Election in
Christianity involves God choosing a particular person or group of people to a particular task or relationship, especially
eternal life.
Election to eternal life is viewed by some as
conditional
Conditional (if then) may refer to:
* Causal conditional, if X then Y, where X is a cause of Y
* Conditional probability, the probability of an event A given that another event B has occurred
*Conditional proof, in logic: a proof that asserts a ...
on a person's faith, and by others as
unconditional.
In the Old Testament
The
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
applies the term "elect" (Gk: ἐκλεκτος, Hebrew: בָּחִיר) to the Israelites in as far as they are called to be the
chosen people, or
people of God
''People of God'' ( he, עם האלהים) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to the Israelites and used in Christianity to refer to Christians.
In the Bible
Hebrew Bible and Old Testament
In the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the Isr ...
, or are faithful to their divine call. The idea of such an election is common in
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
and in
Isaiah 40-66.
In the New Testament
The
New Testament transfers the meaning of the term from its connection with the people of Israel to the members of the body of Christ (Christian church), either militant on earth or triumphant in heaven.
Based on the statements of
Jesus Christ that one should, "''enter in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there are that go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and strait the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it''," (Matt. 7:13,14) and that "''.. many are called, but few chosen.''" (Mark 20:16) many have inferred that there are very few elect, who are saved. However the number of the elect is generally an open question with no conclusive answer, as evidenced by the fact that there is no Catholic dogma concerning the matter.
See also
*
Predestination
*
Corporate election
References
* LESÊTRE in Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1899), II, 1708 sqq.; MURRAY, Dict. of the Bible (New York, 1900), I, 678 sqq.; KNABENBAUER, Evang. secundum Matthæum (Paris, 1893), II, 178, 247; MONSABRÉ Conférences de Notre-Dame (1899), Conference VI.
{{Authority control
Christian soteriology
Christian terminology