PREDESTINATION:
a term often identified with GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE that connotes the idea
that before the CREATION of the UNIVERSE, God determined and foreordained all that would
come to pass. In a narrower sense it refers to God's eternal decree respecting the
SALVATION or DAMNATION of individuals. Although ideas about predestination are found in
many CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS, including ROMAN CATHOLICISM, they are somewhat unfairly
associated with CALVINISM. Predestination also plays an important role in ISLAM.