Election
Election means God's choosing certain people for certain services or for salvation. This central expression of the Jewish , Christian and Islamic languages of faith is rarely used in non-religious contexts; it is more about choice or selection .
Election in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, election appears as an act of God which is peculiar to God and which characterizes him as the God of personal relationships and history . Through election, God decides for a person / a people out of many, binds himself to this / this and defines himself as “his” God even at the risk that the chosen will become unfaithful. The following section is often quoted:
- For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be his own people from among all the peoples that are on the earth. The LORD did not accept you and choose you because you were greater than all peoples - for you are the smallest of all peoples - but because he loved you and that he might keep his oath which he swore to your fathers. (Deuteronomy 7: 6-8)
The very creation of the world can be interpreted as a choice: choice of orderly being from the limitlessness of chaos; Choice of man as God's decision against his own "loneliness".
The election history of Israel , which was then adopted by Christians and Muslims as their own, begins with the call to Abraham to move away from his homeland and to make his way to the land of promise (" Promised Land "), where his descendants are great People of election and will be a blessing to all peoples.
The (not questioned) election of Israel becomes the basis of the sharpest prophetic criticism of the social and religious community life of its time.
In the Babylonian exile , Israel became aware of its particularity in the diaspora situation and deepened its belief in election.
Election in the New Testament
The term “election” is used several times in the New Testament in conjunction with the term “ calling ”. In the history of dogma it was often linked to the idea of “ predestination ”. If the gaze is directed particularly to the term “election” in the scriptures of the New Testament, then Jesus Christ himself appears as the chosen one, for example the “servant” and “chosen” of God mentioned by the prophet Isaiah ( Isa. 42.1 EU ) is related to Jesus ( Mt 12,18 EU ).
When the election concerns followers of Jesus, it is often about certain tasks, for example the election of a replacement apostle ( Acts 1.24 EU ). In addition, there is also an election for salvation (e.g. Eph 1,4 EU ), but this always in the majority. The Calvinism sees this election as "unconditionally" (Engl. "Unconditional") bring, so without the elect special conditions. A “selection” can also be based on conditions, such as the appointment of a footballer to a “selection” - here the best players are chosen.
The term "collective election" coined by Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer means that God made the plan for a community of Jesus followers a long time ago, but without specifying which individuals should belong. Joining this community by entrusting themselves to Jesus is left to the decision of the individual.
Against the Calvinist understanding of election, reference is often made to God's universal will for salvation (as expressed, for example, in 2 Petr 3,9 EU ).
Election in the history of dogma
In the history of theology, election from a narrative character has increasingly become a concept of doctrine. When Augustine and his following Christian thinkers the idea of a divine irresistible election appears (now Latin as praedestinatio , German predestination hereinafter). Such is in contradiction to human participation, guilt and responsibility.
In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a denominational distinction between Lutherans and Calvinists on this issue .
Religious motifs that revolve around the Old Testament idea of election (“God's own country”) play a central role in the emergence and self-confidence of the United States of America .
In Karl Barth's theology , election is a key concept.
See also
literature
- Horst Seebaß, Ferdinand Dexinger, Jost Eckert, Traugott Koch: Election I. Old Testament II. Judaism III. New Testament IV. Dogmatic . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 10 (1982), pp. 182–205 (comprehensive scientific overview)
- Wolfgang Nestvogel: Election and / or Conversion? The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man as a homiletic task. 2000.
- Peter Streitenberger: The five points of Calvinism from a biblical perspective. Publishing house for theology and religious studies, Nuremberg 2011.
- Matthias Zeindler: "Election. God's way in the world", TVZ 2009
Single receipts
- ↑ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer in the foreword "Why Christians Have Different Opinions" on Streitenberger: Die five Punkt, 2011, p. 10.