Quintessence of Religious Doctrines - Malankarasyriac Voice

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75150Quintessence of DogmaticsTheme No: 32On Independent Creation,Free Will and Pre-Determination1. Although man’s tendency is such that it makes his mind cleavetowards either good or evil, he is created with the freedom tomake it behave as he pleases. As one is endowed with thefreedom to commit sin, so is he free not to commit it, if he sochooses. God desires that man engages his free will for doinggood.Ref: (a) Deut. 11:26-28. “Today, I am giving you a choicebetween a blessing and a curse - a blessing, if youobey the commands of the Lord, Your God, that I amgiving you today but a curse, if you disobey thesecommands...” (G.N.B.)(b) Deut. 30:19. I am now giving you the choice betweenlife and death, between God’s blessing and God’scurse and I call heaven and earth to witness thechoice you make. (G.N.B.)CommentTheory of the S.O.C. against pre-determination as expoundedby John Calvin of France and others. According to the S.O.C.,human being is not an automatum or a pawn in the game offate as the ancient Greeks held. Free will, is a grand gift ofGod to mankind, says the Church. They can do or undotheir destiny by judicious or licentious ways in which free willis exercised or employed. This is the crux of the theory ofthe judgement of God.2. God coaxes nobody to perform bad or good action; nor doesHe disburse punishments or rewards in that way. On the otherhand He naturally helps those who seek the good, for, although,God has given freedom, along with the faculty of thinking tohuman beings to choose between good or bad,Ref: op. cit Ref. 5 of Theme 27.CommentOn no ground does God cause compulsion for humans todo or not to do good or bad. Nevertheless it is His nature tohelp those who are desirous earnestly to do well. Herein liesthe need to solicit God’s help, to facilitate the doing of goodthings.3. Humans by themselves are helpless to perform any good.Ref: (a) Jn. 15:5. “I am the vine, and you are the branches.Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear muchfruit, for you can do nothing without me. (G.N.B.)(b) Acts. 17:28. As some one has said, “In Him we liveand move and exist. It is as some of your poets havesaid, ‘we too are his children’. (G.N.B.)CommentThis is a caution to human beings, not to boast or make abig issue when they perform any good. That is why Jesustaught that what the right hand does, the left shall not knowand vice versa. It is true that the humans have the free willbut when they exercise it, evil forces try to overpower them.So if men are to be successful they have to be persistentand not get exhausted. This is possible only when the graceof God is showered upon men.4. But as God does not help evil, He lets them do it as they please,without helping humans to perform it.Ref: (a) Ps. 81:12. So I let them go their stubborn ways anddo whatever they wanted. (G.N.B.)(b) Acts 14:15, 16. ‘Why are you doing this? Weourselves are only human beings like you! We arehere to announce the Good News, to turn you awayfrom these worthless things to the living God whomade heaven, earth, sea and all that is in them. Inthe past he allowed all people to go their own way.(G.N.B.)(c) Jan. 1:13; 15. If a person is tempted by such trials, hemust not say, “this temptation comes from God”.
76On Independent Creation, Free will and Pre-determination 151 152Quintessence of Religious DoctrinesFor, God cannot be tempted by evil and he himselftempts no one. But a person is tempted when he isdrawn away and trapped by his own evil desire.Then his evil desire conceives and gives birth to sinand when it is full grown gives birth to death. (G.N.B.)CommentIf someone cares not to solicit God’s help, God would let thatperson to do as the latter wishes. Such a person shall notput forward the plea that God did not help to overcome thebarriers of temptation which way laid him or her.5. Except that God has been in possession, even before theCreation of the world, of the foreknowledge that so and sowould attain eternal life by depending on His grace through theSon and that such and such persons would disregard the sameand become victims of judgement,Ref: (a) Acts. 2:23. God had already planned and decidedthat Jesus would be handed over to you, so youtook him and had evil men put him to death on aCross. (L.B.)(b) Rom. 8:29. He has always known who his chosenones would be. He had decided to let them becomelike his own Son, so that His Son would be the firstof many children. (L.B.)(c) Rom. 11:2. God has not rejected his people, whomhe chose from the beginning. (G.N.B.)(d) 1Pet. 1:2. You were chosen according to the purposeof God the Father, and were made a holy people byhis spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and he purified byhis blood... (G.N.B.)CommentThis appears to be the correct view regarding thereconciliation of God’s foreknowledge and the freedom ofmen. True, God has the foreknowledge, but after havingendowed humans with free will, God does not impose his willon each and every action of theirs for, that would turn Godinto an autocrat and a despot. Although apparently God’sforeknowledge and human free will are antithetical,theologians of the S.O.C., however, would not concede this.Instead they contend that it is a mystery like Trinity. So whatis possible is to give some explanations. In this backdropwhat humans ought do is to trod along the path of rectitudeand righteousness.6. God had not made a general decision that so and so shouldinherit heaven and such and such a person should fall into hell.Ref: (a) Mic. 6:3, 4. My people, have I wronged you, in anyway at all? Please tell me. I rescued you from Egyptwhere you were slaves. I sent Moses, Aaron andMiriam to be your leaders. (L.B.)(b) Is. 5:3, 4. Listen, people of Jerusalem and Judah!You be the Judge for me and my vineyard; whatmore could I have done for my vineyard? I hopedfor sweet grapes, but bitter grapes were all that grew.(L.B.)(c) Rom. 2:4, 5, 6. Or perhaps you despise his greatkindness, tolerance, patience. Surely you know thatGod is kind because he is trying to lead you to repent.But you have a hardened stubborn heart and soyou are making your own punishment... (G.N.B.)(d) Rom. 11:20-22... They were broken off because theydid not believe, while you remain in place becauseyou do believe. But do not be proud of it; instead,be afraid, God did not spare the Jews who are likenatural branches; do you think he will spare you?Here we see how kind and how severe God is. He issevere towards those who have fallen but kind toyou; if you continue in his kindness. But if you donot you too will be broken off. (G.N.B.)CommentIt is repeated that God does not act arbitrarily as to makeone person inherit the bliss of heaven and another thetorments of hell. Fatalism, is thus declared to beunacceptable to the S.O.C.
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1Quintessence of Religious Doctrine
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published in 1964. Since then we ha
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6ThadathilMuttambalamKottayam - 686
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8Translator’s NoteAs I sat down t
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10Abbreviations19 20Quintessence of
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1224Quintessence of Religious Doctr
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14On the Blessed Trinity 27 28Quint
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16On the Son 3132Quintessence of Re
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18On the Son3536Quintessence of Rel
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20On the Holy Spirit 39to be the di
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22On the Holy Sacraments 43 44Quint
Page 25 and 26: 24On the Holy Baptism 47 48Quintess
Page 27 and 28: 26On the Holy Baptism 51can fulfil
Page 29 and 30: CommentThe results of receiving the
Page 31 and 32: 30On the Holy Eucharist 59 60Quinte
Page 33 and 34: 32On the Holy Confession 63 64Quint
Page 35 and 36: 34On the Holy Confession 67Ref.: (a
Page 37 and 38: 36On the Holy Orders 71 72Quintesse
Page 39 and 40: 38On the Holy Orders 75Ref: (a) Mt.
Page 41 and 42: 40On the Holy Matrimony 79CommentIt
Page 43 and 44: 42On Burial 833. Bishops, Priests,
Page 45 and 46: 44On Prayer 87CommentThe prayers ar
Page 47 and 48: 46On Fasts 917. The Church has ther
Page 49 and 50: 48On the Feast of the Saints 95The
Page 51 and 52: 50On the Mother of God 99of the arc
Page 53 and 54: 52On the Prayer to the Saints 103 1
Page 55 and 56: 54On the Prayer to the Saints 107Co
Page 57 and 58: 56On the Prayer for the Departed 11
Page 59 and 60: 58On the Prayer for the Departed 11
Page 61 and 62: 60120Quintessence of Religious Doct
Page 63 and 64: 62On Signing oneself with the mark
Page 65 and 66: 64On Chastity 127way; others, becau
Page 67 and 68: 66On Human Soul 131CommentThe S.O.C
Page 69 and 70: 68On Sin 135 136Quintessence of Rel
Page 71 and 72: 70On Repentance 139140Quintessence
Page 75: 74148Quintessence of Religious Doct
Page 79 and 80: 78On Independent Creation, Free wil
Page 83 and 84: 82AppendixNames of the Heritics who
Page 85 and 86: 84Heresies 167 168Quintessence of R
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