oa Ex praevisa fide

In the late 16th century there was a broad academic discussion about the relationship between faith and predestination, not only in reformed theology but within the Roman-Catholic and the Lutheran denominations as well. In the Reformed tradition there were supporters of a strong Calvinistic particularism on the one hand and on the other hand there were attempts to overcome the ‘decretum absolutum’ by arguing for a humanistic compromise, which seems to be the motive behind Jacobus Arminius' (1560-1609) thinking. These debates led to the Synod of Dordt and the doctrines it produced, both of which are commemorated in 2018 and 2019. The Lutheran confessional writings (Formula of Concord, 1577) do not present a theologically convincing doctrine of predestination, as opposed to the sound argument developed by Aegidius Hunnius (1550-1603) in the doctrine of ‘praedestinatio ex praevisa fide’.