选民 (神学)

选民，即天选之人，是指「被上帝拣选的人」。常常被视为是上帝挑选、喜爱的族群。
犹太人认为这个身分只属于他们，因为在《旧约圣经·出埃及记》中提到，希伯来人是上帝特选的子民，将来救世主弥赛亚要降临，拯救以色列人。以色列人还占有“上帝的话”或“上帝的律法”，即上帝借由摩西颁布的《摩西五经》。
亚伯拉罕宗教中，犹太人、基督徒、回教徒（穆斯林），都声称自己接受了上帝的启示，认为自己才是上帝的选民。
古时道教有类似的思想，称之种民或善种人。
被拣选的目的.
南北战争时，主要由基督徒构成的美国奴隶主以自己的观点和经历认为自己是「神所选定」，可以拥有奴隶，让社会更加进步。与此相反，同样主要由基督徒构成的废奴主义者，包括纳粹党，也认为自己是神所选定给奴隶带来自由和平等的权利。二次大战时，白人至上主义者相信雅利安人是「神所选定」而优越的，支配其他低等民族是他们的使命。许多宗教和慈善组织认为自己是「神所选定」来照顾病人和受苦的人。然而，被拣选的目的应当以《圣经》的原文的原始理解为基准。以上所提到的所有看法均是以某个阶层或者是某个团体自身的观念与经历出发的，不一定是《圣经》中的原意。
被拣选获得启示.
许多宗教相信神向先知启示了一些信息。基督宗教和回教的大部分教派都教导说，他们的信仰，是唯一使人得到拯救的道路。基督宗教与回教的少数教派，以及犹太教、印度教和锡克教则相信其他宗教的信徒，只要行善，也可以通过自己的方式到达神的国。
民族优越感.
选民的观念有时会带来民族优越感，批评者认为这一观念带来了文化帝国主义、种族主义和排外主义。不过基督徒和犹太人争辩说，选民的身份带来的更多的是责任和奉献，而不是特权。神道教教义中日本人是神选民族，日本是神造国家。
犹太教.
在犹太教中，相信以色列人是被神拣选与他立约的选民。这种观念与他们传统的部落（支派）观念并无联系，因为非犹太人也能够成为犹太人。
犹太教的选民观念首先见于《摩西五经》。
基督教.
过往的基督信仰认为基督徒已经取代以色列人成为神的选民。根据这种观点，对以色列的拣选最终将通过耶稣基督的教训来实现，犹太人拒绝基督信仰，不承认耶稣是弥赛亚，更不是上帝的儿子，就不再拥有选民资格。基督取代论者引《新约圣经》来支持他们的观点，说基督徒已取代犹太人成为神的选民和亚伯拉罕的后裔：“没有犹太人或希腊人，没有为奴的或自主的，也没有男和女，因为你们众人在基督耶稣里，都是一了。你们既属于基督，就是亚伯拉罕的后裔，是照着应许为后嗣了。”
加尔文主义.
加尔文主义不同于其他宗派的特点，就是极其强调「预选说」，加尔文继承了奥古斯丁的理念，认为上帝早已预先择定天选之人，耶稣之死是为那些天选之人赎罪，不是为世上所有的人。天选之人将获得永生，且不可能抗拒上帝的救恩，天选之人一次得救永远得救，不可能堕落；但未蒙天选的人则会永堕地狱，而且上帝让人升入天堂是无条件的拣选，亦不需要行善积德，更不须购买赎罪券。
非传统教派.
基督复临安息日会.
基督复临安息日会认为，安息日会信徒就是启示录12章17节所说，上帝在末日时期选召的“守神诫命、为耶稣作见证”的余民（Remnant），向世界传扬启示录14章的“三位天使之信息”（three angels' messages）。
后期圣徒运动.
在后期圣徒运动中，认为所有加入教会都是与神立约、或被选召的人。
世界和平统一家庭联合会.
文鲜明教导说，韩国是蒙神拣选的国度，负有神圣的使命。
伊斯兰教.
许多穆斯林相信伊斯兰教是专属于他们的宗教，所以真主安拉只会救援穆斯林。而另一部分穆斯林，相信安拉会救援每一个好人，可能是有经各派，甚至不分教派。穆斯林相信，真主安拉、基督徒的耶和华和犹太教的四字神名，是同一位神，详见《古兰经》。Say, 'People of the Book! come to a proposition which is the same for us and you - that we should worship none but God and not associate any partners with Him and not take one another as lords besides God.' If they turn away, say, 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.'(Surah Al 'Imran; 3:64)
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Today all good things have been allowed to you. And the food of those given the Book is also allowed to you and your food is allowed to them. So are chaste women from among the muminun and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who rejects faith, his actions will come to nothing and in the akhira he will be among the losers. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 5:5)
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Among the people of the Book there are some who have faith in God and in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down to them, and who are humble before God. They do not sell God's Signs for a paltry price. Such people will have their reward with their Lord. And God is swift at reckoning. (Surah Al 'Imran; 3:199)
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Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way. Your Lord knows best who is misguided from His way. And He knows best who are guided. (Surat an-Nahl; 16:125)
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...You will find the people most affectionate to those who have faith are those who say, 'We are Christians.' That is because some of them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. (Surat al-Ma'ida; 5:82)
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Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way - except in the case of those of them who do wrong - saying, 'We have faith in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him.'(Surat al-'Ankabut; 29:46)
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...There is a community among the People of the Book who are upright. They recite God's Signs throughout the night, and they prostrate. They have iman in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the salihun. You will not be denied the reward for any good thing you do. God knows those who have taqwa. (Surah Al 'Imran: 3:113-115)
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Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allâh and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor they grieve. (Surat al-Baqara; 2:62)
Muslims who believe Islam is in an adversarial relationship with Christianity and Judaism, cite other verses such as:
O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely God does not guide the unjust people. (Qur'an 5:51)
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You People of the Book! Why do you clothe Truth with falsehood and conceal the Truth while you have knowledge? Surah 3.71 
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Can you, o you men of Faith, entertain the hope that they will believe in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of God and perverted it knowingly after they understood it. Surah 2.75
Islamic supersessionism presents Muslims as the only people chosen to carry the true word of God.. In the Qur'an, according to the supersessionists, The Jewish people of that particular time period are charged with "falsehood" (Sura 3:71), distortion (4:46), and of being "corrupters of Scripture." 
Some parts of the Qur'an attribute differences between Muslims and non-Muslims to "tahri fi-manawi", a "corruption of the meaning" of the words. In this view, the Jewish Bible and Christian New Testament are true, but the Jews and Christians misunderstood the meaning of their own Scriptures, and thus need the Qur'an to clearly understand the will of God. Other parts of the Qur'an teach that many Jews and Christians deliberately altered their scripture, and thus altered the word of God in order to deceive their co-religionists. This belief was developed further in medieval Islamic polemics, and is a mainstream belief in much of Islam today. This is known as the doctrine of "tahrifi-lafzi", "the corruption of the text." -->
印度教.
印度教并不强调在国际上选民的概念。大体上，印度教相信通过实践真理和精神修炼来达到解脱，神是公正的。但是在国内用种姓制刻意维护统治者的利益。religions naturally believe in a Personal God who is purely anthropomorphic, who like a great potentate in this world is pleased with some and displeased with others. He is arbitrarily pleased with some people or races and showers blessings upon them. You will find that in almost every religion is the idea: "We are the favorites of God, and only by believing as we do, can you be taken into favor with Him." And, therefore, in the nature of things, religions are bound to fight and quarrel with each other.
However, there are a few features of Hinduism that are reminiscent of a "chosen people" concept. The caste system of India confers a degree of birth-right on higher castes such as the Brahmins, which some claim is sanctioned by God or by the scriptures. However, there is controversy within Hinduism about whether the caste system is really part of the Hindu religion, or is merely an outdated "social" institution.
After the interactions with the West Asian religions, at present there exist a few cults or New Religious Movements that consider themselves to be the Chosen people, e.g., the Brahma Kumari World Spiritual Organisation [B.K.]. The B.K.s believe in a strict hierarchy of human souls in which they occupy the top 8, 108, 16,108 and 900,000 positions, which comprise the trunk of the human world tree. All other religions are seen as branches of the tree, but a necessary part of the tree's beauty. -->