Half-Pelagians thread

[Flopfoot]

Anyone else out there who, while we know Pelagianism is a heresy and hence we’re not allowed to believe it, also can’t find any reasonable alternatives to what Pelagius taught?

Man has free will. This means in any given situation where the choice is to sin or to not sin, he can choose to not sin. If he doesn’t have a choice but to sin, then not only is he denied free will (which is impossible), but it is not even a sin.

So theoretically there is no reason why man’s free will itself is not enough to lead a morally good life, despite the fact that we all inherit original sin - this does not make actual sin a foregone conclusion. It might be very hard to life a life without sinning purely based on use of your own free will (without the grace of God), due to original sin which means we have concupiscence (inclination to sin), but how can you say it is impossible? Man is not an animal that acts purely on his inclinations.

 

[LilyM]

Anyone else out there who, while we know Pelagianism is a heresy and hence we’re not allowed to believe it, also can’t find any reasonable alternatives to what Pelagius taught?

Man has free will. This means in any given situation where the choice is to sin or to not sin, he can choose to not sin. If he doesn’t have a choice but to sin, then not only is he denied free will (which is impossible), but it is not even a sin.

So theoretically there is no reason why man’s free will itself is not enough to lead a morally good life, despite the fact that we all inherit original sin - this does not make actual sin a foregone conclusion. It might be very hard to life a life without sinning purely based on use of your own free will (without the grace of God), due to original sin which means we have concupiscence (inclination to sin), but how can you say it is impossible? Man is not an animal that acts purely on his inclinations.

Hmmm … think about what sinlessness means. We are sinless to the extent that mind, heart and actions are in accord with God’s will. Is it really possible, without special graces such as Mary had, for any mere creature to be totally aligned with the will of the almighty for every second of their natural life?

It’s a tall order to say the least - one that on empirical evidence no human being has been able to do on their own.