SCRIPTURE
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:25
QUOTE
"Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved. Remove free will, and you have nothing that could be saved" Anselm of Canterbury
SCIENCE
Every human can have freedom or self-determination and choose his or her course of action. But the decisions they make determine their future. Free will stands at the intersection of theology, philosophy, and science, prompting profound inquiries into the nature of human agency and the existence of moral responsibility.
LET US PONDER
In theology, free will often intersects with divine sovereignty and predestination, God's omniscience and human autonomy, and divine foreknowledge with the possibility of genuine choice. If God's control over our actions is deterministic, can we override God's determinism with our free will? When Adam and Eve made their choices, did they exercise their free will to the extent of superseding God's determinism over their fate?
Philosophically, free will can be viewed in conjunction with both determinism and non-determinism where determinism prevents genuine free will. These philosophical explorations extend beyond mere speculation, influencing our comprehension of moral responsibility, individual identity, and the fabric of societal organization.
Science tries to unravel the pathway underlying decision-making mechanisms and the extent to which genetic predispositions, environmental factors, and neural processes influence our choices. Is our action predetermined by our brain activity or is our conscious deliberation and subjective experience what shapes our behavior? What is the relationship between the mind, the brain, and our choices?
Jesus invited people to make decisions aligned with God's will, emphasizing the power of human choice in shaping one's spiritual destiny. His encounter with the rich young ruler who was challenged to sell his possessions and follow him, underscored the significance of freewill in responding to God's call. Jesus willingly chose to undergo crucifixion as an act of love and atonement for humanity's sins. This act of self-sacrifice exemplifies the ultimate exercise of free will in obedience to God's redemptive plan. The relationship between free will and Jesus in Christian theology emphasizes the freedom to choose and the transformative power of aligning one's will with the teachings and example of Christ.