Any thing that happens without a fore-known cause; commonly called accidental. An event not come to pass is said to be contingent, which either may or may not be: what is already done, is said to have been contingent, if it might or might not have been. What is contingent or casual to us is not so with God. As effects stand related to a second cause, they are many times contingent; but as they stand related to the first cause, they are acts of God's counsel, and directed by his wisdom.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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