God’s Servant: Gottschalk of Orbais (Double Predestinarian and Martyr)
This article examines Gottschalk of Orbais (c. 803-868), a 9th-century monk who anticipates Reformed theology by over 750 years in his emphatic defense of double predestination, limited atonement, and a symbolic view of Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper. Hanko traces Gottschalk's life, education, and theological development, highlighting how this early defender of sovereign grace doctrines faced opposition from church authorities despite his conviction that he was defending orthodox Christian teaching.
The Man Gottschalk's name means "Servant of God," and as a servant of God's truth he lived and died. To suffer as he did for the doctrine of sovereign double predestination, he had not only in name but also in heart to be God's servant. Born around 803,1 Gottschalk anticipated Calvin's teaching by 750 years with his emphasis on the doctrines we know as limited atonement and double predestination. He also, though not alone, believed a symbolic or figurative presence of Christ in the Lord's...
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