Free will is the ability to make choices that are not controlled by fate or God. Every man posses this power. According to the Bible, free will is a God given thing. It was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Often times, fictional characters are written to have free will. Those are the character that we find more relatable. One of those characters is Oedipus. In Sophocles’ Oedipus The King, Oedipus becomes a victim of his own free will; a parallel to the story of mankind as detailed in the bible.
Free will is found all over the Bible; although those exact words are not used. One example can be found in the book of John, in the 10th chapter. It states that, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to …show more content…
In the book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve is told. God instructed them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or, “... in the day that you eat from it will surely die.” (Aitken). Adam and Eve disobeyed this commandment and perfection was stripped from them and realized that they were naked. In Oedipus The King, Oedipus was told that in order to stop the plague, the killer of Laius must be removed from the city. Just how God would not reveal what was held in the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Teiresias does not reveal who killed Laius. Both God and Teiresias did this because they knew what destruction laid ahead. This is where Oedipus exercises his free will. His choice to find out the truth demonstrates just how dangerous free will can be. With free will comes with a lot of responsibility. Essentially, the idea of free will is that there are many paths already paved for you. Free will gives you the option of which one you want to travel down. Different choices lead down different paths. Not all of the paths are desirable. Oedipus discovers this later in the
Free will is found all over the Bible; although those exact words are not used. One example can be found in the book of John, in the 10th chapter. It states that, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to …show more content…
In the book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve is told. God instructed them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or, “... in the day that you eat from it will surely die.” (Aitken). Adam and Eve disobeyed this commandment and perfection was stripped from them and realized that they were naked. In Oedipus The King, Oedipus was told that in order to stop the plague, the killer of Laius must be removed from the city. Just how God would not reveal what was held in the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Teiresias does not reveal who killed Laius. Both God and Teiresias did this because they knew what destruction laid ahead. This is where Oedipus exercises his free will. His choice to find out the truth demonstrates just how dangerous free will can be. With free will comes with a lot of responsibility. Essentially, the idea of free will is that there are many paths already paved for you. Free will gives you the option of which one you want to travel down. Different choices lead down different paths. Not all of the paths are desirable. Oedipus discovers this later in the