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vol.68 issue1The prophetic witness of the church as an appropriate mode of public discourse in African societiesProphetic Theology in Black Theology, with special reference to the Kairos document author indexsubject indexarticles search
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HTS Theological Studies

On-line version ISSN 2072-8050
Print version ISSN 0259-9422

Abstract

DOOMEN, Jasper. Human freedom and the Christian faith. Herv. teol. stud. [online]. 2012, vol.68, n.1, pp.105-113. ISSN 2072-8050.

In this article, it is examined whether there is room for human freedom in a Christian perspective. Augustine's and Luther's views are illuminating in order to clarify this matter. The way they deal with the idea of predestination is an important issue. According to Augustine, man is, to a certain degree, able to grasp the way in which God governs man; this idea is not present in Luther's thoughts. Their notions of 'freedom' differ considerably as well; here, too, Augustine has more confidence in human reason than Luther does. However, it is difficult for both Luther and Augustine to defend a notion of human freedom and at the same time maintain God's foreknowledge. Still, even irrespective of that, human freedom is something which cannot easily be demonstrated. For both Christians and non-believers, the issue of human freedom remains an unresolved problem.

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