[Theses theologicae, variis temporibus in Academia Sedanensi editae et ad disputandum propositae; (London: 1683)]
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu (1614–1675), a faithful minister and learned professor in the Reformed churches of France, was born, according to varying accounts, either in Longvilliers near Paris or in Senlis, into a noble lineage known for its fidelity to the gospel. His family, enriched with civil dignity and ecclesiastical zeal, had long adorned the cause of Christ in France; his grandfather Étienne Le Blanc served as royal counselor and wrote piously on Christian devotion. Educated in the spirit of Geneva and Beza, Le Blanc rose early to prominence as a preacher in Sedan, a stronghold of French Huguenot piety, where he served over thirty years. In 1644, he was appointed professor of theology at the renowned Academy of Sedan, succeeding the eminent Des Marêts, and was several times rector and moderator, guiding both ecclesiastical polity and theological instruction with singular prudence. A man of profound intellect and irenic disposition, Master Le Blanc strove not only for the propagation of pure doctrine but for the peace of the visible church, even being appointed by civil magistrates, including the Marshal of Turenne, to mediate reconciliation between Protestants and Papists—though in vain. His involvement with the Synod of Alençon in 1637 as a commissioner to assess the doctrines of Amyraut and others shows the esteem in which he was held for both doctrinal precision and spiritual sobriety. As Pierre Nicole testified, he was “a precise man with a clear mind,” discerning with rare clarity the subtleties of authors and doctrinal variance. He departed this life in Sedan in 1675, leaving behind not the noise of controversy, but the fragrance of wisdom and charity, ever laboring for truth and unity in the house of God.
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Wherein is set forth the use of these terms in the Schools of the Roman Church and the Protestant Divines; and how in those Schools the effects and object of Predestination are diversely assigned.
In the Roman School, the term Predestination is used in sundry manners. For according to certain Doctors thereof, Predestination comprehendeth only that decree whereby God from eternity hath absolutely ordained to bestow heavenly glory upon certain men. Others, however, restrain Predestination rather to the decree of granting unto certain men the means infallibly leading to the attainment of heavenly glory. Yet others contend that both decrees pertain to Predestination. Thus observeth Eustachius à Sancto Paulo in his Summa Theologiae, on Predestination, Question 3.
The first acceptation is the less common. Yet so do certain ancient Scholastics, as Gabriel Biel and William of Ockham, seem to take the name of Predestination, to whom Predestination appeareth to be naught else but the eternal counsel of God, whereby He decreed to give glory unto certain men. This is evident from that which Gregory of Valentia relateth, Tom. 1, Disputation 1, Question 23, Point 3.
But the greater part of the Scholastics take Predestination in the second manner, to wit, as the preparation of grace, distinguished from election unto glory. So it is seen in Martin Becanus, Summa Theologiae, Tom. 1, Chapter 14, Question 2, Conclusion 1.
Yet many Doctors of the Roman Church so define Predestination that it pertaineth not only to the preparation of grace but also to that of glory. For them, Predestination is the eternal decree or purpose of God, whereby He ordaineth and directeth certain men unto supernatural blessedness, to be attained in very deed through supernatural means. In this opinion are the aforesaid Eustachius à Sancto Paulo, Peter à Sancto Joseph, Gregory of Valentia, Estius, and many others.
Jansenius, and his disciples, following Augustine in this matter, take Predestination in a yet more general sense. For they hold that God’s Predestination regardeth not only good but also evil—not the evil of guilt, but of punishment. Thus, they say that the reprobate are no less predestinated by God unto eternal torments than the elect unto glory and blessedness. Whence they make a twofold Predestination: one unto life, and another unto death. This is seen in Jansenius, On the Grace of Christ the Saviour, Book 9, Chapter 3.