Members banned from this thread: BRUTALITOPS, Hermes Thoth, The Anonymous, /MSG/, USFREEDOM911, cancel2 2022, PostmodernProphet, Legion, Truth Detector, Legion Troll, Boris The Animal, canceled.2021.2, MAGA MAN, CFM, Superfreak, TOP, volsrock, Yurt, Earl, Lord Yurt, OG Yurt and FreeSpeech


Results 1 to 15 of 163

Thread: Free will and original sin

Threaded View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1 | Top
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    57,792
    Thanks
    35,481
    Thanked 50,294 Times in 27,099 Posts
    Groans
    22
    Groaned 2,975 Times in 2,692 Posts

    Default Free will and original sin

    I really cannot accept the Calvinist Protestant interpretation of humans bearing the guilt and stain of original sin, the theology of predestination, and their generally negative view of humanity the human condition. I will always actually feel like Eastern Christianity generally has a more positive perspective on the human condition, a more tenable theology on the question of free will.

    Eastern Orthodox Christians say the goal of human life is union with the divine, a process they call theosis. The essence of this process is the ongoing effort to be like Christ. For most, it will take an entire life’s work. Monks have an audacious calling to seek this divine union as a mystical state in this life. But complete theosis can still only come upon death, when one’s bodily existence is subsumed within the life of God.

    Most Western Christians, on the other hand, imagine an insurmountable distance between humans and God. Maybe God can touch someone across that gap, but a person can’t become one with God, in part because of the stain of original sin.

    In the West, Augustine came up with the predominant way of talking about original sin: as a permanent defect that all humans inherited through Adam and Eve’s mistakes in the Garden of Eden. But most of his writings were not available in Greek until the 13th century and the Orthodox came up with a different take on things.

    The Orthodox say Adam and Eve’s disobedience interrupted the process of spiritual maturation that God had planned for them. Other people might deserve God’s punishment, but that’s because of their own sins, not because the inherited the stain of original sin. And the natural human tendency is to move toward God, not to turn away from him.

    The Orthodox don’t have as much angst about the paradox of divine sovereignty and free will. To them, free will is actually a sign of our imperfection; if we were perfect, we wouldn’t need any choice, because we would always know what is good.

    These differences help explain the intellectual reasons why the Eastern Orthodox world has never had a Reformation. Eastern Christians do fight over theology, but in general, they are more comfortable with paradox and mystery.



    Source credit: Molly Worthen, PhD. Religious Historian, University of North Carolina

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cypress For This Post:

    Guno צְבִי (06-29-2020), ThatOwlWoman (06-30-2020)

Similar Threads

  1. FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! LORD HAVE MERCY TRUMP IS FREE AT LAST!
    By canceled.2021.2 in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 02-06-2020, 04:27 PM
  2. Original Marriage Definition
    By WinterBorn in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 11-13-2009, 10:48 PM
  3. The end of original intent
    By flaja in forum General Politics Forum
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 07-28-2009, 08:50 PM
  4. Original Wonder Woman Pilot
    By cancel2 2022 in forum Off Topic Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-20-2009, 05:39 PM
  5. Original Watermark idea
    By FUCK THE POLICE in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 07-29-2008, 12:20 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •