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Chapter: 14.10
(Section 14: Selective Salvation)
Copyright © Michael Bronson 1998 - 2005
BibleHelp.org

Some Selective Salvationists will try to tell you selective salvation has been a central theme of Christianity since the Apostle Paul. In reality, though, selective salvation did not have a dominant role in Christianity until 400 years ago (during the Reformation period). It is true this doctrine can be traced back to Augustine (354-430 AD), but its impact was extremely limited. Listed below are various comments about how selective salvation gained immense popularity during the Reformation.

• "Just ask yourself what would have become of Europe and America if in the 16 th Century the star of Calvinism had not suddenly arisen on the horizon of Western Europe." (Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism, p. 39)

• "From the time of Augustine until the time of the Reformation very little emphasis was placed on the doctrine of Predestination." (Boettner, Predestination, p. 367)

• "Most of them [Calvinists] readily admit that ‘the doctrine of Predestination received such little attention’ before Augustine." (Good, Calvinists, p. 49)

• "These questions were seldom agitated from the time of St. Paul to that of Augustine." (Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2, 236)

• "Custance explains that ‘gradually Augustinian theology was emasculated by Roman Catholic theologians." (Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace,  p. 37)

• "The fact is, the limited view was not popularly held until the formation of the Cannons of the Synod of Dort (1619) and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)." (The Death Christ Died, Robert Lightner, p14.)

Other Chapters in this Section

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PART 1: What is Selective Salvation?

What is Selective Salvation?
Summary of Why Selective Salvation can't be True
The Chosen Few
Summary of Calvinism and Armininism
Are You a Calvinist, Armenian, or in-between?
Highlights from from the Canons of Dort
The TULIP
Calvinism Versus Hyper-Calvinism
The "Privilege" of Being one of the Elect
How Long has Selective Salvation been Popular?
Why did Selective Salvation gain Popularity?
Are All Men Created Equal?
Interesting Facts about Slavery and Equality
Open Salvation
This is not an Attack
Being Misunderstood
Why is this Issue Important?

PART 2: What Does the Bible say about Selective Salvation?
PART 3: Problems with Selective Salvation
PART 4: “Choice” –The Achilles’ Heel of Selective Salvation
PART 5: Difficult Questions Answered
Appendix: Foundational Documents used by Selective Salvationists

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