John Calvin on Hard Determinism BACKGROUND Was born on the 10th of July 1509 and studied at the priesthood

d at the College de la Marche and the College de Montaigue in Paris. He then studied law. In 1536, the first edition of the institutes of the Christian religion was published and this led him to the forefront of Protestantism. He then had one child and it died. In 1541, aged 32, he moved to Geneva where he was invited to modify the constitution in sacred and secular matters. He wrote commentaries and catechism on nearly every book in the Bible. He died from Quartan fever in 1564 and lies in an unmarked grave in Geneva. PRE-DESTINATION Such theologians Augustine and John Calvin formulated the doctrine of predestination. It is based on the idea that God determines whatever happens in history and that man has a very limited understanding of God's purposes and plans. This means that our actions in this life are completely irrelevant as God has already decided whether or not we are saved. DETERMINISM The view of every event has a cause and so, when applied to moral decisions, we don't have free will at all. Determinism can also be seen in some versions of Christian pre-destination. SOFT DETERMINISM Soft determinists argue that determinism doesn't rule out free will They believe that determinism and free will are compatible. For them, freedom to act is acting voluntarily and not out of coercion. HARD DETERMINISM The idea that we are not free and cannot be held morally for our actions Hard determinism maintains that all actions have prior cause. Humans aren't free to act and a complicated chain of causes determines our actions. LIBERTARIANISM We are free and 100% morally responsible for our actions. Some people reject determinism because it rules out moral responsibility, and also because there is a sense that we have self-determinism or freedom to act CALVINISM Formulated by John Calvin, funnily enough, during the 16th century and is still followed by Presbyterian churches today. This belief states that, as mankind tends to use free will for sins, and is

incapable of coming to God, then our sinful free wills are only capable of rejecting God. This means that pre-determination must occur else God couldn't save anybody. Ultimately, God is in total control and people cannot do anything to achieve salvation. "Eternal life is for/obtained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined to life or death." JONH CALVIN - institutes of the Christian religion BK3 This idea suggests that people have no free will whatsoever as far as their ethical decisions are concerned. It states that God makes his choice about who is to be saved independently of any qualities in the individual. People only do good because God made them that way and put them in a certain environment and the rest are limited by their natural sinful nature and can only choose to be sinful. Logically, if we have no control over our actions, we cannot have responsibility for them.

By Evie and Philly