Yes, I see the reasoning. My sense is that free will is crucial, otherwise our devotion to God is not voluntary, and without choice it’s not a relationship. Thus, free will can expose us to sin, to that devil always whispering in our ear. I think it was the Catholic Bishop Barron who, when asked why we don’t experience evidence of God speaking to us today, said, “But we do. He speaks to us through our conscience. That voice guiding us to do the right thing.” Thanks again, Jonas, I appreciate the theological guidance.
I guess the distinction here is that we may have been originally made pure, very good, and blessed, but these qualities did not insure good judgement. Perhaps it’s our free will that opened the door to listening to the snake’s lies and taking that first bite of the apple? Thanks Jonas, much to ponder here.
Oh, for sure! In Romans 7, Paul gives the best diagnosis ever of the human condition:
"For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
"So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Yes, I see the reasoning. My sense is that free will is crucial, otherwise our devotion to God is not voluntary, and without choice it’s not a relationship. Thus, free will can expose us to sin, to that devil always whispering in our ear. I think it was the Catholic Bishop Barron who, when asked why we don’t experience evidence of God speaking to us today, said, “But we do. He speaks to us through our conscience. That voice guiding us to do the right thing.” Thanks again, Jonas, I appreciate the theological guidance.
I guess the distinction here is that we may have been originally made pure, very good, and blessed, but these qualities did not insure good judgement. Perhaps it’s our free will that opened the door to listening to the snake’s lies and taking that first bite of the apple? Thanks Jonas, much to ponder here.
Oh, for sure! In Romans 7, Paul gives the best diagnosis ever of the human condition:
"For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
"So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"