Gnomic and natural human will

a natural human will is the will we have as part of our human nature. our will is created to only will the good with no deliberation. a gnomic will is one that deliberates, and is therefore is a product of the Fall.

Christ has a natural human will, but since it's united to His Divine Will, there is no deliberation.

ArmyMatt said:

a natural human will is the will we have as part of our human nature. our will is created to only will the good with no deliberation. a gnomic will is one that deliberates, and is therefore is a product of the Fall.

Christ has a natural human will, but since it's united to His Divine Will, there is no deliberation.

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1. Does a gnomic will deliberate about what is good, or about how to achieve the good?
2. What Orthodox school is responsible for the idea that deliberation is a product of the Fall?

zippy2006 said:

1. Does a gnomic will deliberate about what is good, or about how to achieve the good?
2. What Orthodox school is responsible for the idea that deliberation is a product of the Fall?

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1. both
2. not a school per say, but St John of Damascus teaches that the human will in Christ only willed what His Divine Will willed it to will.

David Cabrera said:

Did Adam have a natural human will before the Fall?

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yes, because he had a human nature.

David Cabrera said:

Then why Adam was capable of sinning and Jesus wasn't.

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Christ's human will was perfectly united to the Divine Will because He is God.

David Cabrera said:

Then why Adam was capable of sinning and Jesus wasn't.

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I would like to enjoin, if I may.

Scripture says Adam was made of the earth. Jesus however is the Word of God who abides hidden in God from the beginning, and is also the means through which all things were created before anything was. All things were created through Christ and for Christ. He is therefore not of the earth but is called a quickening spirit.

I believe this distinction brings these implications. Adam was without the knowledge of good and evil, while Jesus wasn't. Thus Adam in his innocence was vulnerable, lacking the confidence and experience necessary to stand his ground when the insinuation arose that he was complacent in his station under God. I also believe this is why Adam was malleable to the woman, who was beguiled by the serpent. Neither had experienced the subtlety of a lie.

It therefore follows that they could not have prevented the series of events that began with the introduction of a lie into a state of innocence.

Gnomic willing is a mode of willing which leads to an inclination towards sin. Through an imperfect understanding of all the facts, consequences, and actions, we deliberate and even make justifications for sinful choices. St. Maximos describes this gnomic mode of willing as a false perception. He says to Will is like sight, all who have vision can see. But each individual may perceive what they viewed differently.