WJEC/Eduqas RS for A2/Yr2: Religion and Ethics (DRAFT)

T4 Determinism and free will

be illustrated by Augustine. Augustine reacted angrily to the free will teachings of Pelagius because his libertarian theology, according to Augustine, seemed to diminish the omnipotent nature of God. This is because Pelagius’ theories made it possible, according to Augustine, for a mere human being to decide freely whether to be morally good or sinful. The implication of this was that the human being would then be able to tell an omnipotent deity whether to give them salvation. That, argued Augustine, was an intolerable denial of God’s omnipotence, an insult to His divine majesty. Moreover, Arminius free will defence of God seems to diminish God’s omnipotent nature. This is because Arminius’ free will doctrine makes it clear, as he states: ‘God has limited his control in correspondence with man’s freedom.’ Therefore, if human beings have free will this is a clear indication that the use of prayer is irrelevant because God does not have the omnipotent power to answer human prayer.

DRAFT

AO2 Activity As you read through this section try to do the following: 1. Pick out the different lines of argument that are presented in the text and identify any evidence given in support. 2. For each line of argument try to evaluate whether or not you think this is strong or weak. 3. Think of any questions you may wish to raise in response to the arguments. This Activity will help you to start thinking critically about what you read and help you to evaluate the effectiveness of different arguments and from this develop your own observations, opinions and points of view that will help with any conclusions that you make in your answers to the AO2 questions that arise.

Religious believers often use prayer for God’s guidance in life.

Another line of argument that free will makes the use of prayer relevant is that prayer can be used to build a rapport with a God, to either seek His guidance on the right moral path or to seek His forgiveness for sin. Both these points are supported by free will theory. Firstly, Pelagius argues that a human being is not able to fulfil God’s moral eternal law without divine aid. As Pelagius stated: ‘God helps us by His teaching and revelation, whilst He opens the eyes of our heart. Whilst He points out to us the future, that we may not be absorbed in the present; whilst He discovers to us the snares of the devil …’ Therefore, Pelagius believed, that human beings do have the free will to choose to do good works, or be sinful, but when their free will chooses to do good works it is through the guiding grace of God. As Pelagius states: ‘Free will is in all good works always assisted by divine help.’ This divine aid to guide human beings down the righteous path could be enhanced with prayer; as the human being opens themselves up to guiding light of the divine. The same could be argued with Arminius’ theory that the Holy Spirit acts as a guide for human beings. The work of the Holy Spirit in a human being’s life could be enhanced by prayer. Secondly, Pelagius believed that if human beings, with their free will, do choose not to follow God’s eternal moral law, and instead sin, that they can seek forgiveness. This is because through God’s Grace human beings can be forgiven and thus still achieve salvation. Pelagius stated that God grants atonement through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to all those who freely choose to have faith in him. However, Pelagius argues that sins need to be freely confessed, through prayer. Therefore, free will theory clearly illustrates that the use of prayer has important value.

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