It is believed by many that, “whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). This essay will explore the writings of each theologian and their ideas and thoughts on baptism, predestination, free will, salvation and how it intertwines with the love and knowledge of God.
One could sit and ponder how this short, yet specific verse could hold so much truth. Many theologians such as Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, St. Prosper of Aquitaine and John Calvin have all referenced the thought of knowledge and the truth of God in their writings and although they have never really used the verse itself in their writings, you can clearly infer that they go hand in hand. It is known that in the Christian faith, you cannot fully come …show more content…
Augustine, predestination played a part in the love of God, because it is God who guides us through life knowing what is best for us even when we don’t. I believe that many people tend to pray to God and ask that he leads them in the path of righteousness because he is the one people lean on when they need a sign or some sort of assurance, which in turn, ultimately shows their love, faith and hope in him. St. Augustine states in his writing, The Predestination of the Saints, that, “we must, therefore, first show that the faith by which we are Christians is a gift of God, at least if we can do this with greater care than we have already done in so many and such large volumes” (St. Augustine, The Predestination of the Saints. p. 150). I believe that St. Augustine is trying to say that we must first accept that God is the reason we are Christians and that we should appreciate him for that. He explains in his writings that thinking comes before believing and that if we think we should not pay attention to putting faith into God, then why would we believe that we need to? This can be related to the love of God in many ways because without faith in God, love for him is
One could sit and ponder how this short, yet specific verse could hold so much truth. Many theologians such as Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, St. Prosper of Aquitaine and John Calvin have all referenced the thought of knowledge and the truth of God in their writings and although they have never really used the verse itself in their writings, you can clearly infer that they go hand in hand. It is known that in the Christian faith, you cannot fully come …show more content…
Augustine, predestination played a part in the love of God, because it is God who guides us through life knowing what is best for us even when we don’t. I believe that many people tend to pray to God and ask that he leads them in the path of righteousness because he is the one people lean on when they need a sign or some sort of assurance, which in turn, ultimately shows their love, faith and hope in him. St. Augustine states in his writing, The Predestination of the Saints, that, “we must, therefore, first show that the faith by which we are Christians is a gift of God, at least if we can do this with greater care than we have already done in so many and such large volumes” (St. Augustine, The Predestination of the Saints. p. 150). I believe that St. Augustine is trying to say that we must first accept that God is the reason we are Christians and that we should appreciate him for that. He explains in his writings that thinking comes before believing and that if we think we should not pay attention to putting faith into God, then why would we believe that we need to? This can be related to the love of God in many ways because without faith in God, love for him is