Catholic Views on Predestination

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Hi:

About a year and a half ago I returned to the Catholic Church after almost thirty years in the Evangelical wasteland. I have learned much and love being part of the true Church.

Recently on a Catholic Answers radio broadcast the guest said that there were two main Catholic views on the doctrine of predestination. In light of this, I would appreciate feedback on the following:
  1. In as much detail as is practical, describe the two views debated within Catholicism.
  2. Name some proponents of each view, both ancient and recent.
  3. To what extent does the Church accept/reject Augustine’s view?
Thanks,

Steve Lo Vullo
 
There is an entire thread dedicated to this subject:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=159911

The Catholic Church believes in predestination:

thecatholicfaith.com/Teachings/predestination.htm

thesumma.info/predestination/predestination4.php

There are two basic schools of thought in Catholicism on this issue.

Thomism

romancatholicism.org/akin-tulip.htm

and Molinism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molinism

Both theological schools must hold to all of the following principles:
We shall return to this point. But in any case, from this minimum admitted by all we get three propositions to which all Catholic theologians subscribe. They are: (1) Predestination to the first grace is not because God foresaw our naturally good works, nor is the beginning of salutary acts due to natural causes; (2) predestination to glory is not because God foresaw we would continue in the performance of supernaturally meritorious acts apart from the special gift of final perseverance; (3) complete predestination, in so far as it comprises the whole series of graces from the first up to glorification, is gratuitous or previous to foreseen merits. These three propositions are admitted by all Catholic theologians. But Thomists and Augustinians on the one hand, and Molinists and congruists on the other, differ in their interpretation of them.
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God Bless,
Michael
 
slovullo said:
…
  1. In as much detail as is practical, describe the two views debated within Catholicism.
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There are actually more than two views, but the two most people refer to are those of the Dominicans (Thomist view) and those of the Jesuits (Molinist view).
  1. Name some proponents of each view, both ancient and recent.
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Dominicans (Thomist) - Domingo Banez, OP (1529-1604)
Jesuits (Molinist) - Luis de Molina, SJ (1535-1600)

Sept 5, 1607, Paul V declared that both the Dominicans and the Jesuits were free to hold and defend their positions. Each system of thought must hold room for both the infallible efficacy of God’s grace as well as the freedom of the human will, and neither school may condemn or censure the other system of thought.
  1. To what extent does the Church accept/reject Augustine’s view?
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The Church holds the view of St. Augustine in high esteem, and along with the Thomist and Molinist view, finds that it is also congruent with Catholic teaching.
 
For a well-written description on Catholic teaching regarding grace and freewill, see the following from Fr. John Hardon, S.J.:
therealpresence.org/archives/Grace.htm
Code: 
          [Course on Grace: Contents and Introduction](http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Grace/Grace_001.htm)
Course on Grace: Part I - Grace Considered Extensively
Course on Grace: Part IIA - Grace Considered Intensively
Course on Grace: Part IIB - Grace Considered Intensively
Course on Grace: Part III - Teaching of the Church
What is the Role of Freedom in the Pursuit of Holiness?
 
There is no predestination to hell, for this reasons:

1.God want every human being to be save.
2.Jesus died for every human being without exeption.
3.God dosent denied the enough grace that is needed for the salvation of any person.
4.Nobody go to the eternal condenation unless only if it is because of his own fault.
5.Everyone can be save, because God dosent ask for imposible things.
He just want us to do the stuffs that are in our scope , and to request him what we cant do, in order that he can help us to do them. “St Augustine”
 
The Catholic Church does teach predestination–it is mentioned in the bible.

The Catholic Church doesn’t teach that God creates people to be damned and the Catholic Church also teaches that we have freedom of will.

The Catholic Church also teaches that Jesus died for all men and not only the elect.

These are some of the ways that it differs form Calvinism
 
slovullo said:
…there were two main Catholic views on the doctrine of predestination…
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Council of Valence III, AD 855, on predestination…
… faithfully we confess the predestination of the elect to life, and the predestination of the impious to death; in the election, moreover, of those who are to be saved,** the mercy of God precedes the merited good.** In the condemnation, however, of those who are to be lost, the evil which they have deserved precedes the just judgment of God. In predestination, however, (we believe) that God has determined only those things which He Himself either in His gratuitous mercy or in His just judgment would do… in regard to evil men, however, we believe that God foreknew their malice, because it is from them,** but that He did not predestine it**, because it is not from Him. (We believe) that God, who sees all things, foreknew and predestined that their evil deserved the punishment which followed, because He is just, in whom as Saint Augustine says, there is concerning all things everywhere so fixed a decree as a certain predestination. " (Denzinger 322)
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St. Augustine:

“God will, therefore, certainly recompense both evil for evil, because He is just; and good for evil, because He is good; and good for good, because He is good and just; only, evil for good He will never recompense, because He is not unjust. He will, therefore, recompense evil for evil—punishment for unrighteousness; and He will recompense good for evil—grace for unrighteousness; and He will recompense good for good–grace for grace.” (On Grace and Freewill, ch. 45).
 
Hi Steve,

Notwithstandikng all the discussion that there has been over this in past centuries, these things are clear:

.God knows who will be saved and who will not

. Our fate is the result of our own free choice

. We cannot be saved except throught the grace of God. Nothing we can do alone can save us

How the grace of God and our own free will can coexist is what the discussion is all about. The Church permits discussion on the various points of view but has forbidden anyone to call the others heretics.

Verbum
 
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