Pelagianism:
Research
By Anthony W. Antolic
01/03/08
Source: (CDP)
Audi Robert, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge
University Press, New York, © 1999
(NAB)
The New American Bible “Saint Joseph's Edition”,Catholic
Book Publishing CO., New York, New York, © 1992
(1H) Hibbs
Thomas, Aquinas On
Human Nature, Hackett Publishing,
Indianapolis, Copyright 1999
Objective: To show how the heresy
know as Pelagianism falls short with out God's Grace
Definition: According
to the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy,
{Pelagianism} is defined as:
The doctrine in Christian theology
that, though the exercise of
Freewill, human beings can attain moral
perfection.(CDP, 654)
The problem with this doctrine is,
to quote Aristotle's De Anima:
<...A>ll the soul's modifications
do seem to involve the body- ager, meekness, fear, compassion, and
joy, love and hate. For along with these the body also is to some
degree affected. An indication of this is that sometimes violent and
unmistakable occurrences arouse no excitement or alarm: while at
other time one is move by slight and trifling matters, when the
physical system is stimulated to the condition appropriate to anger.
(1H, 9)
You see this is the nature of
Freewill with out God's grace to temper it. The word “HUMAN”
means imperfection, so we can not assume that the by product of a
rational soul which is already by its nature imperfect can achieve
any form of true perfection by the means of only said rational souls
freewill. Saint Thomas Aquinas is reported to have said in several
deferent ways that “Freewill unchecked is inherently Evil.”
Meaning that with out surrendering
to God's will in our lives, and in affect freely giving up our
freewill, we will always and for the most part, drift towards the
more primal nature of our sensitive soul. In short with out God in
our live we become more like animals than men.
A prime example of this is seen in
(NAB: Luke, 8:26-28) when Jesus exorcises a Legion of daemons form
one man, and send them into some pigs. The Bible tell us the man was
acting as if he was an animal, when Jesus got to him. Which is my
point exactly. In order for the man to become possessed by Daemons he
had to use his freewill to chose to reject God in his heart. For no
daemon could even consider entering a heart inhabited by God. See,
“Freewill unchecked is inherently evil.”
Oh, by the way, in (Luke 8:31) the
word Abyss is used in reference to Hell. Please, refer to Sola Scriptura Dr. Anthony W. Antolic.
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