Lesson 3: HUMAN WILL AND DIVINE GRACE Flashcards
has traditionally been conceived of as a kind of power to control one’s choices and actions
free will
is the power or capacity to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations independently of natural, social, or divine restraints.
Free will (Human Will)
they held other things and entities as responsible for evil in the world fate ( gods and goddesses, forces of nature,
and so forth instead of accepting any share whatsoever in the responsibility
Pagans
anyone who touched it would
discover the penalty of sin, and so be able to distinguish between the good obedience and the evil of disobedience
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
Two Types of Will:
-
Voluntas recta - the correct one
Bona voluntas - the good will -
Voluntas perversa - an erroneous one
Mala Voluntas - the evil will
- refers to the human will when it is properly directed that is, focused on what is intrinsically good
- Identified with “good love”
- Love in a good sense
Voluntas recta, Bona
voluntas
- refers to the human will when it is focused on something which turns out to be wrong even when it appears as good (apparent good)
- Identified with “perverted love”
- Love in a bad sense
Voluntas perversa, Mala
Voluntas
True or False
Ancient Greek philosophers (like Socrates) held that no man desires evil or does something wrong knowingly
True
are inferior to spiritual goods
Material goods (worldly honor glory, beauty, wealth, etc)
True or False
even among spiritual goods God occupies the highest place
True
as the power of the soul to do something (voluntas )
“will”
the “act of choosing” between alternative courses of action
liberum arbitrium
is an act of turning away from God
Evil
is the capacity to act or not to act . It is the power to perform or not to perform, to do or not to do. With this, we have the power to determine the course
of our actions.
freedom
is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility
freedom
The choice to disobey and
do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to
“the slavery of sin “
Human freedom can refer to:
- The capacity for Self determination
- The context
- The choice itself actualized freedom
- The self formed by the three fundamental orientation
it is not primarily a psychological term, but refers to our “moral being” as a human person
fundamental freedom or option
is not “the right to say and do
anything,” but to “do what is good ”
authentic freedom
involves freedom from everything that opposes our true self becoming with others in the community
Authentic freedom
ignorance or disordered passions, fears, personality defects, bad habits, prejudices, or psychological disturbances
Interior obstacles
is a movement of the sensitive appetite that inclines us to act or not to act with regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil
Passion
is the shrinking back of the mind on account of an impending evil
Fear
is a compulsive influence brought to bear upon one against his will by some extrinsic agent
Violence
is defined as a facility and readiness of acting in a
certain manner acquired by repeated acts
Habit
violent force or even the threat of violence, economic instability, social pressures, political or social influences, etc
Exterior forces
which include inherited handicaps and defects as well as external substances like drugs. (Sources that commonly traced our impediments to authentic freedom)
Biological
including those originating in the unconscious. (Sources that commonly traced our impediments to authentic freedom)
Psychological or interior compulsion
such as the many economic,
political, and cultural obstacles which impede the right to freedom. (Sources that commonly traced our impediments to authentic freedom)
Social pressures
is being fully accountable for my actions
Responsibility
For the Pelagians, this was intrinsic to human nature. When God created man, He endowed him with everything that he needed in order to live a good, virtuous, holy and perfect life on his own
grace
St. Augustine: Underscores the primacy of grace over _____.
human freewill
provides the therapy that heals
the will from the disease of sin and empowers it to act out of love
grace
means literally “Ten Words”
Decalogue
God revealed these “Ten Words” to his people on the holy mountain of?
Mt. Sinai
The “Ten Words” sum up and proclaim?
proclaim God’s law
is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In
making his will known, God reveals himself to his people
The gift of commandments
written on stone (found in the Old Testament)
“law of fear”
written in our hearts (as found in the New Testament)
“law of love”
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
- I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain
- Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10.You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods
teach individuals to abhor sin, but they do not give them
the capacity to avoid it
holy laws
