Does God's omniscience take away human free will or cause double predestination?
The Catholic Church rejects Calvinistic 'double predestination' (the belief that God positively predestines certain souls to damnation without regard to their sins). God desires all men to be saved and come to knowledge of truth (1 Timothy 2:4). While God eternally knows all human actions in His timeless present, His foreknowledge does not coerce human choices. Grace works interiorly to heal and elevate free will rather than destroy it. A person is only condemned if they freely and deliberately persist in mortal sin and final impenitence until death.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1037
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1730-1738
- 1 Timothy 2:4
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.