4 results for tag: free will


Q&R: The “Free Will Defense” & the “Freed Will Response” – Brad Jersak

Question: I have been reviewing PTM's summary of the dozens of Scriptures that dare us to hope. Among these, I see Jesus' stated intention to draw ALL people to himself, along with Paul's prophecy that "EVERY knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord," not to mention Peter's expectation in the "restoration of ALL things," or John's testimony of Jesus saying, "I am making ALL things new." On the other hand, I'm also aware of Jesus' deep commitment to our freedom, including the freedom to turn from him and say no to God's grace. In fact, he laid his life down for that freedom, even when we misused it to crucify the Lord of Glory. I ...

How Free is Free Will? – by Greg Albrecht

How Free is Free Will How much choice does any individual human actually have? We speak of "free will"—but how much of a choice to accept God's grace does anyone have, given the brainwashing and propaganda to which they are subjected? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does a young boy in a radicalized Muslim school have? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does someone have who is ensnared by some ultra fundamentalist church, where performance-based religion rules?   Being in Christ is a divine invitation to an eternal relationship, open to everyone. But being in Christ is not an automatic, divinely ...

Free Will, the Nous and Divine Judgment: A Critical Analysis of Three Visions of Universalism — by Brad Jersak

  I’ll say it again at the outset. I’m not a universalist.But some of my friends are … some of my evangelical friends, some of my Orthodox friends. So I ask them questions about that. This is not flirting (as Lewis and Barth were accused of), but simply being fair. In the name of ‘discernment,’ I’ve encountered a LOT of name-calling, dismissiveness, intentional misrepresentation and caricaturing. “Earth to Matilda!” – that’s not discernment. We can and must do better than that. Surely we could at least build bridges (from both ends of the chasm!) long enough so that listening could displace lobbing.  &n...

Can God Be Too Good? Part 5 by Greg Albrecht

How Free Is Free Will? by Greg Albrecht How much choice does any individual human actually have? We speak of "free will"—but how much of a choice to accept God's grace does anyone have, given the brainwashing and propaganda to which they are subjected? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does a young boy in a radicalized Muslim school have? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does someone have who is ensnared by some ultra fundamentalist church, where performance-based religion rules? Being in Christ is a divine invitation to an eternal relationship, open toeveryone. But being in Christ is not an automatic, divinely ...