Gods Grace Vs. Free Will

By the beginning of the fifth century, the rate of growth for Christianity was increasing exponentially. However, there was a negative result of this rapid growth. What might have simply been a different interpretation of one person, spawned into indifference among the entire population of Christian followers. The Church wished for elimination of these indifferences to maintain the strength of true worship. However, they saw it essential to put down the beliefs of one man in particular, Pelagius. His views were observed as a true threat to Christianity’s entire existence . With the very foundation of Christianity in jeopardy, Saint Augustine aggressively disputed, with the support of his own past religious struggles, the arguments of Pelagius concerning God’s grace and human free will.

The dispute between Augustine and Pelagius regarding God’s grace and free will stemmed from their differentiating views of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Pelagius believed that human nature was left unaffected by original sin . He could not see how infant children, generations later, would be burdened with a sin that they had no part in. Instead, according to Pelagius, children were born into life with total purity and innocence.

The birth of a child is seen as the miraculous beginning of a new life. Because there is no evil attached to this new life, Pelagius saw it as perfectly reasonable for a person to continue life free of sin. Referring to sin, Pelagius quoted, “Whether we will or whether we will not, we have the capacity of not sinning.” Pelagius recognizes the fact that not everyone will be psychologically strong enough to avoid the temptation of sin. Because sin surrounds us everyday, surrendering actually becomes easier than eluding. Pelagius argued that when faced with a confrontation between evil and virtue, if a man should choose sin opposed to righteousness, his own free will is what allowed him to make that decision .

Pelagius’ entire concept of free will is man’s ability to do as he pleases because he is in absolute control of his own actions. However, with this freedom of choice comes the sole responsibility for the corresponding repercussions. Whether man chooses evil opposed to virtue or vice versa, the according fault or praise would lie within himself and none other.

Though, man does not a...

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... human free will. According to Augustine, free will could allow man to desire against sin but what actually controlled his actions to stay righteous was God’s grace. Thus, for man to believe he is capable of a righteous life by his free will alone, was to deny the need for God.

In a country of free speech, it is difficult to imagine how a person could be condemned on the basis of his beliefs. A natural question would be: What was it about Pelagius’ beliefs in regards to human free will and God’s grace that made Christianity condemn this man? Pelagius’ views were not mere inconsistencies with the teachings of the Church. In essence, Pelagius’ beliefs can be concluded as a denial for the necessity of God’s grace because he felt a man’s free will enabled him to be in total and absolute control of his own actions. Augustine’s rebuttal emphasized the importance of God’s grace throughout a man’s life. Augustine felt human free will was limiting, in respect to putting the desire for virtue into action, because what actually allowed man to reach virtue was God’s grace. Therefore, as Pelagius denied the need for God’s assistance, he ultimately denied the need for Christianity.