FREE WILL: Sometimes called free choice or free decision (Latin
liberum arbitrium), free will is an ability characterizing man in the voluntary activity of choosing or not choosing a limited good when this is presented to him. It is the basis for asserting man’s unique dignity among creatures, as well as for maintaining that he is a person. On it is founded much of the tradition of Western law and morality. Again, it has important consequences in the social order; a person’s outlook on man as a strictly determined being or as an autonomous moral person is bound to condition, to some extent, his attitude toward the rehabilitation of criminals and of the mentally ill.
Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion said:
FATE / FATALISM. One’s fate is one’s destiny, and fatalism is the view that one’s fate is fixed or predetermined so that any acts to alter the inevitable future are done in vain.
(COMMENT)
Determinism and Fatalism are eventually the same in the context of religion, but they are incompatible with Free Will. Most Western religious groups (following the God of Abraham) and sects have imposed canon law that rigorous and ascetic purity is a distinguishing mark of faith. The exercise of Free Will (Choice) plays a major role in determining the level of ascetic purity achieved. This is particularly true which have often enough sought to impose compulsion and repentance; otherwise damnation. The belief in fate and fatalism is diametrically
opposed to this concept. Destiny and Fate are concepts that are related to the "God-Powers:"
◈ Omnipotence: God is all-powerful.
◈ Omniscience: God is all-knowing.
◈ Omnipresence: God is together everywhere all the time.
IF the Supreme Being is all-powerful,
THEN the Supreme Being is capable of creating a species that is compliant with the Laws (requirements) of the almighty.
IF the Supreme Being is all-knowing,
THEN the Creator knows in advance what sin (violation of law) any member of the species might commit tomorrow.
IF a member of a species is created by the Almighty,
THEN ...
• The Creator made a defective member of the species,
or
• The Creator made a mistake and produced a defective member of the species,
or
• The member of the species performed exactly as intended (sin and all),
or
• The Supreme Being is not responsible for the performance of the species.
or
• There is no such thing as sin, but rather a compilation of man-made laws.
or
• There is no such thing as the Creator or The Supreme Being but rather The First Cause.
Most Religions hold that God will NOT interfere with the Free Will gifted to the species, but rather allows one’s destiny,
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✦ Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 5 Ead-Fre, 2 ed, © 2003 by The Catholic University of America, Published by Gale Group,
27500 Drake Rd. Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535. pg 636, 928
✦ Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion, Continuum International Publishing Group, 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
Copyright ˝ 2010 Charles Taliaferro, Elsa J. Marty and contributors pg 22, 46, 92
Most Respectfully,
R