Predestination

In a broad sense, predestination refers to God's knowledge and determination of all things before they come to pass. Especially within Augustinian and Calvinist theologies, predestination more specifically involves the doctrine of election: without basis in anything other than God's will, God has eternally decreed some people to be "saved" (i.e., "the elect") and some to be "damned." This additional damnatory aspect, sometimes termed "double predestination," does not appear in all accounts of predestination; it is, however, a logical consequence of emphasizing God's absolute omnipotence and unilateral action within salvation, such that no human can possibly alter their eternal outcome. Based on his unshakeable conviction of the universality of God's prevenient grace, as well as the genuine free will this affords humanity, John Wesley starkly opposed the doctrine of predestination, especially in its Calvinist form.