English

Noun

decisionism ‎(uncountable)

1. The doctrine that moral or legal precepts are the product of decisions made by political or legal bodies
2. (Christianity) A theology that stresses the importance of the decision to become a Christian for salvation. Often this decision takes the form of the sinner's prayer.
   • 2008, Chuck Lawless, “Southern Baptist Non-Calvinists—Who Are We Really?”, in E. Ray Clendenen and Brad J. Waggoner, editors, Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue, page 166:

     The decisionism of today's SBC is problematic, but many of us remain unconvinced that dropping decision from our evangelistic vocabulary is a necessary response […] .

   • 2011, John MacArthur et al., Evangelism: How to Share the Gospel Faithfully, page 134:

     The sinner's prayer is an example of a wrong presupposition that plagues much of modern evangelism. It comes from the errant notion that a sinner's decision to receive Christ is the determining factor in salvation. The sinner's prayer is an offshoot of this concept of decisionism, despite the fact that it utterly removes the idea that it is actually God who draws people to Himself.

Synonyms

• (Christianity): decision theology

Related terms

• decisionist

Translations