Louis Le Blanc On Predestination in the Roman Catholic and Reformed Schools (Theses 1-5)
On the use of the term predestination among the Scholastics and Roman Catholics
Theological Theses concerning the eternal election and predestination of human beings in which the use of those words in the Roman and Protestant schools is explained. Then, how in those same schools the effects and object of predestination are assigned.
1. The word “predestination” is used variously in the Roman school. For, according to some of their doctors, predestination only covers that decree by which God absolutely established from eternity to confer heavenly glory to certain human beings. But for other Romanists, predestination is more limited to the decree of conferring the means conducive to infallibly bring certain human beings to heavenly glory. Finally, others argue that both these decrees pertain to predestination. This is what Eustachius a Sancto Pauli observes in Summa Theologiae, de Praedestinatione, Q. 3.
2. The first meaning is rarer. Nevertheless, some of the older scholastics, like Gabriel Biel and Ockham, seem to understand the word “predestination” in such a way that it appears to be nothing other than that eternal council of God by which he decreed to give glory to certain people. This is clear from those things which Gregory of Valencia notes, Tom. 1. Disp. 1, Quest. 23, which is about predestination, point 3.
3. But the greatest part of the scholastics take predestination in the second way, namely for the preparation of grace, so that it is distinguished from election to glory. You can find this in Martinus Becanus, In Summa Theologiae, Tom. 1, Cap 14, Q. 2., Concl. 2.
4. But many of the doctors of the Roman Church define predestination as not only the preparation of grace, but also the preparation of glory to which that grace pertains. According to these doctors, predestination is the eternal decree or purpose of God by which God ordains and directs certain people to supernatural blessedness by those supernatural means fit to the obtaining of it. The recently mentioned Eustachius a Sancto Paulo, Peter a Sancto Joseph, Gregory of Valencia, Estius, and many others hold to this view.
5. But Jansen and his disciples—following Augustine on this point—understand predestination in a sense still more general. For they think that predestination covers not only the good [side] but the bad [side], though not with regard to sin, but regarding punishment. Hence, reprobates are no less able to be said to be predestined to eternal suffering by God as the elect are predestined to glory and blessedness. From this they make predestination to be twofold—one to life, and the other to death. One can see this with Jansen De Gratia Christi Salvatoris, lib. 9., Cap. 3.