Compatibilism and the Nature of Human Choice
Compatibilism, in the context of Christian theology, addresses the relationship between divine sovereignty and human free will, asserting that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive but can coexist [6]. This perspective often grapples with the question of how humans can be held morally responsible for their choices if God's will is ultimately determinative.
The concept of human choice is central to understanding the fall of humanity. For instance, John Calvin, in his commentary on Genesis, emphasizes that Adam's fall was a result of his own fault, not a predetermined misery [3]. Adam, "not content with his condition, had tried to ascend higher than was lawful," leading to his precipitation into misery [5]. This highlights a view where human ambition and "perverse appetite for illicit knowledge" directly caused the initial sin, implying a genuine, if fallen, capacity for choice [5].
Even in humanity's "degraded fallen state," there is an acknowledgment of the "excellence and perfection of man" in his original creation, with both body and soul "adapted with astonishing wisdom" [4]. This suggests that the capacity for choice, though corrupted, remains a fundamental aspect of human nature. The Bible often presents a clear choice between good and evil, life and death, implying that individuals are capable of making such decisions [2]. Matthew Henry, commenting on Proverbs, notes that "Christ and sin are rivals for the soul of man," and the presentation of these options is intended to allow individuals to "choose, and surrender their hearts to" one or the other [2].
The tension between divine action and human agency is also evident in discussions about God's nature. John Chrysostom, an Eastern Orthodox theologian, cautions against attributing human limitations to God, such as being "circumscribed by space" or "moved by another power" [1]. While God's essence is distinct from human limitations, the interaction between divine will and human choice remains a complex theological point. The Reformed tradition, as seen in Calvin's writings, often emphasizes God's ultimate control while still affirming human responsibility for sin and moral decisions [3, 5].
Sources
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: all: but admitting whatever is meet for God, e.g. that He is of the same essence, that He is of God; the things which are incongruous and belong to human weakness, leave thou upon the earth. Again, God is called “Light.” Shall we then admit all circumstances which belong to natural light? In no wise. For this light yields to darkness, and is circumscribed by space, and is moved by another power, and is overshadowed; none of which it is lawful even to imagine of That Essence. We will not however reject all things on this account, but will reap som”
- Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 9 (introduction): Christ and sin are rivals for the soul of man, and here we are told how they both make their court to it, to have the innermost and uppermost place in it. The design of this representation is to set before us life and death, good and evil; and there needs no more than a fair stating of the case to determine us which of those to choose, and surrender our hearts to. They are both brought in making entertainment for the soul, and inviting it to accept of the entertainment; concerning both we are told what the issue will be; and, the matter being thus la”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 7.7: corruption of human nature; to teach us that Adam was not created to those multiplied miseries under which all his posterity suffer, but that he fell into them by his own fault. In reflecting on the number and nature of those evils to which they are obnoxious, men will often be unable to restrain themselves from raging and murmuring against God, whom they rashly censure for the just punishment of their sin. These are their well-known complaints that God has acted more mercifully to swine and dogs than to them. Whence is this, but t”
- Genesis (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:28: And God blessed them - Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth. A large volume would be insufficient to contain what we know of the excellence and perfection of man, even in his present degraded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their residence and occupations; and also the place of their residence, as well as the surrounding objects, in their diversity, color, and mutual relations, to the mind and body of this lord of the creation. The co”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 7.49: disgrace, and that there should be more comeliness in a dead animal than in a living man! The clause which is immediately added, “To know good and evil,” describes the cause of so great misery, namely, that Adam, not content with his condition, had tried to ascend higher than was lawful; as if it had been said, ‘See now whither thy ambition and thy perverse appetite for illicit knowledge have precipitated thee.’ Yet the Lord does not even deign to hold converse with him, but contemptuously draws him forth, for the sake of exposing”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Harmony of the Law, Vol. 1, section 1.6: these particular Books, which must have been very congenial to him. It was not unnatural that he should take pleasure in soberly and calmly reviewing those doctrines which had so largely exercised his earlier thoughts, and that the distinctive tenets, which are usually associated with his name, and which, as the Article of the Church of England testifies, are “full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ,” should once more pass before him in his latter days,”