Few issues in Christian theology have sparked as much debate over the centuries as the question of election. In this book Stephen Williams offers a coherent account of the doctrine of election and argues that we should diminish the role of system in Christian theology.<br><br>After discussing the biblical teaching on election, Williams turns to questions of theological method and substance. He maintains that the subject of predestination has to be considered in a wider biblical context than it often is and that it is a mistake to expect election to be understood within a comprehensive systematic framework. What matters is the relation of particular truths to the particulars of life, not the systematic relation of truths to each other.<br><br>Williams draws on and applies the insights of nineteenth- century evangelical Anglican leader Charles Simeon throughout and concludes his study with a long appendix on Karl Barths view of election.