Where They Stand, and Fall


JOHN S. FEINBERG, academician, theologian, and author (Contemporary)

"...Scripture surely teaches human freedom, [but] it does not state what kind of freedom is in view. Thus, one must turn to the philosophical discussion for an explanation of the ways in which human freedom can be understood."

There are..."two kinds of causes which influence and determine [human] actions. On the one hand, there are constraining causes which force an agent to act against his will. On the other hand, there are nonconstraining causes. These are sufficient to bring about an action, but they do not force a person to act against his will, desires or wishes.  According to determinists such as myself, an action is free even if causally determined so long as the causes are nonconstraining."

"...God is absolutely sovereign, and thus possesses absolute self-determination. This means that God's will covers all things and that the basis for God's sovereign choices is not what God foresees will happen nor anything else external to his will.  Rather, God's good pleasure and good purposes determine what he decrees.  Since God's decree covers all things, it must include both the ends God envisions as well as the means to such ends.  God includes whatever means are necessary to accomplish his ends in a way that avoids constraining the agent to do what is decreed.  Human actions are thus causally determined but free."

"Unfortunately, some Calvinists, because of their [mis]understanding of God's sovereignty, have denied that humans are free."

God Ordains All Things, PREDESTINATION & FREE WILL, p. 20.

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