The Christian Century

What happens when a superb scholar who studies both North American religious history and global Christianity decides to bring those fields together, to understand how each informs the other?

On the face of it, it does not seem difficult to state the contradictions that beset a doctrine of predestination. An absolute sense that God determines the outcome of our lives cuts the nerve of moral responsibility. Softening the doctrine to make room for human efforts leads to works righteousness.