Predestination

Free Will and its Relation to Grace: Erasmus versus Luther In our reading on Discourse of Free Will, we develop a wholesome idea of the opinions both Erasmus and Luther had on the topic of free will and the how it correlates with God’s grace. Once we look beyond the back and forth debate of this text, we will begin to look at their theological opinions on free will separately to find a better understanding and formulate our own opinions on this commonly debated topic. As we look at the…

We are driven by our environment, biology and unconscious influence around us as free will is a state of mind. Free will is the idea that we have a choice in how we act and it assumes that we are unrestricted in choosing our actions, therefore we stand self-determined. We have the power to act without constraint of necessity or fate of discretion and a person remains in control of their own life. The idea of free will gives humans reason to exist. As if free will does not exist, then we live…

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…

each other, creating tension. The difference between the two concepts is evident; free will advocates choice and the ability to shape your own future, while fate governs your actions for the rest of your life, similar to the Calvinist belief of predestination in regards to salvation. Having such distinct natures, how is it possible for these two ideas to coexist and sometimes merge into one being containing both of their qualities? To understand their coexistence, situations from different works…

The idea of freewill and the existence of an omniscient being poses and interesting philosophical question; Can humans have free will, and co-exist with all-knowing deity, or does this create an apparent conflict? I am going to cover what the definition of these terms (freewill and omniscience) are for our discussion, bring up a few points about an apparent conflict between omniscience and freewill, and provide a conclusion as to whether or not this conflict is a strong defeater for these two…

“Free will, without which no one can live rightly, is a good and divine gift.” (Augustine 65). In the book, On the Free Choice of the Will, Augustine argues that humanity’s will, which is given by God, is indeed free. As the book proclaims, free will is something that has the ability to produce righteousness and happiness; it is a gift that produces peace and prosperity. Yet, at the same time, there is the possibility of the will to be fixed on the all too enticing temptations of this world.…

Free will is definitely more noticeable in the Old Testament compare to the Greek literature we have read in class. However, talk of fate and destiny had way more of an appearance in Greek literature compare to the idea of free will. Whenever a individual felt lost and didn't know what to do next, they would look at the foretold prophecies. Being able to look at prophecies diminishes the idea of free will since it allows an individual to be able to see the future, and prophecies are supposed to…

Since the beginning of time, people tend to believe fate has the biggest role in their life. As early as the 1500s, John Calvin preached that humans were predestined for their life on Earth, and there is nothing you can do change what you have been given. In reality, individuals have free will, which gives humans the opportunity to turn their life around. Although some may believe their actions are driven by fate, in truth, humans have free will to choose their actions and decide their choices…

Puritans and Predestination in The Crucible Puritans and Predestination are viewed throughout The Crucible by the Puritans lifestyle and their judgment against anything that is not in the Bible or said to be evil. In the opening, Paris states that it was very hard to gain respectable reputation with the rest of the Puritans, and with Abigail and the rest of the girls in the forest it would destroy what Parris has worked for. “The Puritans believed that the Bible was God’s true law, (Kizer).…

Stating that two existential suppositions that have been perceived as intrinsically antithetical (in traditional social and philosophic perspectives) are actually capable of coexistence is relatively contentious, but Ayer’s justification of causal determinism incorporated with freedom of volition implements synchronous aspects of both philosophical perceptions and manifests as a logical conclusion to the activities of humans: compatibilism, the abstraction that humans possess the capacity to…