Calvin based his entire theology and writings on his belief that God is all powerful. He believes that God controls everyone and everything, including our salvation. Throughout Institutes of the Christian Religion, specifically in chapter XXI, Calvin acknowledges that his thoughts on predestination are highly debated and goes to great lengths to explain and reason it. Calvin believes that we are incompetent as human beings because we are inherently sinful, therefore, we are incapable of determining right and wrong. He teaches in Book III, Chapter XXI that individuals are assigned to one of two destinations before they are born, either heaven or hell, in Part II Calvin explains that we must accept God’s reasoning without question because it is …show more content…
He discusses how one man is not holy and therefore elect but rather one is holy because they are the elect, he also writes “For when it is said that believers were elected that they might be holy, it is at the same time intimated that the holiness which was to be in them has no origin in election” (Calvin, pg 225). This proves that the election has no relation to one’s earthly works and that salvation is not based on merit but instead God’s grace. God takes it upon himself to determine mankind's faith, after the fall no salvation would be granted upon men based on merit because of our inclination to pursue evil. Calvin discussed how each individual has different circumstances and conditions but none are predestined based one that, he states, “It is certainly not more equitable that individuals should enjoy the privilege which they have not acquired by any merit, than that he should variously distribute favors as seems to him meet” (Calvin, pg 224). Salvation is not according to each individual and how they live their lives or what cards they were dealt on earth but instead all humans are predestined through God’s