An usual takeaway from reading On the Free Choice of the Will by Augustine is that human sins through his or her own free will, which is granted by God and good. Nevertheless, it is tempting to leave the problem of evil just at this point, without considering the actual significance of the free will. For instance, can this human free will act independently of any restrains? Why is it designed the way it is right now? Therefore, this essay sets out to address the question how God frames human free will, knowing it enables human to sin, so that it serves His good purposes according to On the Free Choice of the Will.
Intuitively, the question of how free exactly is human free will emerges. Through Book One and Book Two, Augustine contends that …show more content…
According to Augustine, humans’ ability to use free will to turn towards God instead of the ephemeral has been impaired by Original Sin that is inherited in human nature. Specifically, ignorance and trouble naturally block humans’ link with God, as ignorance results in difficulty in discerning right or wrong, and trouble entails strong and even irresistable lust. You may ask why God still hold us accountable for our natural will to turn away from Him, as Augustine said earlier in the text that “If that movement [through the will] exists by nature or necessity, it cannot be blameworthy in any way.” Indeed, Original Sin undermines our free will to the extent that making the righteous choices becomes extremely hard, even impossible. However, Augustine manages to resolve the tension here through recognizing the distinctive context from which Original Sin and human free will were made. That distinction in context is that Original Sin “is not human nature as originally established, but the penalty after being damned.” In other words, God did not initially create us with Original Sin in our nature, but penalized us with Original Sin after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. Therefore, there are two kinds of human nature, one when human beings were originally made, one after they were cast out of Heaven, which now we mortals obtain. Then, you may ask again, as Augustine predicts, “Suppose Adam and Eve sinned. What did we unhappy people do, on our part, to be born with the blindness of ignorance and the torments of trouble?” Notably, Augustine is obviously irritated by such question as it doubts the purpose of God, and uses Jesus as an example of “one among human beings who triumphed over error and lust” to demonstrate that human still can transcend Original
Intuitively, the question of how free exactly is human free will emerges. Through Book One and Book Two, Augustine contends that …show more content…
According to Augustine, humans’ ability to use free will to turn towards God instead of the ephemeral has been impaired by Original Sin that is inherited in human nature. Specifically, ignorance and trouble naturally block humans’ link with God, as ignorance results in difficulty in discerning right or wrong, and trouble entails strong and even irresistable lust. You may ask why God still hold us accountable for our natural will to turn away from Him, as Augustine said earlier in the text that “If that movement [through the will] exists by nature or necessity, it cannot be blameworthy in any way.” Indeed, Original Sin undermines our free will to the extent that making the righteous choices becomes extremely hard, even impossible. However, Augustine manages to resolve the tension here through recognizing the distinctive context from which Original Sin and human free will were made. That distinction in context is that Original Sin “is not human nature as originally established, but the penalty after being damned.” In other words, God did not initially create us with Original Sin in our nature, but penalized us with Original Sin after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. Therefore, there are two kinds of human nature, one when human beings were originally made, one after they were cast out of Heaven, which now we mortals obtain. Then, you may ask again, as Augustine predicts, “Suppose Adam and Eve sinned. What did we unhappy people do, on our part, to be born with the blindness of ignorance and the torments of trouble?” Notably, Augustine is obviously irritated by such question as it doubts the purpose of God, and uses Jesus as an example of “one among human beings who triumphed over error and lust” to demonstrate that human still can transcend Original