doubted something helpful could still be written on this vital theological topic. * Oliver D. Crisp, Professor of Systematic Theology, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA; and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology, University of St Andrews, UK. *

Author Bio

Jesse Couenhoven is Assistant Professor of Moral Theology in the Department of Humanities and Augustinian Traditions at Villanova University, USA.