Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology - Analytic ...

18
Paul L. Manata © 2011
the paper I hope the reader has a general feel for some of the issues involved in
the topic of free will and moral responsibility. As the paper progresses some of
the points brought up in this section will be refined, elaborated upon, or will be
seen to lead into other issues.
3. Where Reformed Theology Stands: A Primer
3.1 How we got here: a broad overview
Contemporary Reformed thought on freedom and responsibility has not been all
of a piece. There are many reasons for this, and while one could speculate as to
the reasons, doing so would not be helpful for our purposes. Part of the problem,
though, is that the structure of the early and scholastic Reformers’ discussions
makes it hard to tell where they are agreeing and where they are deviating from
current discussions. For example, it is known that many Reformers did not like
the term ‘free will,’ and choosing is often cast in terms of metaphysical opposites
(e.g., good/evil) rather than alternative possibilities. Furthermore, it was popular
to discuss freedom in terms of the (lack of) bondage of the will to sin. So, while
their discussions sometimes touch on and intersect with modern concerns, the
contemporary questions are different. As Paul Helm remarks, “Philosophical
debate since the time of Calvin has divided the conceptual cake somewhat
differently.” 23 This is not to place a value on one set of questions or concerns over
another; it’s just to point out the difficulties in mapping older discussions directly
onto newer ones.
Moreover, since this issue is largely a matter of philosophical theology, as the
skills, tools, and knowledge of philosophy grows, so might our ability to think
about this topic and the implications it has for human freedom and responsibility.
23 Paul Helm, John Calvin’s Ideas (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 164.