Jumpstarter 2 of 10

Direct Answer For Boettner’s storyline to work, you must believe the church largely lacked “sound doctrine” on predestination until Augustine, and then again needed a later revival through Luther—meaning preservation of truth is tied to a few towering individuals rather than widespread early consensus. Finny counters by spotlighting earlier Greek-speaking writers (Clement, Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius) who strongly affirm free will and responsibility, suggesting Augustine is not “the early church” baseline.

Support from Transcript:

• Boettner says Augustine “first clearly” saw this “cardinal truth,” taught “unconditional election,” and “restricted the purposes of redemption to the definite circle of the elect.”
• Boettner claims Augustine contributed more to “sound doctrine…than did those of any other man between Paul and Luther.”
• Finny summarizes Boettner: early church “missed the mark,” then Augustine “revived true Christianity,” then there’s “another jump to Luther.”
• Finny quotes Clement of Rome (~95 AD): “man has been made possessed of free will…He who is made good by another under necessity is not really good.”
• Tertullian: “Entire freedom of will…as master of himself…not…through necessity and not choice.”
• Origen criticizes a view that “destroy[s] free will” with “ruined natures incapable of salvation” and the “cannot be lost” idea.