Are we the co-author of our own life

praise_habit · 03-23-2006, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter

There is certainly debate over whether pre-Fall man had actual free will

He had enough free will to sin, didn't he? With absolutely no free will whatsoever, wouldn't it be impossible to do something that God had implicitly told you not to do?

**Chrysostom** · 03-23-2006, 01:10 AM

The debate, I assume, is over exactly what form the freedom of man's will has. No one, I hope, is denying that we have wills which are generally free from outside coercive force, that we have thoughts and feeling and choices and so on.

Vespertine · 03-23-2006, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter

I think this is a misinterpretation of the type of freedom God granted to Adam. He is given the freedom to choose from which tree he will eat. This does not equate to free will. His choices were still determined by his will. There is certainly debate over whether pre-Fall man had actual free will, but I think it's clear that post-Fall man is slave to sin (John 8:34, Romans 6:16) and thus makes choices from a will that is not free.[/color]

With free will I think that humans were created with the free will to follow God or to reject him. What I meant by my quote was not that we have the freedom to choose what tree we eat from but that we have the freedom of whether we choose to follow God or not. I consider this proof that we have free will.