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Question 6
Bercot claims Augustine “reversed the order” into “whom he predestined, he also foreknew,” and that this pulled Western Christianity into a “theological Dark Ages” resembling Gnostic/pagan fatalism; what parts of Augustine’s logic still show up in popular evangelical teaching, and what spiritual damage might it produce?
Another way to ask: What parts of Augustine’s “God predestines first” thinking still show up in popular evangelical teaching today? What harm could it do to people’s faith and obedience?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests Augustine’s logic still appears wherever Christians speak as if God’s predestination is arbitrary and faith/works are only present because God predetermined them; Bercot warns this produces a fatalistic spirit that undermines real accountability.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot describes Augustine’s move: he “reversed the order of Paul’s two declarations,” turning it into “whom he predestined, he also foreknew.”
  • Augustine, in Bercot’s summary, claimed predestination is “not based on His foreknowledge.”
  • He adds that Augustine made God’s choice “arbitrary”: God “has arbitrarily predestined everything,” including salvation or condemnation.
  • In that view, “We only have faith or good works because God arbitrarily predestined us to have them.”
  • Bercot says the result was Western Christianity pulled into “theological Dark Ages” resembling “Gnostics and the pagans…predestination or fate.”
Discussion Follow-ups Where do you hear preaching that effectively removes meaningful human response—either by making obedience unnecessary or by making human choice irrelevant?

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