Free Will and God's Universal Causality

Free Will and God's Universal Causality
Author: W. Matthews Grant
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2019-05-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1350082929

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The traditional doctrine of God's universal causality holds that God directly causes all entities distinct from himself, including all creaturely actions. But can our actions be free in the strong, libertarian sense if they are directly caused by God? W. Matthews Grant argues that free creaturely acts have dual sources, God and the free creaturely agent, and are ultimately up to both in a way that leaves all the standard conditions for libertarian freedom satisfied. Offering a comprehensive alternative to existing approaches for combining theism and libertarian freedom, he proposes new solutions for reconciling libertarian freedom with robust accounts of God's providence, grace, and predestination. He also addresses the problem of moral evil without the commonly employed Free Will Defense. Written for analytic philosophers and theologians, Grant's approach can be characterized as “neo-scholastic” as well as “analytic,” since many of the positions defended are inspired by, consonant with, and develop resources drawn from the scholastic tradition, especially Aquinas.

Divine Causality and Human Free Choice

Divine Causality and Human Free Choice
Author: Robert Joseph Matava
Publisher:
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2010
Genre: Free will and determinism
ISBN:

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Divine Will and Human Choice

Divine Will and Human Choice
Author: Richard A. Muller
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 524
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493406701

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This fresh study from an internationally respected scholar of the Reformation and post-Reformation eras shows how the Reformers and their successors analyzed and reconciled the concepts of divine sovereignty and human freedom. Richard Muller argues that traditional Reformed theology supported a robust theory of an omnipotent divine will and human free choice and drew on a tradition of Western theological and philosophical discussion. The book provides historical perspective on a topic of current interest and debate and offers a corrective to recent discussions.

Predestination & Free Will

Predestination & Free Will
Author: David Basinger
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2009-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780830876594

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If God is in control, are people really free? This question has bothered Christians for centuries. And answers have covered a wide spectrum. Today Christians still disagree. Those who emphasize human freedom view it as a reflection of God's self-limited power. Others look at human freedom in the order of God's overall control. David and Randall Basinger have put this age-old question to four scholars trained in theology and philosophy. John Feinberg of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Norman Geisler of Dallas Theological Seminary focus on God's specific sovereignty. Bruce Reichenbach of Augsburg College and Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College insist that God must limit his control to ensure our freedom. Each writer argues for his perspective and applies his theory to two practical case studies. Then the other writers respond to each of the major essays, exposing what they see as fallacies and hidden assumptions. A lively and provocative volume.

The Freedom of the Will

The Freedom of the Will
Author: Jonathan Edwards
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2023-12-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

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Jonathan Edwards' 'The Freedom of the Will' is a seminal work in the philosophical and theological exploration of free will. Written in a complex and highly intellectual style, the book delves into the concept of human agency and the tension between divine sovereignty and individual responsibility. Edwards draws on his deep understanding of Calvinist theology to argue for the compatibility of God's predestination with human free will, exploring the limits of human autonomy in the face of a divine plan. The book serves as a critical examination of the ethical implications of determinism and the nature of moral decision-making. It stands as a classic work of American literature that continues to provoke debate and reflection on the nature of freedom and choice. Jonathan Edwards, a renowned American preacher and theologian, was deeply influenced by the Puritan tradition and the religious revival of the Great Awakening. His exploration of theological and philosophical questions in 'The Freedom of the Will' reflects his profound intellectual engagement with his faith and the challenges of understanding human agency in the context of divine providence. For readers interested in the intersections of theology, philosophy, and ethics, Jonathan Edwards' 'The Freedom of the Will' offers a thought-provoking and insightful exploration of the complexities of free will and determinism, making it a valuable read for scholars and thinkers alike.

Philosophical Essays on Divine Causation

Philosophical Essays on Divine Causation
Author: Gregory Ganssle
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2021-12-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000530728

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This book discusses various aspects of God’s causal activity. Traditional theology has long held that God acts in the world and interrupts the normal course of events by performing special acts. Although the tradition is unified in affirming that God does create, conserve, and act, there is much disagreement about the details of divine activity. The chapters in this book fruitfully explore these disagreements about divine causation. The chapters are divided into two sections. The first explores historical views of divine causal activity from the Pre-Socratics to Hume. The second section addresses a variety of contemporary issues related to God’s causal activity. These chapters include defenses of the possibility of special acts of God, proposals of models of divine causation, and analyses of divine conservation. Philosophical Essays on Divine Causation will be of interest to researchers and graduate students working in philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, and metaphysics.

Divine and Human Providence

Divine and Human Providence
Author: Ignacio Silva
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2020-11-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000227308

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This volume offers an original perspective on divine providence by examining philosophical, psychological, and theological perspectives on human providence as exhibited in virtuous human behaviours. Divine providence is one of the most pressing issues in analytic theology and philosophy of religion today, especially in view of scientific evidence for a natural world full of indeterminacies and contingencies. Therefore, we need new ways to understand and explain the relations of divine providence and creaturely action. The volume is structured dynamically, going from chapters on human providence to those on divine providence, and back. Drawing on insights from virtue ethics, psychology and cognitive science, the philosophy of providence in the face of contingent events, and the theology of grace, each chapter contributes to an original overall perspective: that human providential action is a resource suited specifically to personal action and hence related to the purported providential action of a personal God. By putting forward a fresh take on divine providence, this book enters new territory on an age-old issue. It will therefore be of great interest to scholars of theology and philosophy.