Predestination 

 Claudius Buchanan declared that ‘St Anselm also believed, as John Newton did, and as I do, in predestination. God has sovereign power. His divine grace is essential for our salvation.’  This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024).

More about predestination

Predestination is the belief that before the creation of the world, God predetermined the eternal destiny of individuals: whether they would be saved or damned. The concept dates from the early centuries of Christianity and was brought to the fore by Martin Luther and John Calvin during the Reformation. Luther’s starting point was opposition to the practice of selling indulgences which, he believed, could do nothing to change one’s destiny, be it heaven or hell. 

The paradoxical aspect of predestination is that believers did not think ‘as one of the elect there is no need for me to behave well.’ On the contrary, their attitude was ‘as I have been chosen for heaven, it is my duty to be godly, ethical, honest, thrifty, hard-working and generous.’ This led Max Weber to publish a book, in 1905, on The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Weber argued that the Calvinist emphasis on hard work, discipline, thrift, and the idea of a "calling" (or vocation) contributed to the rise of the capitalist spirit in Western societies. The Puritans, in Weber's analysis, pursued their work as a form of religious duty and viewed economic success as a sign of God's favour.

Predestination became a core aspect of Scottish Presbyterianism and supported the Cambuslang Awakening of 1742. Claude, or Claudius, Somers was an elder of Cambuslang Kirk at that time. Claudius Buchanan and John Claudius Loudon were his grandsons. Buchanan retained his faith, though it was modified by contact with the Reverend John Newton and he became an Anglican. Loudon became a sceptic. Both grandsons held to the Presbyterian duty of doing their best for the community and for the public good. Buchanan sought to improve life in India. Loudon sought to educate gardeners, to create public parks, to plan healthier cities, to reform politics and to establish the profession which we now call landscape architecture. Other members of Somers' family became noted members of the Presbyterian community in New England. Like the Puritans, they emphasised communal welfare over individual interests. They established systems of mutual aid, charity, and communal responsibility, such as providing assistance to the poor, caring for widows and orphans, and supporting education for all members of society.

When John Claudius Loudon became a religious sceptic he retained a Protestant attitude to life and work. In her biography of her husband Jane Loudon wrote that: ‘The following extract from his Journal in 1806 will give some idea of his feelings at this period: "Alas! how have I neglected the important task of improving myself! How much I have seen, what new ideas have developed themselves, and what different views of life I have acquired since I came to London three years ago! I am now twenty-three years of age, and perhaps one third of my life has passed away, and yet what have I done to benefit my fellow-men?"’

‘The Puritans believed that the identity of the saints had long since been determined by God. This meant that there was nothing a person could do to win salvation. But instead of being a reason to forsake all hope, what was known as predestination became a powerful goad to action. No one could be entirely sure as to who was one of the elect, and yet, if a person was saved, he or she naturally lived a godly life. As a result, the Puritans were constantly comparing their own actions to those of others, since their conduct might indicate whether or not they were saved. Underlying this compulsive quest for reassurance was a person's conscience, which one divine described as “the voice of God in man.”’ Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (Viking, 2006) p.9

Theological concept of predestination
Predestination and salvation
Calvinist doctrine of predestination
Predestination in Protestant Reformation
Impact of predestination on ethics
Historical views on predestination
Predestination and Scottish Presbyterianism
Role of predestination in Calvinism
Predestination and economic ethics
Puritan beliefs and predestination