Renewing Your Mind What Is Free Will?
38 snips
Mar 4, 2026 
R.C. Sproul, Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries, offers a clear, archival teaching on free will and Scripture. He defines volition, critiques the humanist idea of neutral choice, and explores Jonathan Edwards’ view that strongest inclination governs action. He also discusses Calvin on fallen freedom and the paradox of choices being both free and determined.
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Why Spontaneous Free Will Fails Morally And Rationally
- The humanist definition of free will sees choices as spontaneous and unconditioned by prior inclinations.
- R.C. Sproul argues a spontaneous, motive-less choice would lack moral significance and be a rational impossibility, like an effect without a cause.
Alice And The Mule Show Neutral Will Leads To Paralysis
- Sproul uses Alice in Wonderland and the neutral-willed mule to illustrate that a will without inclinations leads to paralysis or death.
- Alice faces four meaningless options without a destination; the mule starves because equal desires produce no choosing.
Read Edwards And Luther On The Will
- Read classic theological works to understand free will: Jonathan Edwards' Freedom of the Will and Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will.
- Sproul endorses Edwards as the greatest treatment and recommends Luther for Christian context.
