Thomas Aquinas on Election & predestination
Unconditional — grounded in God's free choice
THE POSITION
Predestination is real and rests on God's will, not foreseen merit — though set within a framework of secondary causes that leaves human agency genuinely operative.
29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
16 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Dominican friar, author of the Summa Theologiae. Synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine; the reference point for later Catholic theology.
Cite this page
"Thomas Aquinas on Election & predestination", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/aquinas/election (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/aquinas/election).