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Plus one. I hate the gloom & doom attitude towards Catholicism & Christianity as a whole. It's not called 'Good News' for nothing.A tip of the hat to Gurney...
That's been my point for a few posts. I agree with this wholeheartedly, and it can be found in the Catholic tradition as well.
Mortal sin can result from a momentary lapse of judgement. Mortal sin is really, really easy.
Snipped to portion addressed. Longer post above.
Not according to the Church. Three things must be present for a sin to be mortal--1. the action must be gravely wrong, 2. the person has to know that it is gravely wrong, and 3. the person has to freely choose to do it anyway. If even one of the 3 requirements is missing, there is no mortal sin.
Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus.
There are really two different questions that people could be referring to as free-will.
In Calvinist/Reformed tradition, building upon Augustine and Aquinas the argument of free-will is very limited, referring really only to the question of salvation and knowing God.
In a more broad philosophical/Scientific sense, the question of free-will vs determinism is about the nature of existence and the universe, and it covers every aspect of life and being. Are any of your choices actually free, or are they all the product of an inevitable chain of cause and effect.
Which one are you asking about?
No. I put little stock in private revelations. We have the Scriptures, which gives us plenty of information...for example:
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Luke 13:24
Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Mortal sin can result from a momentary lapse of judgement. Mortal sin is really, really easy.
Thanks to Original Sin, yeah, that's kinda it. Jesus said so, too, "no one can come to Me unless the Father draw him" (John 6:65).
Why bother with philosophy when you have the Scripture? Look at Genesis 2:16:Does anyone on this board have a good philosophical answer that proves the existence of freewill? The answer has to be compatible with the Christian understanding of God. I have yet to find a valid argument for actual freewill.
Please read the section of Thomas that I mentioned earlier, if you haven't already.
Nothing you said means that free will is not free. Just because events have happened to us, even mental events, it does not mean we are slaves to those events. As I said before, they may limit the breadth of our choices, but we are still free to choose within that breadth.
Have you been reading a lot of Sartre?
Why bother with philosophy when you have the Scripture? Look at Genesis 2:16:
"And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden"
What you're saying is that our decisions are based upon previous experience, the way we think, and such so that means we have a lack of free will?
That is worth some consideration, wouldn't you agree?
It could be, but I think it is kind of flawed. We are made up of our past decisions, but it is also possible to stop a trend. Someone that overspends could decide not to overspend. Now, it could be argued that forces are compelling them to that decision, but it could also just be an internal change.
It's making things out to be a bit too robotic.
Actually, you and I are going to be even further apart on doctrine than you think.
Perhaps we shouldn't view free will in our actions but in our thoughts. In my thoughts, I am not bound by social norms or consequences for actions. I can think freely about whatever crosses my mind. In there I may be limited by intelligence or information, but I think our minds show our free will. If I spend days thinking about a decision, running through the possibilities, and then acting upon that thought, how could it not be free will?
To ask another question, what would free look like if we don't have it?
You were given Scripture that indicates you're incorrect. You did not address that Scripture, or it's interpretation. So I would think your reasoning is incorrect.Because reason and faith cannot, ultimately, conflict. If conflict exists, it means one of the two are wrong. Either:
My reasoning is incorrect,
or,
The Church's is incorrect.
I normally would give over to faith and continue to search for an answer. However, when there's not an answer for one of the foundations of Christianity, there's a problem.
A couple years ago, I read this book;
Dr Gazzaniga is considered the father of cognitive neuroscience.
I got interested because a debate with some atheist, they contend that free will is the invention of religion, and they base their rejection of free-will on the science of "cause an effect," i.e. every effect had a cause and this includes our actions.
Dr Gazzaniga, rejects this and shows why it's non-sense.
If it were true, we'd have to close all the jails, for people are doing time for crimes they committed which were not their fault. A biological cause in their brains created an effect which forced them to make the decisions they made.
Jim
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