Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism
Encyclopedia
Lapsarianism is the set of Calvinist doctrines describing the theoretical order of God
's decree (in his mind, before Creation), in particular concerning the order of his decree for the fall of man and reprobation
. The name of the doctrine comes from the Latin lapsus meaning fall.
Supralapsarianism (also antelapsarianism) is the view that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically preceded the decree of the fall while infralapsarianism (also called postlapsarianism and sublapsarianism) asserts that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically succeeded the decree of the fall. The words can also be used in connection with other topics, e.g. supra- and infralapsarian christology.
Many Calvinists reject both lapsarian views for various reasons. Herman Bavinck
rejected both because he sees God's decrees as eternal. Other Calvinists (and many non-Calvinists or Arminians) reject the lapsarian views because they perceive any particular ordering of the decrees as unnecessary and presumptive speculation. Critics of lapsarianism often argue that it is impossible to conceive of a temporal process by which God, in eternity, issued decrees, and it is impossible to know the mind of God without direct, scriptural evidence.
and Jerome Zanchius
. A few later Calvinists - in particular those influenced by Beza's theology - embraced supralapsarianism. In England Beza's influence was felt at Cambridge, where William Perkins and William Ames held to it, as well as Franciscus Gomarus
in the Netherlands. Later, William Twisse
wrote the definitive book on supralapsarianism entitled The Riches of God's Love unto the Vessels of Mercy. In the last century, the most recent proponents of supralapsarianism include Abraham Kuyper
, Herman Hoeksema
, Arthur Pink
, Gordon Clark
. Historically, it is estimated that less than 5% of all Calvinists have been Supralapsarian. Also according to Loraine Boettner
and Curt Daniel, no major Reformed theologian and very few modern Calvinists are supralapsarian.
The infralapsarianism view is expressed in the Synod of Dort
in 1618. In the Canons of Dort
, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7, it states:
A minority of supralapsarians were in the Westminster Assembly
while the majority held to infralapsarianism. The documents that resulted from the Assembly, the Westminster Standards
, reflect the infralapsarian view.
planned the fall
and infralapsarianism that God merely foresaw, and hence permitted or merely reacted to, the fall. Some believe that in this sense all Calvinists are supralapsarians, believing that God planned the fall, though Calvinists themselves would dispute that notion. Nevertheless, inside scholastic Calvinism, the terms came to mean a different thing. While all held that God planned the fall prior to creation, disputes arose as to the logical relation within this plan between the decision to save individuals and the decision to allow the fall. Supralapsarians believe that in the logical order of the divine decrees, individual election
and reprobation
occur logically prior to the fall, infralapsarians believe they occur logically subsequent.
Both positions are technically double predestinarian
, in that God has settled the eternal destiny of both the elect and the reprobate. However, "double predestination" today is usually an ambiguous pejorative term used to describe those who believe that God actively works equally to keep the elect in heaven and the reprobate out of heaven (properly known as "equal ultimacy"). Equal ultimacy was not held by Calvin and is not held by most in the Reformed Tradition. It came into popularity with hyper-Calvinism
.
The Latin root supra means over, above, or before. The root infra means below, under, or after. Supralapsarianism is the position that the fall occurred (among other reasons) to facilitate God's purpose of election
and reprobation
of individuals, while infralapsarianism holds that, while the fall was planned, it was not planned in reference to who would be saved. Thus supralapsarians (in the Calvinist sense used here) believe that God chose which individuals to save before he decided to allow the race to fall, the fall serving as the means of realisation of the prior decision to send some individuals to hell
and others to heaven
, providing the grounds of condemnation in the reprobate and the need for redemption in the elect. In contrast, the infralapsarian holds that God planned the race to fall logically prior to the decision as to which individuals to save or damn out of a fallen race. As such, it is argued that to be saved, one must be subject to something from which one need be saved, and so the fall is logically prior to the decree of election.
Historically, part of the appeal of the infralapsarian position is that it can, at least in part, be viewed as a possible theodicy
for the logical consequence of predestination
that God is the author of sin
.
Supralapsarians are often termed hypercalvinists
, although, to some, this is a misnomer. To these individuals, all hypercalvinists are indeed supralapsarian, but not all supralapsarians are hypercalvinists.
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
's decree (in his mind, before Creation), in particular concerning the order of his decree for the fall of man and reprobation
Reprobation
Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election which derives that some of mankind are predestined by God for salvation. Therefore, the remainder are left bound to their fallen nature and certain damnation. This same state of unbelief is...
. The name of the doctrine comes from the Latin lapsus meaning fall.
Supralapsarianism (also antelapsarianism) is the view that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically preceded the decree of the fall while infralapsarianism (also called postlapsarianism and sublapsarianism) asserts that God's decrees of election and reprobation logically succeeded the decree of the fall. The words can also be used in connection with other topics, e.g. supra- and infralapsarian christology.
Many Calvinists reject both lapsarian views for various reasons. Herman Bavinck
Herman Bavinck
Herman Bavinck was a Dutch Reformed theologian and churchman.-Background:Bavinck was born in the town of Hoogeveen in the Netherlands to a German father. He first went to theological school at Kampen, but then moved on to Leiden for further training...
rejected both because he sees God's decrees as eternal. Other Calvinists (and many non-Calvinists or Arminians) reject the lapsarian views because they perceive any particular ordering of the decrees as unnecessary and presumptive speculation. Critics of lapsarianism often argue that it is impossible to conceive of a temporal process by which God, in eternity, issued decrees, and it is impossible to know the mind of God without direct, scriptural evidence.
| Supralapsarianism Antelapsarianism |
Infralapsarianism Sublapsarianism Postlapsarianism |
|
|---|---|---|
| Decree to: | Save some and condemn others | |
| Decree to: | Create the elect and the reprobate | Create human beings |
| Decree to: | Authorize the Fall | |
| Decree to: | Provide salvation only for the elect | Save some and condemn others |
| Decree to: | Provide salvation only for the elect | |
History
The first to articulate the supralapsarian view were Theodore BezaTheodore Beza
Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation...
and Jerome Zanchius
Jerome Zanchius
Girolamo Zanchi was an Italian Protestant Reformation clergyman and educator....
. A few later Calvinists - in particular those influenced by Beza's theology - embraced supralapsarianism. In England Beza's influence was felt at Cambridge, where William Perkins and William Ames held to it, as well as Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus
Franciscus Gomarus , was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius , which was formally judged at the Synod of Dort .-Life:His parents, having embraced the principles of the Reformation, emigrated to the Palatinate in 1578, in order...
in the Netherlands. Later, William Twisse
William Twisse
William Twisse was a prominent English clergyman and theologian. He became Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, putting him at the head of the churchmen of the Commonwealth. He was described by a Scottish member, Robert Baillie, as “very good, beloved of all, and highlie esteemed; but merelie...
wrote the definitive book on supralapsarianism entitled The Riches of God's Love unto the Vessels of Mercy. In the last century, the most recent proponents of supralapsarianism include Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian...
, Herman Hoeksema
Herman Hoeksema
Herman Hoeksema was a Dutch Reformed theologian.Hoeksema was born on 1886-03-12 at Hoogezand, in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands and immigrated to the USA in 1904...
, Arthur Pink
Arthur Pink
Arthur Walkington Pink was an English Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar known for his staunchly Calvinist and Puritan-like teachings.-Biography:...
, Gordon Clark
Gordon Clark
Gordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years...
. Historically, it is estimated that less than 5% of all Calvinists have been Supralapsarian. Also according to Loraine Boettner
Loraine Boettner
Loraine Boettner was an American theologian and author.-Biography:Boettner was born in Linden, Missouri. He received a Th.B. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and he received the honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Letters . He was a member of the Orthodox...
and Curt Daniel, no major Reformed theologian and very few modern Calvinists are supralapsarian.
The infralapsarianism view is expressed in the Synod of Dort
Synod of Dort
The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...
in 1618. In the Canons of Dort
Canons of Dort
The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Dutch city of Dordrecht in 1618–19...
, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7, it states:
- Before the foundation of the world, by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will, [God] chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of particular people out of the entire human race which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin. (Translation from Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids, MIMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, 1988, page 124)
A minority of supralapsarians were in the Westminster Assembly
Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England. It also included representatives of religious leaders from Scotland...
while the majority held to infralapsarianism. The documents that resulted from the Assembly, the Westminster Standards
Westminster Standards
The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly. These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Form of Church Government, and...
, reflect the infralapsarian view.
Theology
The terms are often used in a general sense, with supralapsarianism meaning that GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
planned the fall
The Fall of Man
In Christian doctrine, the Fall of Man, or simply the Fall, refers to the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience to God. In Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve live at first with God in a paradise, but the serpent tempts them into...
and infralapsarianism that God merely foresaw, and hence permitted or merely reacted to, the fall. Some believe that in this sense all Calvinists are supralapsarians, believing that God planned the fall, though Calvinists themselves would dispute that notion. Nevertheless, inside scholastic Calvinism, the terms came to mean a different thing. While all held that God planned the fall prior to creation, disputes arose as to the logical relation within this plan between the decision to save individuals and the decision to allow the fall. Supralapsarians believe that in the logical order of the divine decrees, individual election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and reprobation
Reprobation
Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election which derives that some of mankind are predestined by God for salvation. Therefore, the remainder are left bound to their fallen nature and certain damnation. This same state of unbelief is...
occur logically prior to the fall, infralapsarians believe they occur logically subsequent.
Both positions are technically double predestinarian
Predestination (Calvinism)
The Calvinistic doctrine of predestination is a doctrine of Calvinism which deals with the question of the control God exercises over the world...
, in that God has settled the eternal destiny of both the elect and the reprobate. However, "double predestination" today is usually an ambiguous pejorative term used to describe those who believe that God actively works equally to keep the elect in heaven and the reprobate out of heaven (properly known as "equal ultimacy"). Equal ultimacy was not held by Calvin and is not held by most in the Reformed Tradition. It came into popularity with hyper-Calvinism
Hyper-Calvinism
Hyper-Calvinism is a pejorative term referring to a denial of the free offer of the gospel and duty-faith. The term "Hyper-Calvinism" is used in the writings of Iain Murray, Curt Daniel, Peter Toon and others who seek to defend the free offer of the gospel as well as duty faith.The controversy over...
.
The Latin root supra means over, above, or before. The root infra means below, under, or after. Supralapsarianism is the position that the fall occurred (among other reasons) to facilitate God's purpose of election
Unconditional election
Unconditional election is the Calvinist teaching that before God created the world, he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions related to those persons...
and reprobation
Reprobation
Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election which derives that some of mankind are predestined by God for salvation. Therefore, the remainder are left bound to their fallen nature and certain damnation. This same state of unbelief is...
of individuals, while infralapsarianism holds that, while the fall was planned, it was not planned in reference to who would be saved. Thus supralapsarians (in the Calvinist sense used here) believe that God chose which individuals to save before he decided to allow the race to fall, the fall serving as the means of realisation of the prior decision to send some individuals to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
and others to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, providing the grounds of condemnation in the reprobate and the need for redemption in the elect. In contrast, the infralapsarian holds that God planned the race to fall logically prior to the decision as to which individuals to save or damn out of a fallen race. As such, it is argued that to be saved, one must be subject to something from which one need be saved, and so the fall is logically prior to the decree of election.
Historically, part of the appeal of the infralapsarian position is that it can, at least in part, be viewed as a possible theodicy
Theodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
for the logical consequence of predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
that God is the author of sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
.
Supralapsarians are often termed hypercalvinists
Hyper-Calvinism
Hyper-Calvinism is a pejorative term referring to a denial of the free offer of the gospel and duty-faith. The term "Hyper-Calvinism" is used in the writings of Iain Murray, Curt Daniel, Peter Toon and others who seek to defend the free offer of the gospel as well as duty faith.The controversy over...
, although, to some, this is a misnomer. To these individuals, all hypercalvinists are indeed supralapsarian, but not all supralapsarians are hypercalvinists.