Innocence, Free Will, and the Fall: Philosophy Forums

Innocence, Free Will, and the Fall
Philosophical implications of traditional Christian doctrine

Innocence, Free Will, and the Fall

aletheist
Professor

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Posted 07/02/09 - 12:43 PM: Subject: Innocence, Free Will, and the Fall	#1
Christians traditionally believe that God created the first humans innocent (knowing only the good), but also gave them free will (so that they could love him), and unfortunately they chose to gain the knowledge of both good and evil. Every human since, with the obvious exception of Jesus Christ (God in human flesh), has made the same choice. As a result, the default condition for all humans is alienation from God. In another thread where I posted a similar summary, mric suggested starting this separate one. mric wrote: I have never understood the Christian answer (since it requires God to have created the first humans innocent, with free will, and with a tendency to make evil choices). I take exception to that last assumption. Genuine (libertarian) free will requires the ability to take more than one possible course of thought or action under a given set of circumstances. Being capable of choosing evil is not the same thing as having "a tendency to make evil choices." Other thoughts?
"Be attentive, Be intelligent, Be reasonable, Be responsible." - Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984)

keda
Ijon Tichy

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Posted 07/02/09 - 12:54 PM:	#2
Good point. A tendency already implies that it is not a free choice, but that it is influenced by some other factor. One cannot tend to choose freely one way or the other.
All about making money Free Europe Now How to fix your country In thought, men distance themselves from nature in order thus imaginatively to present it to themselves--but only in order to determine how it is to be dominated - Adorno and Horkheimer

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