Freedom of the Will
Jonathan Edwards
Play
Length 13 h 33 min
Chapters 40
First published 1804
As religion is the great business, for which we are created, and on which our happiness depends; and as religion consists in an intercourse between ourselves and our Maker; and so has its foundation in God's nature and ours, and in the relation that God and we stand in to each other; therefore a true knowledge of both must be needful in order to true religion. But the knowledge of ourselves consists chiefly in right apprehensions concerning those two chief faculties of our nature, the Understanding and Will. Both are very important: yet the science of the latter must be confessed to be of greatest moment; inasmuch as all virtue and religion have their seat more immediately in the will, consisting more especially in right acts and habits of this faculty. And the grand question about the Freedom of the Will, is the main point that belongs to the science of the Will. Therefore I say, the importance of this subject greatly demands the attention of Christians, and especially of Divines. - Summary from the preface
Chapters
1
Preface Read by Philip Naudus 14:38
2
I.II - Concerning the determination of the Will Read by Philip Naudus 26:40
3
I.III - Concerning the meaning of the terms Necessity, Impossibility, Inability, etc.; and of Contingence Read by Jim Locke 21:10
4
I.IV - Of the distinction of natural and moral necessity and inability Read by Jim Locke 19:50
5
I.V - Concerning the notion of liberty, and of moral agency Read by Jim Locke 9:52
6
II.I - Showing the manifest inconsistence of the Arminian notion of liberty of will, consisting in the will's self-determining power Read by Jim Locke 10:46
7
II.II - Several supposed ways of evading the foregoing reasoning considered Read by Jim Locke 13:49
8
II.III - Whether any event whatsoever, and volition in particular, can come to pass without a cause of its existence Read by Jim Locke 16:36
9
II.IV - Whether volition can arise without a cause, through the activity of the nature of the soul Read by Jim Locke 11:30
10
II.V - Showing, that if the things asserted in these evasions should be supposed to be true, they are altogether impertinent, and can't help the cause of Arminian liberty; and how (this being the state of the case) Arminian writers are obliged to talk inconsistently Read by Jim Locke 10:44
11
II.VI - Concerning the will's determining in things which are perfectly indifferent, in the view of the mind Read by Jim Locke 19:43
12
II.VII - Concerning the notion of liberty of will consisting in indifference Read by Jim Locke 25:23
13
II.VIII - Concerning the supposed liberty of the will, as opposite to all necessity Read by Jim Locke 9:23
14
II.IX - Of the connection of the acts of the will with the dictates of the understanding Read by Jim Locke 19:03
15
II.X - Volition necessarily connected with the influence of motives; with particular observations on the great inconsistence of Mr. Chubb's assertions and reasonings, about the freedom of the will Read by Jim Locke 34:51
16
II.XI - The evidence of God's certain foreknowledge of the volitions of moral agents Read by Jim Locke 51:00
17
II.XII - God's certain foreknowledge of the future volitions of moral agents, inconsistent with such a contingence of those volitions, as is without all necessity Read by Jim Locke 37:10
18
II.XIII - Whether we suppose the volitions of moral agents to be connected with anything antecedent, or not, yet they must be necessary in such a sense as to overthrow Arminian liberty Read by Jim Locke 8:59
19
III.I - God's moral excellency necessary, yet virtuous and praiseworthy Read by Jim Locke 9:37
20
III.II - The acts of the will of the human soul of Jesus Christ necessarily holy, yet truly virtuous, praiseworthy, rewardable, etc. Read by Jim Locke 35:58
21
III.III - The case of such as are given up of god to sin, and of fallen man in general, proves moral necessity and inability to be consistent with blameworthiness Read by Jim Locke 18:12
22
III.IV - Command, and obligation to obedience, consistent with moral inability to obey Read by Jim Locke 28:52
23
III.V - That sincerity of desires and endeavors, which is supposed to excuse in the nonperformance of things in themselves good, particularly considered Read by Jim Locke 23:16
24
III.VI - Liberty of indifference, not only not necessary to virtue, but utterly inconsistent with it; and all, either virtuous or vicious habits or inclinations, inconsistent with Arminian notions of liberty and moral agency Read by Jim Locke 23:32
25
III.VII - Arminian notions of moral agency inconsistent with all influence of motive and inducement, in either virtuous or vicious actions Read by Jim Locke 17:44
26
IV.I - The essence of the virtue and vice of dispositions of the heart, and acts of the will, lies not in their cause, but their nature Read by Jim Locke 18:43
27
IV.II - The falseness and inconsistence of that metaphysical notion of action, and agency, which seems to be generally entertained by the defenders of the arminian doctrine concerning liberty, moral agency, etc. Read by Jim Locke 23:17
28
The reasons why some think it contrary to common Sense, to suppose those things which are necessary to be worthy of either Praise or Blame. Read by Jim Locke 15:29
29
IV.IV - It is agreeable to common sense, and the natural notions of mankind, to suppose moral necessity to be consistent with praise and blame, reward and punishment Read by Jim Locke 23:00
30
IV.V - Concerning those objections, that this scheme of necessity renders all means and endeavors for the avoiding of sin, or the obtaining virtue and holiness, vain, and to no purpose; and that it makes men no more than mere machines in affairs of morality and religion Read by Jim Locke 17:56
31
IV.VI - Concerning that objection against the doctrine which has been maintained, that it agrees with the stoical doctrine of fate, and the opinions of Mr. Hobbes Read by Jim Locke 8:14
32
IV.VII - Concerning the necessity of the divine will Read by Jim Locke 20:48
33
IV.VIII - Some further objections against the moral necessity of god's volitions considered Read by Jim Locke 30:29
34
IV.IX - Concerning that objection against the doctrine which has been maintained, that it makes god the author of sin Read by Jim Locke 34:49
35
IV.X - Concerning sin's first entrance into the world Read by Jim Locke 5:41
36
IV.XI - Of a supposed inconsistence of these principles, with God's moral character Read by Jim Locke 12:29
37
IV.XII - Of a supposed tendency of these principles to atheism and licentiousness Read by Jim Locke 8:21
38
IV.XIII - Concerning that objection against the reasoning, by which the Calvinistic doctrine is supported, that it is metaphysical and abstruse Read by Jim Locke 13:19
39
Conclusion Read by Jim Locke 23:23
40
Appendix Read by Jim Locke 26:39
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens books.google.ca) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
