Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, 2020
Summary In this article, we will use contemporary analytic tools to make sense of the main argume... more Summary In this article, we will use contemporary analytic tools to make sense of the main arguments in the classic debate on free will between Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Reformer Martin Luther. Instead of offering another exegesis of these texts, we put forward an analysis that links this historical debate with contemporary discussions on free will and grace in philosophical theology. We argue that the debate was ultimately about how three theological core claims are related to one another: the Anti-Pelagian Constraint (humans are incapable of willing any good, in order to come to faith), the Responsibility Principle (humans are morally responsible in the eyes of God) and human free will. Erasmus attacks Luther by arguing that the Responsibility Principle cannot be maintained without free will, while Luther responds by arguing that Erasmus must reject free will, because it is in conflict with the Anti-Pelagian Constraint. Luther is then left with the dilemma of justifying the Res...
Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, 2020
Summary In this article, we will use contemporary analytic tools to make sense of the main argume... more Summary In this article, we will use contemporary analytic tools to make sense of the main arguments in the classic debate on free will between Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Reformer Martin Luther. Instead of offering another exegesis of these texts, we put forward an analysis that links this historical debate with contemporary discussions on free will and grace in philosophical theology. We argue that the debate was ultimately about how three theological core claims are related to one another: the Anti-Pelagian Constraint (humans are incapable of willing any good, in order to come to faith), the Responsibility Principle (humans are morally responsible in the eyes of God) and human free will. Erasmus attacks Luther by arguing that the Responsibility Principle cannot be maintained without free will, while Luther responds by arguing that Erasmus must reject free will, because it is in conflict with the Anti-Pelagian Constraint. Luther is then left with the dilemma of justifying the Res...
In this paper, I will discuss the relationship between religious faith and doubt. In contemporary... more In this paper, I will discuss the relationship between religious faith and doubt. In contemporary religious epistemology, it has been customary to require religious faith to have high epistemic standards. This is in line with many creedal formulations, which typically underline that believers should have certainty (certitudo) in their faith. Nevertheless, in the theological literature, it is not uncommon that doubt and uncertainty are acknowledged as ordinary aspects of a life of faith. In the following, I analyze faith not in its ideal form but as it often appears in the lives of believers, investigating how the relationship between faith and certainty could be understood.
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Papers by Olli-Pekka Vainio