Idea of the Elect

So here's the wrinkle that I added to my brain last night in class. This one is rather religous-philosophical for those of you who are so minded...

The idea of the elect:
-Calvanist thought
-some are automatically saved (these are the Elect or chosen) & then some are automatically not saved whether they accept Christ are not ("I pity the poor fool...")
-tension between knowing if you're one of the Elect or one of the Damned (i.e. you really don't know if you're "chosen" until you're dead, so there's some tension about finding out if you're truly chosen or not)
-relating to the biblical stories of Jacob & Esau
-form of predestination that presupposes that you still lead a moral and upright life...so if you're one of the Elect, you still have to be a good person (moral & upright) and accept Christ & Christian teachings

Ah the kicker: What if you think that you're one of the Elect because good things ("Providence") keeps happening to you, but in actuality, you're not and just living your life to help make the life of one of the Elect better??

It makes for an interesting take on Robinson Crusoe.

In honor of my professor making a joke about whether or not J. D. Salinger is alive (or not) since he's a recluse, and how are we really supposed to know if a recluse is alive or not since...he's a recluse:

"I am a kind of paranoic in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy."
J. D. Salinger (1919-?)