The Freedom of the Will


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(4.3 stars; 9 reviews)

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 (13 hr 32 min)

Chapters

Preface 14:38 Read by Philip Naudus
I.I - Concerning the nature of the will 11:45 Read by Philip Naudus
I.II - Concerning the determination of the Will 26:40 Read by Philip Naudus
I.III - Concerning the meaning of the terms Necessity, Impossibility, Inability, etc.; and of Contingence 21:10 Read by Jim Locke
I.IV - Of the distinction of natural and moral necessity and inability 19:50 Read by Jim Locke
I.V - Concerning the notion of liberty, and of moral agency 9:52 Read by Jim Locke
II.I - Showing the manifest inconsistence of the Arminian notion of liberty of will, consisting in the will's self-determining power 10:46 Read by Jim Locke
II.II - Several supposed ways of evading the foregoing reasoning considered 13:49 Read by Jim Locke
II.III - Whether any event whatsoever, and volition in particular, can come to pass without a cause of its existence 16:36 Read by Jim Locke
II.IV - Whether volition can arise without a cause, through the activity of the nature of the soul 11:30 Read by Jim Locke
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 10:44 Read by Jim Locke
II.VI - Concerning the will's determining in things which are perfectly indifferent, in the view of the mind 19:43 Read by Jim Locke
II.VII - Concerning the notion of liberty of will consisting in indifference 25:23 Read by Jim Locke
II.VIII - Concerning the supposed liberty of the will, as opposite to all necessity 9:23 Read by Jim Locke
II.IX - Of the connection of the acts of the will with the dictates of the understanding 19:03 Read by Jim Locke
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 34:51 Read by Jim Locke
II.XI - The evidence of God's certain foreknowledge of the volitions of moral agents 51:00 Read by Jim Locke
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 37:10 Read by Jim Locke
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 8:59 Read by Jim Locke
III.I - God's moral excellency necessary, yet virtuous and praiseworthy 9:37 Read by Jim Locke
III.II - The acts of the will of the human soul of Jesus Christ necessarily holy, yet truly virtuous, praiseworthy, rewardable, etc. 35:58 Read by Jim Locke
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 18:12 Read by Jim Locke
III.IV - Command, and obligation to obedience, consistent with moral inability to obey 28:52 Read by Jim Locke
III.V - That sincerity of desires and endeavors, which is supposed to excuse in the nonperformance of things in themselves good, particularly considered 23:16 Read by Jim Locke
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 23:32 Read by Jim Locke
III.VII - Arminian notions of moral agency inconsistent with all influence of motive and inducement, in either virtuous or vicious actions 17:44 Read by Jim Locke
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 18:43 Read by Jim Locke
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. 23:17 Read by Jim Locke
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. 15:29 Read by Jim Locke
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 23:00 Read by Jim Locke
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 17:56 Read by Jim Locke
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 8:14 Read by Jim Locke
IV.VII - Concerning the necessity of the divine will 20:48 Read by Jim Locke
IV.VIII - Some further objections against the moral necessity of god's volitions considered 30:29 Read by Jim Locke
IV.IX - Concerning that objection against the doctrine which has been maintained, that it makes god the author of sin 34:49 Read by Jim Locke
IV.X - Concerning sin's first entrance into the world 5:41 Read by Jim Locke
IV.XI - Of a supposed inconsistence of these principles, with God's moral character 12:29 Read by Jim Locke
IV.XII - Of a supposed tendency of these principles to atheism and licentiousness 8:21 Read by Jim Locke
IV.XIII - Concerning that objection against the reasoning, by which the Calvinistic doctrine is supported, that it is metaphysical and abstruse 13:19 Read by Jim Locke
Conclusion 23:23 Read by Jim Locke
Appendix 26:39 Read by Jim Locke

Reviews

labor of love


(4 stars)

very tedious but you can still hear the labor of love on Jonathan Edwards part.


(4 stars)

It’s a good book, but the recording is poor.