Choices

Many Christian theologians through out history have debated weather human beings are as free to influence their own life and destiny as once thought. People such as St Augustine refers to dignity, which is assed to be a gift from God enabling human beings to choose their actions as they have been anointed by God, sanctified by the holy spirit and redeemed by Christ. This means that as human beings we are free to choose and therefore autoumonus and responsible for their actions. Aquinas writes, “man chooses not of necessity but freely” this free will is exercised when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit. Not only are we free to good in this life and therefore affecting our own destiny but also to do bad (sin). This dignity previously mentioned can grow through righteous living but on the same token, immoral behavior can corrupt and tarnish it.  It is a gift from God as humans are made in his likeness and therefore destined to join God as it is given in love it leads to the service of love (supernatural and social dimensions).

   However the omnipotence (all powerful character) and omniscience (all knowing character) of God inhibits some theological thinking. The question formed is; “if God knows all that we will do, is what we do truly voluntary? And if not, how can we be accountable for our actions?”. The founder of the Calvinist church writes “the eternal decree of God” implying that not only does God create human beings so that they can be redeemed but also “for some eternal damnation” is their destiny. Therefore how much free will do human beings really poses? St Augustine echoes this argument by writing the potter has authority over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for contempt” suggesting the idea of predestination firstly written by St Paul in his letter to the romans chapter 8 “For those God foreknew, he also predestined…” and therefore it could be said that because of God’s omnipotence the fatalism of human beings if out of their control, thus rendering them blameless for their actions… or does it?

   6^th century philosophers Boethius and St Thomas Aquinas argued that God is timeless, that is outside the human perception of time “God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow” (Isaiah 39) this means that in a way he has already seen our life run its course almost like watching a movie. For anybody, just because you have seen a movie before and know its ending, doesn’t mean you are going to change the outcome by knowing what happens. It’s the same with human beings and God’s all knowing character (omniscience). So human beings are totally free to influence their own life and destiny.