John The Baptist
Puritan Board Sophomore
Just obtained my copy today. I wasn't planning on reading any of it quite yet, but his treatment on Free Will caught my eye (of course it did, I am Reformed after all).
Three things I picked up on that were encouraging.
1. Anselm seems to affirm some sort of compatibilism, or at least the foundation of it.
From page 181:
"No one is deprived of this rectitude except by his own will. One who acts unwillingly is said to act against what he wills; and no one is deprived of this rectitude against his will. But a man can be bound unwillingly, because he does not wish to be bound, and is tied up unwillingly; he can be killed unwillingly, because he can will not to be killed; but he cannot will unwillingly, because one cannot will to will against his will. Every willing person wills his own willing."
Other than being a tongue twister, this was a fairly useful way to see this, and I think lays a great foundation. He does not answer the question of the origin of our desires, but he does make clear that we will what we want most.
2. Anselm makes a great distinction between what he calls the 'instrument of the will' and the will itself. I think there would be a lot less Arminians in the world if this was better understood, this leads to point 3...
3. Anselm is clear that man has the freedom of the will to do good, and yet he is a slave to sin in a way that he cannot not sin. How does he manage this seeming contradiction? He does not fully flesh it out, but it seems to be the beginnings of a Reformation view (think Luther's bondage of the will) on man's will.
From page 190:
"For just as, even when the sun is absent, we have in us the sight whereby we see it when it is present, so too when the rectitude of the will is lacking to us, we still have in us the aptitude to understand and will whereby we can preserve it for its own sake when we have it. And just as when nothing is lacking in us for seeing the sun except its presence, we only lack the power to make it present to us, so only when rectitude his lacking to us, do we have that powerlessness which its absence from us brings about."
So, we still have the capacity for willing, but we have not all the tools to act rightly. What are we missing?
This is where we must go beyond this short work of Anselm and say a good heart and proper desires. We have not the right actions because we have not the right desires. Praise God for the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, that it may now be a battle, not slavery.
It was nice to see the little points of connection, once again reminding us not to divorce ourselves from those who came before.
Three things I picked up on that were encouraging.
1. Anselm seems to affirm some sort of compatibilism, or at least the foundation of it.
From page 181:
"No one is deprived of this rectitude except by his own will. One who acts unwillingly is said to act against what he wills; and no one is deprived of this rectitude against his will. But a man can be bound unwillingly, because he does not wish to be bound, and is tied up unwillingly; he can be killed unwillingly, because he can will not to be killed; but he cannot will unwillingly, because one cannot will to will against his will. Every willing person wills his own willing."
Other than being a tongue twister, this was a fairly useful way to see this, and I think lays a great foundation. He does not answer the question of the origin of our desires, but he does make clear that we will what we want most.
2. Anselm makes a great distinction between what he calls the 'instrument of the will' and the will itself. I think there would be a lot less Arminians in the world if this was better understood, this leads to point 3...
3. Anselm is clear that man has the freedom of the will to do good, and yet he is a slave to sin in a way that he cannot not sin. How does he manage this seeming contradiction? He does not fully flesh it out, but it seems to be the beginnings of a Reformation view (think Luther's bondage of the will) on man's will.
From page 190:
"For just as, even when the sun is absent, we have in us the sight whereby we see it when it is present, so too when the rectitude of the will is lacking to us, we still have in us the aptitude to understand and will whereby we can preserve it for its own sake when we have it. And just as when nothing is lacking in us for seeing the sun except its presence, we only lack the power to make it present to us, so only when rectitude his lacking to us, do we have that powerlessness which its absence from us brings about."
So, we still have the capacity for willing, but we have not all the tools to act rightly. What are we missing?
This is where we must go beyond this short work of Anselm and say a good heart and proper desires. We have not the right actions because we have not the right desires. Praise God for the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, that it may now be a battle, not slavery.
It was nice to see the little points of connection, once again reminding us not to divorce ourselves from those who came before.
catch me in 10 years maybe.
