How does Brian D Smith address the concept of predestination in his teachings?

When talking about predestination, the focus is on what certain theologies imply about God’s character and about us, more than on winning a Bible debate.

In conversations with guests like Dr. Boyd Purcell, two common frameworks are highlighted:

• Calvinism: God decides before creation who is saved and who is damned, and the non‑elect cannot be saved. This is described as making God look like a “supreme sadistic moral monster,” because people are created for destruction with no real choice.

• Arminianism: God wants all to be saved but cannot accomplish it because of human free will. That ends up making God well‑intentioned but weak.

From there, the alternative that resonates is Christian universalism:

• God is truly sovereign and truly loving.
• God’s will is that all ultimately be reconciled, and a sovereign, all‑powerful God gets what God wills.
• Scriptures like “I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32), “God is not willing that any should perish,” and “every knee will bow” are read as literal promises of eventual restoration, not empty offers.

So in teaching and coaching, the emphasis is:

• A God whose nature is perfect love, not eternal torture.
• Free will is real, and consequences are real, but they serve healing and purification, not never‑ending punishment.
• Any doctrine of predestination that portrays God as either cruel or powerless is rejected as toxic theology that harms grieving people and distorts the good news.

Underneath all of this is a core conviction: a loving, competent God does not design most of His children for eternal loss. Love never fails, and in the long run, love wins.

Is there a particular version of predestination you were taught that you are trying to sort out?