Pre/Double Destination Differences Question

[Tyler35]

I cannot wrap my head around the difference in predestination vs double predestination.

My best answer is that in predestination God simply new beforehand who would believe, where with double predestination He actively makes the non elect reprobates. Is this right?

Can anyone spoon feed me this answer? For instance when someone says in predestination that simply means God passed them over…that seems equivalent to double predestination to me….

I don’t get it….

But it seems the early church fathers understood predestination as God foreknowing who would believe, so maybe this is the key difference?

 

[Sorn]

We don't fully know how God can see the future & how much control He has over what happens or of what alternate futures are possible.
What is the nature of reality & time & how does God interact with that, how is He outside of that? These are questions we can only speculate about especially as we only have notions of the true nature of reality and time, many physicists cant even agree on what time is.
We hope that God can see the future but that He does not control it to the extent that we don;t have a say in it, thats what seems reasonable to us but it could be that not only can God see the future, He can make any future He desires to come about and that He can & does play 'God' with people, their lives and their ultimate future destiny to the point where He may choose some for salvation and some to be, er, well, not saved.

I like the 'He can see the future but its all our choice' option but who knows, one day we will know. No amount of thinking will get you the definitive answer, & unless God happens to reveal it specifically to you, you won't know the reality this side of eternity.

 

[All Becomes New]

But it seems the early church fathers understood predestination as God foreknowing who would believe, so maybe this is the key difference?

That is one way to cut it, yes.

I believe Christ died for the sins of the whole world. I think pretty much every tradition of Christianity believes this except Calvinists. IMO, Double predestination should be completely avoided. It makes God a monster IMO (and I used to be a Calvinist myself and have nothing against Calvinism as it stands).

An article you may want to read is this one by John Piper. I do not agree with every thing Piper says, but he has been valuable to me.

Is Double Predestination Biblical?

Does the Bible teach that God has predestined some to disobedience and destruction, just as he has predestined some to salvation?

www.desiringgod.org

 

[HTacianas]

I cannot wrap my head around the difference in predestination vs double predestination.

My best answer is that in predestination God simply new beforehand who would believe, where with double predestination He actively makes the non elect reprobates. Is this right?

Can anyone spoon feed me this answer? For instance when someone says in predestination that simply means God passed them over…that seems equivalent to double predestination to me….

I don’t get it….

But it seems the early church fathers understood predestination as God foreknowing who would believe, so maybe this is the key difference?

The closest you'll probably get to an answer to your question is what you said about the Church Fathers and foreknowledge. It's probably best left there because there is no firm answer. Pondering predestination leads to pondering foreknowledge and it opens up another can of worms. What is foreknowledge? There are different types of foreknowledge. If you watch a re-run of an old movie you've already seen you have foreknowledge of how the movie ends. That is a type of foreknowledge. But then if you are playing pool and call the eight ball in the corner pocket then shoot and make it, that is a type of foreknowledge. So has God seen the movie before or is He calling the shots? No one knows. But then again, say you are setting out to deliver a truckload of wheat from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. You have foreknowledge of a truckload of wheat reaching Pittsburg. But what if some grains of wheat fall off the truck on the way? Is it still a truckload and did you accomplish what you set out to do?

Don't drive yourself nuts attempting to answer the unanswerable. But just so you know, as far as I'm concerned the truckload of wheat example is the only answer supported by the bible.

 

[All Becomes New]

Additionally, this may be helpful for you.

Lapsarian Views - The Gospel Coalition

The Lapsarian Views seek to understand the mind of God as revealed in Scripture regarding the logical relationships between God’s eternal decrees.

www.thegospelcoalition.org

 

[Sorn]

But then again, say you are setting out to deliver a truckload of wheat from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. You have foreknowledge of a truckload of wheat reaching Pittsburg. But what if some grains of wheat fall off the truck on the way? Is it still a truckload and did you accomplish what you set out to do?

Don't drive yourself nuts attempting to answer the unanswerable. But just so you know, as far as I'm concerned the truckload of wheat example is the only answer supported by the bible.

I like the truckload of wheat analogy