Grace vs Free Will: Augustine's Influence on History - Essay Sample

Introduction

The question of the relation between grace and free-will has been discussed and debated by Christian philosophers throughout history. Augustine's struggles with the issue in the 4th century are arguably the first documented evidence of the debate. His conclusions on the relation between grace and free-will have had an enormous effect on the world for centuries. His work has influenced the development of religious, political, philosophical, and psychological thought throughout history. The works of Augustine also greatly influenced Aquinas, another important figure in the discussion of the relation between grace and free-will. In his book Summa Theologiae, Aquinas presents one of the most decisive discussions on the issues. This paper seeks to discuss the relation between grace and free-will as presented by Augustine and Aquinas and also explore the similarities and differences between their views.

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Augustine's View on the Relation Between Grace and Free-will

Though Augustine wrote extensively on the relationship between human freedom and God's activity, the two truths that he primarily emphasizes are; God is the cause of all activities, and man has free-will. A study of his works raise some very important questions. Is man's destiny already preordained by God's elective decrees, or is man in control of his life? Does God love only the elect or all of his creation? Is the autonomy of man limited? Can man do anything good without God's grace? In seeking to answer these questions, Augustine provided the guiding light on the issue of grace and free-will. According to Augustine's teachings, will can be taken to either represent an individual's faculty of decision making or their moral disposition. Will, as a faculty, cannot be separated from the person. Therefore, Augustine mentions that will is a component of human nature.

He also talks of will being self-determining, meaning that will is original and causes itself. For instance, Adam had within him the freedom to choose between consenting to the persuasion of satan or rejecting it. In On Free Choice, Augustine talks of good will and bad will. In this sense, he presents will as an individual's moral disposition that deserves ethical judgment. He defines good will as "a will by which we seek to live rightly and honorably and to come to the highest wisdom." However, it is important to note that the original sin holds a central place in Augustine's discussion of free will and grace. It is therefore vital to discuss free-will before and after the fall, in order to understand its relation with grace.

According to Augustine, free-will was perfect before the fall. At this time, Adam had the freedom to choose between God and lesser gods. He also had the power and ability to choose whether to sin or not. However, sin disrupted this perfect freedom. Since man sinned by his own free-will, sin is more powerful than him, and hence he lost the freedom of his will. Though man still retained free-will, since it is a component of his nature as mentioned earlier, he lost the freedom of choice of good. He holds that owing to the sin of Adam, all men have sinned. As such, human nature is morally and physically corrupted. Every man, therefore, comes into the world with a nature that is so corrupt that all they can do is sin. In his discussion of free-will and sin, Augustine holds that man's intellect, emotions, and will are not separated. Instead, the faculties are so closely related that man's actions are determined from within by them. Therefore, when man acts, his will is entirely determined by himself.

In his corrupt state, man can only do evil. His emotions are corrupted by inordinate lusts and desires, and his whole nature tends to lead him away from God. The fall made his disposition evil, and his personality and desires are bad. Though man still possesses the faculty of free-will, which is self-determining, his evil internal inclination causes him to sin voluntarily. He can neither do good nor attain salvation. If at all, man wills and does good in his state, therefore, it is merely due to the grace of God.

As such, Augustine sees grace as being compatible with free-will. Grace is necessary to change man's evil disposition to good. Therefore, though man naturally lacks the disposition to will or do good, they can pray and receive assistance from God to do what is good. However, since man is so sinful, none deserves God's grace. As such, God's grace is an unmerited gift that is given to men. The gift was given to all mankind when Jesus was sent by God to take the sins of the world upon himself. In what some critics have termed to be a contradiction to his earlier teachings, Augustine went ahead and argued that some men are predestined to accept God's offer of grace while others are predestined to reject. Since God is omniscient, he foresees all this but does not determine the men who accept his grace and those who reject it.

Those who accept God's offer of grace are aided in their humanly struggle against sin. On the other hand, those who reject it become slaves of sin. It should be noted that Augustine emphasizes that grace does not destroy free-will. This raises the question of why anyone would exercise their free-will to reject God's offer of grace. To answer this question, Augustine states that though the free-will to choose whether to accept or reject God's grace is small in all men, it is smaller in some than in others. By this, he suggests that some men are constitutionally able to exercise the little will they possess to accept God's grace. The grace then strengthens their will more and they lead a virtuous life. Others have a will so weak that they cannot take the step of accepting God's will. The fact that some people choose grace while others reject it proves that grace does not destroy man's free-will. Therefore, God's grace helps man will and do good without destroying their free-will.

Aquinas' View on the Relation Between Grace and Free-will

Aquinas' main argument is that free-will is a component of man's nature and that grace does not restrict free-will. In Summa Theologiae, Aquinas writes, "Man has free-will: otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards, and punishments would be in vain." He further advances that if man cannot be held responsible for their actions, then law and grace would be meaningless. Law is an essential component of Aquinas' discussion on grace and free-will, and hence it is important first to understand the law as defined by him.

He saw the law as "an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated." Looking at this definition superficially, one might not see its relationship with freedom. Moreover, since Aquinas holds that reason should guide one to do what is good, it looks as if law restricts freedom. The two, therefore, have an antithetical relationship. On the other hand, Aquinas defines grace as a quality that is added to men to help them achieve their supernatural end. Union with God is the supernatural end according to Aquinas. He holds that no created nature can attain eternal life without the addition of the supernatural gift, which is grace. Similarly, his definition of grace does not mention any relation to free-will. Also, by making man behave in a specific way, grace seems to be negative to free-will. In this light, both law and grace appear to be limitations to man's free-will. However, further analysis of his writings reveals that grace completes free-will instead of limiting it.

Free-will can be defined as the capacity of man to resolve and decide upon different courses of action. It can also be taken to mean the freedom to choose between good and evil. To this end, Aquinas argues that man is responsible and free to choose between virtue and vice. Man exercises his freedom to achieve happiness and also to either consent or reject the influence of their passions. Therefore, according to Aquinas, free-will is a component of man's nature. In the above discussion, it has been made clear that grace is an addition to man's nature. Therefore, since grace supplements and perfects man's nature, it is not meant to violate his free-will. Also, since grace does not substitute free-will, Aquinas understood it to be the re-organization or modification of man's will to enable him to resolve and decide upon different courses of action more consistently and efficaciously. In other terms, grace enables the free-will of man, without disrupting the natural integrity, to help them attain a supernatural end.

Grace is presented as a supernatural quality that God adds to human nature. This quality presupposes both nature and law. Just like in Augustine's argument, sin occupies a central place in Aquinas' explanation of grace and free-will. He holds that human rationality should be used as the standard for judging sin. Evil, sin, and vice are in constant opposition of virtue in man. Sin, therefore, is a movement against rationality according to Aquinas. He also defines sin as the weakening on nature, and not necessarily its death. Since man's nature has been weakened, there is a need to restore his faculties to the complete form. In this light, he also discusses different forms of sins, such as sins of passion, as well as perfect and imperfect desires that man is vulnerable to. Therefore, since grace makes man's nature complete, it cannot be a violation of his free-will, which is also part of his nature. God's grace wills the individual to do good and also becomes a habitual gift that consistently inclines them towards virtuous acts. Ultimately, grace helps man exercise his free-will without having to hurt his natural integrity. According to Aquinas, therefore, law and grace do not limit human freedom. Instead, they complete and perfect it.

Similarities and Differences Between Their Views

There exist several similarities between the view of Augustine and Aquinas on free-will. First, they agree that grace was created by God and existed right from the beginning of time. They both agree that man cannot attain his supernatural end or do good without God's grace. They also agree that free-will is a component of man's nature. However, as much as man has free-will, he cannot choose to do good without the help of God's grace. Moreover, both philosophers maintain that man is responsible for their sin. They also maintain Adam's sin greatly affected the rest of humanity and is responsible for man's flawed and corrupt nature. Since God is all-good, he cannot be responsible for the sin of men. It is entirely man's responsibility since he exercises his free-will to do evil. In this light, they agree that there is a need for redemption of man. Grace, therefore, according to both of them, is a gift given by God to restore man to a complete form, since his nature has been weakened and flawed by sin.

While different critics throughout history have argued that grace disrupts free-will, the two philosophers disagree. In his argument, Augustine emphasizes that grace does not destroy free-will. To prove this, he states that man retains the free-will to choose whether to accept God's grace or reject it. Aquinas corroborates by saying that law and grace are not limitations to free-will. Instead, grace completes and perfects free-will.

Though the conclusions made by Augustine and Aquinas regarding the relation between grace and free-will are mostly similar, their methods and arguments exhibit differences. While Augustine presents grace as a free gift from God, Aquinas states that it is a supernatural quality that God implants in the souls of men. Their arguments regarding sin also have some disparities. In his argument, Augustine holds that man does evil since the original sin b...