Logical order of God's decrees: Difference between revisions

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==Overview<!--'Supralapsarianism' and 'Infralapsarianism' redirect here-->==
'''Supralapsarianism'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> (also called ''antelapsarianism'', ''pre-lapsarianism'' or ''prelapsarianism'') is the view that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically ''preceded'' the decree of the [[fall of man]]. '''Infralapsarianism '''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> (also called ''postlapsarianism'' and ''sublapsarianism'') asserts that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically ''succeeded'' the decree of the Fall.Lapsarianism, which deals with the order of how God decreed His predestination (order of God's decrees), was initially addressed by Augustine of Hippo.<ref>{{harvnb|Cross|Livingston|2005|p=1563}}</ref> The words can also be used in connection with other topics, e.g. supralapsariansupra- and infrainfralapsarian [[Christology]].<ref>{{harvnb|van Driel|2008}}</ref>
 
The difference between the two views are minute; supralapsarianism, by virtue of its belief that God creates the elect and reprobate, is a suggestion or provides an inference that at some level, God decreed sin to enter into the world without being the author of it. Infralapsarianism teaches that all men are sinful by nature (due to the Fall), are thereby condemned through our own sin ([[free will]]), and that God had [[Foreknowledge of God|foreknowledge]] of whom He would rescue from condemnation. The infralapsarianist view follows Ephesians 1:4–6, "... even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through [[Jesus Christ]], according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" (ESV). That is, some are chosen to be elect (foreknowledge) but not created elect.
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=== Synod of Dort ===
The first to articulate the supralapsarian view were [[Theodore Beza]]<ref>{{harvnb|Bray|1972|p=529}}</ref> and [[Jerome Zanchius]].<ref name="Daniel1993">{{harvnb|Daniel|1993|p=95}}</ref> A few later Calvinists, in particular those influenced by Beza's theology, embraced supralapsarianism. In England Beza's influence was felt at Cambridge, where [[William Perkins (Puritan)|William Perkins]] and [[William Ames]] held to it, as well as [[Franciscus Gomarus]] in the Netherlands. Later, [[William Twisse]] wrote two comprehensive books on supralapsarianism, one in Latin entitled ''Vindiciae Gratiae, Potestatis, Et Providentiae Dei'' and an English work entitled ''The Riches of God's Love unto the Vessels of Mercy.'' In the 20th century, proponents of supralapsarianism include [[Abraham Kuyper]], [[Herman Hoeksema]], [[Arthur Pink]], [[Gordon Clark]]. Historically, it is estimated that less than 5% of all Calvinists ascribe to supralapsarianism.<ref name="Daniel1993" /> Also according to [[Loraine Boettner]] and Curt Daniel, no major Reformed theologian and very few modern Calvinists are supralapsarian.<ref>{{harvnb|Boettner|1932|loc=2.11.6}}</ref> The infralapsarianism view seems to be expressed in the [[Synod of Dort]] in 1618. In the [[Canons of Dort]], First Point of Doctrine, Article 7, it states:
 
{{blockquote|Before the foundation of the world, by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will, [God] chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of particular people out of the entire human race which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin.<ref>{{harvnb|Christian Reformed Church|1987|p=124}}</ref>}}
However the synod did not reject those who held to a supralapsarian position, as illustrated in the trial held against [[Johannes Maccovius]] and his eventual exoneration concerning his views on sin in the divine decree.<ref>{{harvnb|Goudriaan|van Lieburg|2010|pp=217–241}}</ref> Other supralapsarians at the synod included Gomarus, Ames, and [[Gisbertus Voetius]], none of whom took exception to the Canons of Dort.
 
However the synod did not reject those who held to a supralapsarian position, as illustrated in the trial held against [[Johannes Maccovius]] and his eventual exoneration concerning his views on sin in the divine decree.<ref>{{harvnb|Goudriaan|van Lieburg|2010|pp=217–241}}</ref> Other supralapsarians at the synod included Gomarus, Ames, and [[Gisbertus Voetius]], none of whom took exception to the Canons of Dort.<ref>{{harvnb|Fesko|2001}}</ref>
 
=== Views of William Twisse ===