1st Edition
Theological Perspectives on Free Will Compatibility, Christology, and Community
Free will is a perennial theological and philosophical topic. As a central dogmatic locus, it is implicated in discussions around core Christian doctrines such as grace, salvation, sin, providence, evil, and predestination. This book offers a state-of-the-art look at recent debates about free will in analytic and philosophical theology. The chapters revolve around three central themes: the debate between theological compatibilists and libertarians, the communal nature of Christian freedom, and the role of free will in Christology. With contributions by leading scholars, the volume provides a valuable overview of current arguments as well as novel openings and ideas for further discussion.
List of contributors
1 Introduction: Free Will and Philosophical Theology
Aku Visala
PART I: Compatibility
2 Why Christians Should (Still) Be Compatibilists
Jesse Couenhoven
3 Weighing Compatibilism and Libertarianism in Analytic Theology
Kevin Timpe
4 Can an Unfree Person Have a "Deep Self"?
Leigh Vicens
5 The Semantic Case Against Open Theism and Experimental Philosophy
Ferhat Yöney
6 Freedom, Even If God Decrees It
Fr. James Dominic Rooney, Op
PART II: Community
7 Free Together: On Christian Freedom and Group Ontology
D. T. Everhart
8 Free Will, Cognitive Biases, and Theology
Simon Kittle
9 Bound Choice and the Mystery of Eternal Punishment – A Trilemma for Monergistic Accounts of Grace
Aku Visala
10 A Theological Three-Body Problem: Why Lutherans Are Bound to Struggle With Free Will?
Olli-Pekka Vainio
PART III: Christology
11 Another Look at the Final Temptation of Christ
David Worsley
12 The Impeccable Freedom of Christ
Johannes Grössl
Biography
Aku Visala is Research Fellow in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Olli-Pekka Vainio is University Lecturer of Systematic Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
