Kenneth Wilson : Early Christian Views versus Augustine of Hippo on Divine Providence

     Stoicism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and Manichaeism all subscribed to a deterministic view of divine Providence. In contrast, beginning with the extant writings of the earliest Christian apologists, the unanimous Christian view was a rejection of a micromanaging dictatorial sovereignty. While continuing to teach the Judaeo-Christian God was sovereign, these authors allowed considerable freedom of choice not pre-determined by Providence. God foreordained only some things, not everything in the universe. Divine foreknowledge of human choices was the key to divine-human interaction. With this understanding the earliest Christians battled the pagan deterministic views of divine Providence.      However, this ubiquitous Christian defense was reversed by Augustine of Hippo in 412 CE when he reverted to his earlier Stoic and Manichaean training to battle the Pelagians. His understanding of paedobaptism viewed within Stoic sovereignty and Manichaean total inability was determinative in forming his later theology. All persons are born guilty of sin and damned due to Adam's sin. Human free will could only avail for sin, being incapable of choosing God or anything good, God unilaterally decreed and then chose the elect and rejected the non-elect ("double predestination"). Only some baptized infants who had received the Holy Spirit continued in the Christian faith—only the Christians to whom God had unilaterally given the necessary second gift of perseverance. All of Augustine's later doctrines were logical deductions from his reversal back to his earlier deterministic view of Divine Providence.