There are good reasons why the Protestant idea of human unworthiness for salvation should lead to the doctrine of predestination. There are passages in Luther’s writing in which he seems to commit himself to the doctrine of predestination; later he seems to back away. The doctrine emerges clearly in the writing of Jean Calvin, where argued that if God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and cannot make a mistake or change his mind, then before time began God had predetermined the salvation, or condemnation, of every human who would ever live. This eliminates not only the efficacy of doing good works to attain salvation, but seriously calls into question the doctrine of free will.
What do you make of this? If you accept the premise that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and cannot make a mistake, does it follow logically that free will is an illusion, and that salvation is reserved for an “elect” who were chosen before time began? What about human free will? What is the Roman Catholic position about these problems? Is predestination an ethically acceptable doctrine?
Write an essay of five to six (no less than five) typed, numbered, doubled-spaced, with maximum margin of one inch on each side, and using 12 point typeface, on the subject above. INCLUDE FOOTNOTES!
Assume the person reading the essay is familiar with the ideas you are writing about. Do not use direct quotation from the texts you cite. Instead briefly paraphrase and then cite the reference by the section number. The essay should have a brief, clear introductory paragraph stating what you are going to argue. Each following paragraph should then support the introductory paragraph. Argue for your position, and support it with specific examples from the text. A brief concluding paragraph should sum up the argument. The purpose of the assignment is argue for your opinion. Give your own ideas. Do not use any secondary sources. DO NOT USE INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET!!!
In organizing your arguments you must consider the limitations imposed by the length of the essay. What strategy will you use in presenting and defending your thesis? How many of the examples you find can you use in four pages? What types of decisions or selections will you make in presenting your arguments? How many pages can you afford to devote to paraphrases from the text, in contrast to arguments for your thesis.
FOR A GOOD GRADE :
(A) READ AND UNDERSTAND THE ESSAY QUESTION
(B) FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
(C) PROOF READ THE ESSAY BEFORE SUBMISSION
RULES FOR WRITING THE ESSAY
Points will be deducted for misspellings, excessive typos, and for errors in grammar and syntax.
1. Pay attention to SPELLING, especially the names of places and persons. Points will be deducted for spelling errors.
2. Check punctuation, especially APOSTROPHE with “s” for possessive. E.g. The warrior’s sword = the sword of the warrior. The warriors’ sword = the sword of the warriors. With a word ending in “s” – Myles -. place an apostrophe after the final “s” ; Myles’ pen. In
the sentence, “The warriors share a sword.”, the “s” at the end of warriors denotes the simple plural form = more than one warrior. I will deduct points for mistakes in possessive forms.
3. Use the present TENSE or the past TENSE in a CONSISTENT WAY; do not alternate between the two.
4. Be sure there is AGREEMENT between subjects and verbs. A single subject takes a singular verb form, multiple subjects a plural verb form. E.g., “Hector charges at Achilles.” The Achaeans charge at the Trojans.”
5. THE TITLES of all works of literature and foreign words must be in italics. Machiavelli”s The Prince, virtu. Do not underline or use quotation marks.
6. Do not use abbreviations such as “&” for “and”.
7. Do NOT use CONTRACTED FORMS such as “can’t” and “wouldn’t” for “cannot” and “would not”. Point will be deducted for these.
8. Try to avoid referring to yourself in the first person (“I”). Instead of writing “I think that Achilles changes.”, simply write, “Achilles changes.”
9/ Avoid the term “mindset.”
10. Under no circumstances should you write, “I feel that . . .”, when what you mean is, “I think that . . . ” The penalty for violating this injunction is too severe to be described here.