13887578
Description
Mind Map by Nick Purches-Knab, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Nick Purches-Knab
over 6 years ago
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Belief in Free Will
Renders Prayer
Irrelevant. ETV
- Why do religious believers pray?- are these prayers
compatible with a belief in free will?
- To better know the will of God
- Free will does not mean that we do not
need help in life! Theologians like
Pelagius and Arminius argue that we
need a relationship with God to know his
will for us – prayer develops this
relationship.
- To choose to align ourselves with God
frees us from being enslaved to our
baser urges and desires. Prayer is a
mark of freedom
- Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh,
but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ.
- Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh,
but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ.
- Free will does not mean that we do not
need help in life! Theologians like
Pelagius and Arminius argue that we
need a relationship with God to know his
will for us – prayer develops this
relationship.
- To be given strength to follow God's will
- Sin is still a powerful reality even
though we have free will. Pelagius
says that we need everything in our
arsenal to overcome it – including
asking God for help through prayer.
- During these hours each day pray-
Pelagius Letter to Demetria
- During these hours each day pray-
Pelagius Letter to Demetria
- Free will means that we can choose
to sin (as well as to do good). If we
indulge sin we will find it impossible
to correct our habits so to maintain
our free will we must enlist God's
help through prayer.
- Habit is what
nourishes both
vices and virtues,
Pelagius
- Habit is what
nourishes both
vices and virtues,
Pelagius
- Sin is still a powerful reality even
though we have free will. Pelagius
says that we need everything in our
arsenal to overcome it – including
asking God for help through prayer.
- To ask for forgiveness for transgressions
- This forgiveness can only be effective if
free will is true- can't help the
reprobates in Calvin's theology!
- All are not created on equal terms, but some are
preordained to eternal life, others to eternal
damnation; Calvin
- All are not created on equal terms, but some are
preordained to eternal life, others to eternal
damnation; Calvin
- So if God automatically forgives us does this
mean that our sins are wiped away. Doesn't
this mean we can't really sin? Surely for us
to be free we have to be required to live
with good and bad actions.
- However when we are forgiven the consequences of our
sin are not wiped away, and our gratitude for
forgiveness changes our behaviour in future.
- However when we are forgiven the consequences of our
sin are not wiped away, and our gratitude for
forgiveness changes our behaviour in future.
- This forgiveness can only be effective if
free will is true- can't help the
reprobates in Calvin's theology!
- petitionary prayer
- If God changed the world in accordance with
our requests then we would not be able to
have free will! The world follows natural laws
etc so that we can have an environment
where free will is possible.
- So this type of prayer is really about us being changed
to better accept the world as it is- according to God's
will.
- So this type of prayer is really about us being changed
to better accept the world as it is- according to God's
will.
- If God changed the world in accordance with
our requests then we would not be able to
have free will! The world follows natural laws
etc so that we can have an environment
where free will is possible.
- To ask God to make us into virtuous robots who never sin?
- Do Christians want God to override their free choices
- No - they want God's help in choosing the difficult path!
- No - they want God's help in choosing the difficult path!
- Do Christians want God to override their free choices
- To better know the will of God
- It is only belief in Free Will which renders prayer fully effective.
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