The issue of human free will often comes up in theological discussion and sometimes proves to be a sticking point. For a lot of people, the complete libertarian freedom of human beings is a non-negotiable fact. You can't get away from it. We all make choices of our own free will, choices which determine our eternal destiny. Any attempt to say free will is in any way limited is resisted because it would mean our love for God is limited, or needs to be coerced by God. God does not want us to be robots, but people who freely choose to love him, in response to his love for is.
I find that I can only partly agree with this view. Free will and the choice to love and do right are important, but I believe that God, in his parental love, allows us the gift of freedom within safe limits just as any responsible parent or schoolteacher does for the children in their care. I agree with Tom Talbott, author of The Inescapable Love of God that God will not allow anybody to do something which will cause them irreparable harm. There is a stage where the loving God steps in and puts his body on the line to save his erring child. God does not stand by helplessly or stubbornly saying "I told her it was dangerous" as his disobedient child runs into the road...
This kind of discussion usually reaches an uncomfortable impasse or diverts into the murky waters of compatibilism. But I noticed something in Ezekiel 36:27 this morning which might encourage us to think of free will in a different way.
Here it is in the NRSV "I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances." Ezekiel 36:27
The TNIV translates it slightly differently "And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
I'm just thinking out loud here, but I wonder how this teaching about the Holy Spirit relates to ideas of human freedom and free will. What is freedom if God makes us do the right thing? Or perhaps an armwrestle goes on inside us (Romans 7?) as we resist the Spirit and go our own way. But surely there can only be one winner in such an armwrestle?
What do others think?
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I think there's a danger in equating God with a parent, the analogy can only go so far.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if we accept Talbott's argument that God won't let us do anything which causes us irreparable harm then we have to assume that the man who repeatedly abuses others, kills/maims/rapes others can be redeemed, that the person who self harms and ultimately commits suicide can be redeemed.In other words, there has to be some kind of post-mortem reconciliation where our sins are viewed and we are given another chance to repent... this seems the only logical option, and it ties in with the idea of the Holy Spirit working in us
I agree we have to be careful how we use the parent analogy, but it is the way Jesus taught us to think of God. I also agree with what you say about the Holy Spirit's purifying, correcting work continuing postmortem, for as long as it takes :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that logically these are all very sound arguments. Unfortunately I happened to have read this just before I read the news and I got to thinking about some of the people I have been fortunate enough to experience. If I continue with the analogy of the road then I see a lot of people walking on the road and being hit. Logically it is a sound argument that God would prevent us doing anything irrevocable but in practice I see NO evidence of it being in practice. Neither do you because included in the comments is the post-mortem clause.
ReplyDeleteOne of chapters of the Summa Theologica by St Thomas Aquinas is devoted to the question Is Natural reason sufficient to understand God? and the conclusion is no. If I can paraphrase in one line, temporal logic is not sufficient to understand the immortal and everlasting wisdom of the supernatural. I have not found to date any philosopher or saint that has not asked the question of God, What about the lost? What about the one who never had a chance? And I have never found any answer better than Dante's who did not rely on his own understand the answer paraphrased "you are not in charge, He is! God is good so do not doubt that whatever He has decided will also be good. You worry about your own choice and what you need to do." This my thinking out loud. And I hope it does not cause objection but rather provoke thoughtful and prayerful analysis.
God Bless
Thanks for your thoughts Ed. We can certainly trust that God is good and that whatever he does for all his creatures will be accomplished and will be good. As for Dante, I think his grim poetic immagination of the afterlife has been a bad and an unbiblical influence on Christian thinking for too long. Dante's God who is "in charge" is a darker, more ominous and unmerciful figure than the God of scripture. Whether or not we see a postmortem hope for those who have recklessly "run into the road" and died without being reconciled to God is a matter of opinion, or rather, of how we interpret different bible passages. For me, the texts which support the eventual salvation of everybody, even those whose rebellion continues right into hell, are the strongest. Psalm 139 is an interesting example. "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." (Ps 139:7-10 NKJV).
ReplyDeleteThanks again and God bless.
If we allow the God's Holy Spirit to do so then it's good to believe God will prevent us from doing irreparable harm to ourselves. And perhaps that is God's plan, long term, that the whole world acknowledge Him, be reconciled with God, and finally His Spirit will make/move us all act according to His will.
ReplyDeleteWith all the irreparable damage being done around the world, that time seems a long way off!
Though God moves in mysterious ways: the world was on the brink of irreparable damage, but was it not a miracle that it was prevented from doing so - Cuba in the early sixties, and how was the Berlin Wall broken down.......... So maybe you are right Andrew, God has His limits as to how far we are free!
Thanks Michael. The Bible does teach the ending you describe, but I agree, that kind of ending does appear a long way off. I hold onto the fact that God is all-loving, all-wise and all-powerful. In the meantime our task is clear; to shine like stars as we follow Jesus through the darkness.
ReplyDeleteThank you Andrew. And your sermon yesterday, which I have just read, brilliantly outlines how in very helpful practical ways.
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