Freedom (Aquinas 101)
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- čas přidán 29. 12. 2019
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How is it possible that God's grace can move us freely to make saving acts of faith, hope, and love? Isn't this simply a contradiction?
The highest good of the human person is to dwell in eternal life with God. This is something that is infinitely above our natural capacity, but God, by the gift of his grace that comes to us from Christ, can freely move us to desire and to choose to love God above all things: to believe the words of Christ, to entrust ourselves to the power of his sacraments, and to profess the faith of the church. When we do these things, we are in fact experiencing what our freedom was made for in its full amplitude to know, and thus, to love the Supreme good for its own sake.
Freedom (Aquinas 101) - Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P.
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What a marvelous understanding about why a generation that speaks so much about ‘freedom’, finds itself in such bondage!!
Thanks Margi!
#Boom
@@matthewhysell7599 Your profile picture is deeply disturbing
I am not catholic, however i truly believe St. Thomas is the answer for the modern world. His reason and intellect can lead mankind back to God and to sanity.
I am an Evangelical who also agrees that Aquinas has the antidote to the modern malaise.
What are you two waiting for?
Begome gadtholig
Just like a prisoner who is set free from imprisonment. He is free yet he is not free to commit injustice.
Fr. Dominic Legge is off the charts smart, we are so fortunate to have him and the rest of the TI doing such good work
So glad there is a CZcams channel explaining teachings about God from St.Thomas Aquinas!
Thank you for their videos, looking forward to learning more!
Excellent!
Why would the nouvelle théologie reject such a simple and elegant teaching as presented here? Every high schooler should learn this material. I wish I had learned this in high school.
It's never too late to learn!
Thank you, brothers! I really, and freely!, enjoyed it. God bless.
0:00 Is there a contradiction between human freedom and God moving us to saving acts of faith, hope and love?
0:39 Modern understanding of freedom: to choose between contraires without costraint. For Aquinas, it's not only a partial understanding, but also a misleading description of human action.
1:33 Aquinas understanding of will, choice and freedom: In every choice we make, we're aiming to something we regard as good. (Choice is only one of the acts of the will).
1:55 The more fundamental feature of the will: will is a rational apetite for good. Will is engaged in large projects (students, athletes...), focusing in some end we regard as good.
3:55 Aquinas distinction on the many ends or goals: consisting in human flourishing, or frustrating... in order to hapinness or unhapiness.
4:37 The more we hide away from what is truly good for us, the more limited our lives become (for example: heroine...), not worthy of the image of God.
5:05 What will make us truly happy? ONLY GOD! only God can be our final end: here's the true reason for human freedom.
5:35 Understanding and will are ordered to get to know and love God by faith and supernatural charity.
5:55 Less than God would enchain our powers (understanding and will) to what is not good for us (and to sin, at the end: pleasure, money, honor...)
6:20 Natural goods lead to natural hapiness (friendship, family, virtue...) thorugh natural capacity.
6:45 the highest good, eternal life with God: infinitely above natural capacity.
6:55 God can move us towards Himself (Christ, faith, Sacraments, the Church...) through GRACE.
7:15 The sense of our human freedom: to know and love the supreme good, GOD, for its own sake.
This is one of the most beautiful series online. God bless these wonderful priests!
“I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” ― Ronald Reagan
All I can say is that I am so happy you guys are sharing this. More people would become free from sin if this was taught everywhere.
This was profound. Thank you.
Our pleasure!
young handsome man!❤🤞🤞❤
I watched John Doyle's "How We Let America Die" today. In it, he talks about the "discipline, freedom, and liberty" confusion. Now I got your video suggested, good timing God!
(John Doyle is a Catholic American)
Ah another big brained cultured man
Based.
This was so good. God has made me so that I do love Him above all things. And I am still free.
Thank you for this video!
May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you!
That is so amazing. The clearest explanation of the freedom I have heard in my life. I have to process it and learn in order to be able to be useful for others should they desired to know what the freedom is. Thank you!
So clearly expressed and powerful. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Hello Father. Thank you.
It's our pleasure!
Excellent. Thank you. Pax Christi. ☘
You're welcome.
Simply wornderful!
Thank you!
Yes thank you Father for explaining very well and simple the essence of true Freedom that the present generation failed to grasp. In exercising Freedom one must decide using his rational desire means using his intellectual mind and his rational desire in his heart towards one’s Goodness! K
This is excellent. The modern notion of freedom is a huge source of problem in Western culture nowadays.
Cheers!
In God we trust
God trusts in us ❤
Great video! Thanks for sharing.
Cheers! Glad you're watching.
Thanks to relevant radio and Mr Madrid I was able to know of you! Wow! Exactly what I was looking for- this is food I want more of! Ive been wanting to learn more about Saint Thomas Aquinas and you guys are awesome teachers🙏!
Thanks Mr. Arias! Hope you enjoy the course as it continues to roll out!
Marvelous. Tks.
You're welcome!
Beautifully explained and inspiring! Pointing out the right perametors by which we are helped to make informed choices for our happiness,is essential guidance for Christians.Thanks Father!
czcams.com/video/QxnYt9Q3YtI/video.html
A great video and so instructive! Thank you so much n to all Priest who invest your time n energy ,to enlighten us in our Faith n practice.
You're most welcome! Thanks for watching.
In God we trust: God trusts in us ❤
Great stuff!!!
Very articulate and informative presentation, done with a sense of love and understanding of the one listening. Thank you, Father.
You're most welcome! Thanks very much for watching.
I'd resume the modern "freedom" as this: freedom to choose slaverism, despair, addiction.
I'm a teacher of Religous Sciences and Philosophy. My formation was thomistic and I can't thank enpugh for these wonderful series of videos!!! It's the new aeropagous and we must seize it!! It's a pity they've no subtitles, for I'd love to show them to my studente here, in Argentina!!! Keep up the excellent job and may Saint Thomas intercede for you and your ministry! Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare nunc et in saecula!
We're working on captioning them in English. Spanish subtitles is the next frontier.
Thank you Fr I see lot of flight in freedom to derec may action please God hunger may soul
Very beautiful lecture. I think that aristolistic and thomistic philosophy is more about determination than freedom. A being exists more, more it is determined (act). More there is undetermination (potentia) it is disappearing. But there is a hierarchy of goods. Indetermination on a lower level can allow determination on a higher level. There is never a complete freedom. But we can in a certain way choose on which level we determine. Determination in a low level is slavery, like you have very well shown. Determination that brings us better to God is freedom. The main activity of the will is spiritual determination. We have more to ask what we are using our freedom for than how to get freedom. More we use our freedom for good determinations, more we will get freedom.
Right on
Indeed.
Best😊
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. May the Lord bless you!
This is illuminating! Then it can be said that Freedom is to know the good and to choose it, right?
Right!
Finally! Im so tired of the evangelifish nonsense that assumes the potential for all people to choose God. God must first choose us before we can (freely) choose him.
some of them assume that choosing and loving are the same. God may love the world (John 3:16); but he chooses those with His character
A Calvinist?
Ezekiel 18:32
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
@@ZondyYT In some ways you could label me a calvinist - but only if the L in T.U.L.I.P was changed to "Unlimited Atonement".
Go for the beef! :)
For Evilness and Badness to proliferate and increase in our present time is when Good people become lukewarm and failed to actively pursue the good! Evil is defined as the absence of Good
Thank you!
The most civilized apologists for the “infernalist” orthodoxies these days, as I have noted elsewhere in these pages, tend to prefer to defend their position by an appeal to creaturely freedom and to God’s respect for its dignity. And, as I have also noted, there could scarcely be a poorer argument; whether made crudely or elegantly, it invariably fails, because it depends upon an incoherent model of freedom. If one could plausibly explain how an absolutely libertarian act, obedient to no prior rationale whatsoever, would be distinguishable from sheer chance, or a mindless organic or mechanical impulse, and so any more “free” than an earthquake or embolism, then the argument might carry some weight. But to me it seems impossible to speak of freedom in any meaningful sense at all unless one begins from the assumption that, for a rational spirit, to see the good and know it truly is to desire it insatiably and to obey it unconditionally, while not to desire it is not to have known it truly, and so never to have been free to choose it. I can defer the full philosophical argument to my Fourth Meditation. But here I can at least point out that scripture seems to support my view. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32): for freedom and truth are one, and not to know the truth is to be enslaved. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23: 34): not seeing the Good, says God to God, they did not freely choose evil, and must be pardoned.
Excerpt: THAT ALL SHALL BE SAVED By Dr David Bentley Hart, Pages 85-86
Thank you so much for this video and others like it, but I have a question. Doesn't this view of human freedom lend itself to universalism? If beings are at their most free point when they are wholly ordered towards godliness, would it not make sense that an omnibenevolent God would order our wills towards godliness, as that would be the most freeing option?
The Divining Will 2👣 "choose wisely" is the Ethic of Ethics of St. Thomas the Apostle😇of Christ✝️, the prime inspirator St.Thomas😇Aquinas in the Divine ✡️Dominion of⚛️Dominos 2👣become🧩Divine♾️!
Thank you for this excellent video. I'm studying for the Licentiate of Sacred Theology. Apart from Ia q. 23, can you give me any other references in the Summa which deal with Aquinas' conception of freedom/will/free will? I'm currently working on Ia q.59 (the will of angels) and I'm looking to enrich my understanding of Aquinas' conception of freedom/will/free will.
John, St. Thomas also treats of the will in Ia Q. 82-83 (aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/st-ia). I would recommend this Quarantine Lecture by Dr. Edward Feser: czcams.com/video/gB30CX8GvmI/video.html.
We also have several other Aquinas 101 videos on this topic, with more in depth resources (i.e., longer podcasts) at Aquinas101.com.
@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you for this informative reply. God bless.
Beginning at 6:42 of Fr. Legge's explanation of Freedom, he says, "But God, by the gift of His grace that comes to us through Christ,...can freely move us to desire and to choose to love God..." How is this different from the "Calvinistic" or Reformed predestination view that God chooses his elect and it is not within our free choice? I struggle with what is within our free will as it relates to salvation. Aquinas clarification greatly appreciated.
To see or foreknow something is not the same as to cause it. In God, there is no past, present, and future but always "now" or "present". Although God foresees anything in the future(of Universe), also our choices, He is not the direct cause of it; he sees and knows sinners will sin, yet he is not the cause of such sin (and damnation after mortal sins); he knows that someone will die tomorrow in a car accident but he is not the cause of such accident and death. Probability theory helps here: probability formulas are deterministic and predictive though they are not a direct cause that some will die tomorrow for sure in a car accident according to statistic data or someone will win $ 1mln in a lottery ticket. The Calvinist missed the above and they simply deny a free choice of the human being as being simply an automata (or computer); they forgot that God (primary cause) acts through secondary causes, here, a free will of humans..More,a bad or sinful choice means simple a lacking good (goal) choice- the lacking of good (and being) by definition means evil; therefore, there is any connection/relation between being (First being, God) and the lack of being (that something does not exist at all); on the definition, evil is privation; therefore, there is not at all any relation (and causation) between God (being) and privation (lack of being)
@@krzysztofciuba271 But he says in the video that god can move a person towards a certain direction. I think this is what Brian is asking about.
Maybe the notion that God can freely move us must be understood in light of primary and secondary causality and God's Will. There are more videos to watch to understand that. God bless.
How can we refute the idea that there is no free will since there's no semantic middle ground between brute fact and necessity?
Thank you for this thought-provoking video! Does this mean that Aquinas has a compatibilist view of freedom? Or is it anachronistic to apply to compatibilism/incompatibilism framework to Aquinas's thought?
Modern Thomists, like Daniel DeHaan for instance, think it is anachronistic to use determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism as a paradigm for characterizing St. Thomas's thought. He works within a deeper metaphysical tradition that poses and answers the question differently.
@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you! Which reading by DeHaan would you recommend in connection with this topic?
@@m.l.pianist2370 This lecture (soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/neuroscience-and-free-will-dr-daniel-de-haan) is a good place to start. I can ask him if he has anything written on the subject.
I have a question about the treatise Whether Men Are Assailed By Demons. It refers to 3 Kings 22:20 & 4 Kings 6:16 It has to be a different numbering because my Bible only has 2 books of Kings. Could you tell me which actual passages they refer to?
Interesting. Short answer: I don't know. Longer answer: It may have been customary to start counting from 1 Samuel. Thus 1 Samuel = 1 Kings, 2 Samuel = 2 Kings, 1 Kings = 3 Kings, and 2 Kings = 4 Kings. If so, 3,4 Kings would refer to 1,2 Kings. It may also have been customary to start counting from 1 Kings. Thus 1 Kings = 1 Kings, 2 Kings = 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles = 3 Kings, and 2 Chronicles = 4 Kings. Perhaps it'll make more sense in that context!
Here's an article from Catholic Answers (www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/third-and-fourth-books-of-kings).
@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you I think that's it. 1Kings = 3 Kings etc.
Freedom exists not to do what you want but having the right to do what you ought.
- Saint Pope John Paul II
It seems to me that the solution was found when Saint Thomas Aquinas asserted the following correspondences between the seven Capital Virtues and the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Stepping outside these parameters leads into a Freefall into the deadly sins. We must stay within these holy parameters, which is what our freedom was made for.
The gift of wisdom corresponds to the virtue of charity.
The gift of understanding corresponds to the virtue of faith.
The gift of counsel (right judgement) corresponds to the virtue of prudence.
The gift of courage corresponds to the virtue of fortitude.
The gift of knowledge corresponds to the virtue of hope.
The gift of reverence corresponds to the virtue of justice.
The gift of wonder and awe corresponds to the virtue of temperance.
So why does he choose to move some and not others? How do you know if you have been moved? I used to be a mormon and I felt clearly moved towards that. When I found out that wasn't true I looked into the pentecostal and then the Catholic Church. I liked the Catholic Church but my search for truth in the end led me to atheism not hard atheism as I can't prove, that god does not exist, but to me he is at the same level as fairies when it comes to believing in them. So was I moved towards atheism?
Romans 9:19-28 We never know, that's why we keep hope in our mind and heart through faith. Many are fitted for destruction,( God uses them also for His will) for narrow is the way and few be that find it. Keep searching scripture daily. Blessings my friend.
@@ginj5375 Well some people were never moved to search the catholic faith. What happens to them? I was a mormon and I looked into the Catholic Church at some point but the evidence and arguments for god was not strong enough for me. So if god just chooses who finds him and who doesn't, then he is evil in my opinion. Why would he not move everyone to find him? He knows what it would take so why doesn't he do it?
@@Fotomadsen Why question Gods will, the Spirit doesn't question ours, but allows us to test ourselves as well as Mystery Babylon the mother of all harlots. Came out from among them years ago and started to study Gods Word for myself. I suggest you stop looking for arguments and evidence and study the gospels as truth of the Spirit.
YOU ARE FREE but only if yu chose god
Aquinas seemed to know the bible. If so, he must have given bible verses that led him to think this way. Which were they?
Gn 1:27 probably
I don't undersand. If every choice is aiming at an apparant good, then how is mortal sin possible?
As you said ‘every choice is aiming at an apparant good’; in the case of a mortal sin, the ‘apparant good’ was really just ‘apparant’.
@@carolusaugustussanctorum How could it be an apparant good, when the one committing it is under no illusion (by definition) that he's doing the right thing.?
@@generalguy6211 He does is under an illusion; temptation twists our views and desires, leading us to sin; since the original sin from Adam & Eve.
God dignifies us with free will, the power to make decisions of our own rather than having God or fate predetermine what we do. Consider what the Bible teaches.
God created mankind in his image. (Genesis 1:26) Unlike animals, which act mainly on instinct, we resemble our Creator in our capacity to display such qualities as love and justice. And like our Creator, we have free will.
To a great extent, we can determine our future. The Bible encourages us to “choose life . . . by listening to [God’s] voice,” that is, by choosing to obey his commands. (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20) This offer would be meaningless, even cruel, if we lacked free will. Instead of forcing us to do what he says, God warmly appeals to us: “O if only you would actually pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river.”-Isaiah 48:18.
Our success or failure is not determined by fate. If we want to succeed at an endeavor, we must work hard. “All that your hand finds to do,” says the Bible, “do with your very power.”(Ecclesiastes 9:10) It also says: “The plans of the diligent one surely make for advantage.”-Proverbs 21:5.
Free will is a precious gift from God, for it lets us love him with our “whole heart”-because we want to.-Matthew 22:37.
Doesn’t God control all things?
The Bible does teach that God is Almighty, that his power is not limited by anyone other than himself. (Job 37:23; Isaiah 40:26) However, he does not use his power to control everything. For example, the Bible says that God was “exercising self-control” toward ancient Babylon, an enemy of his people. (Isaiah 42:14) Similarly, for now, he chooses to tolerate those who misuse their free will to harm others. But God will not do so indefinitely.-Psalm 37:10, 11.
The Bible does not teach predestination. While God is all powerful and capable of seeing all possible things before they occur, we have free will do we not? Is it consistent with a loving God to condemn some to die in sin for no mis action? Why did Jehovah God forbid Adam and Eve from eating of the forbidden fruit if they had no choice but to do so? Regarding Acts 4:27, why should the predestination of one thing mean such for all? God commanded that Jesus must die, yes, but this does not mean that he did the same for all things? www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=2009252&srcid=share
Your "will" follows your desires, but your desires are given/created by God? Then... God "freely" gives you the desire to follow God? You don't see a problem there?
No
@@amalp9784 "Your "will" follows your desires, but your desires are given/created by God? Then... God "freely" gives you the desire to follow God? You don't see a problem there?" No?
It means God gives you your desire to follow God and the desire not to follow God. Whichever God made stronger is the one you will follow. God determined your desires and your will. God determined whether you will go to heaven or hell.
@@gabrielteo3636 In the end it is up to you to chose he gave you free will to chose between your own desire or his will, easy concept.
@@ungas024 "In the end it is up to you to chose he gave you free will to chose between your own desire or his will, easy concept." Yes, whichever you desire more, which God set in you. It is really an easy concept.
@@gabrielteo3636 you should watch this channel's video on predestination, not saying you will find the ultimate answer there, but at least you could try and listen to that side of the argument
It seems God wants to forgive human beings for being what He made.