Lesson video

Hi, my name's Miss Minton, and welcome to this lesson on the Free Will Defence.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain the free will defence with reference to Christian teachings on the creation of humans.

Now we'll be drawing upon knowledge of the God of classical theism and the problem of evil, but there'll also be lots of new learning today.

Don't worry though, because I'm here to guide you through each step of our lesson and I'm confident that by the end, you can achieve this outcome.

So let's get started by taking a look at our keywords for today.

We have free will, Genesis, and original sin.

Now Free will refers to being able to choose between different actions.

Genesis is the first book of the Torah and of the Bible, and it contains the story of creation.

An original sin is the idea that all humans are born with a tendency to sin because of Adam and Eve's obedience.

Now our lesson today will have two parts.

We'll start by looking at creation and free will, and we'll then look at free will as a cause of evil.

So let's get started and take a look at creation and free will.

So let's have a look at one of our key words today, which is free will.

Now to be free means that you are not constrained or controlled by anyone or anything, and will refers to the capacity to make your own choices and act upon them.

So free will refers to the ability to make choices free from any control, so to make your own choices without being controlled by anyone or anything.

Now, many Christians believe that humans free will comes from God and that the gift of free will was given during creation.

Genesis 1:27 says, "God created mankind in his own image." Now many Christians interpret this teaching.

Now, many Christians interpret this verse as teaching that humans have been created to reflect God's unique nature.

And this suggests that humans have been created with dignity, reason and free will.

Now, the first two humans who were created and created in God's image were Adam and Eve.

Now, for many Christians, although God created humans with the gift of free will, humans still have a duty to use this free will responsibly.

Now, Genesis chapter two, verse 16 to 17 says this, "And the Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you you will certainly die." Now this passage from Genesis Two recalls God giving Adam the command not to eat from a particular tree in the garden of Eden.

Now, although this command was given directly to Adam, most Christians agree that the command also applies to Eve.

Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

How can this passage be interpreted to suggest that Adam and Eve had free will? Off you go.

Now, many Christians interpret God's Command for Adam and Eve to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as suggesting that although humans have free will, it must be used responsibly to obey God's commands and do the right thing.

So let's now check your understanding.

Many Christians believe that humans were created to have blank, is the missing term A free choice, B, free will C, free decision, or D, free action? Fantastic, the missing term is B, free will.

So most Christians believe that humans were created to have free will, well done.

Now according to Genesis Three, Adam and Eve used their free will to disobey God's command, so to go against the command that God had given them.

And we see this in Genesis three, verse six, which says this, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself.

How did Adam and Eve use their free will to disobey God's command according to this passage? Off you go.

So according to this passage, Eve disobeyed God By eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And she then gave some of this fruit to Adam who also disobeyed God by eating this as well.

Now for many Christians, Adam and Eve abusing their free will brought evil and suffering into the world.

And this is known as the fall.

Genesis Three states that when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the eyes of both of them were opened.

Many Christians interpret this teaching as the moment that Adam and Eve became aware of evil.

And Genesis three then goes on to say that Adam and Eve were actually punished for their actions and expelled from the Garden of Eden, so sent out of the Garden of Eden.

So let's now check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Adam and Eve used their free will to follow God's commands.

Fantastic, that statement is false, but why is that statement false? Well, it's because actually Adam and Eve used their free will to disobey God's command according to the Book of Genesis.

And they did this by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

As many Christians believe that it's these actions that introduced evil and suffering into the world.

So well done for identifying that the statement is false and for identifying the reason why.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

I'd like you to write a paragraph about creation and free will using the following words, Genesis, Adam, Eve, free will, Disobeyed and evil.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work on that task.

So you were asked to write a paragraph about creation and free will using the following words, Genesis, Adam Eve, free will, disobeyed and evil.

And your response might be similar to this.

The book of Genesis in the Bible teaches that God created humans to have free will.

The first two humans, Adam and Eve abused this gift and disobeyed God's command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Many Christians believed that when Adam and Eve went against God's command, they introduced evil and suffering into the world.

So what you can see from my response is that I have managed to use all six words within my paragraph.

Now, your paragraph might be different to mine, but you should have also included all six words somewhere within your answer.

So well done for your work on that task.

We're now moving on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at free will as a cause of evil.

Now, in addition to Adam and Eve's misuse of their free will, leading to evil and suffering entering the world, many Christians believe that free will is still a cause of evil today.

Now I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, how could free will be a cause of evil today? Off you go.

So free will can continues to cause evil today because many humans still misuse their free will and make choices that harm others both directly and indirectly.

Now the misuse of free will can lead to the existence of moral evil.

So evil that's caused by human actions and somebody misusing their free will can lead to actions like murder and theft or situations like war and bullying.

Now these are examples of how human actions can lead other humans to experience pain and suffering.

So let's now check your understanding.

Which of the following is not an example of how free will can cause evil? Is it the situation shown in image A, image B or image C? Off you go.

Fantastic, the correct answer is C.

Now this is because C is showing a hurricane which is a naturally occurring event, whereas images A and B are showing situations that are a result of human action.

So image A is a soldier in a war zone and image B is showing somebody breaking into a property.

So well done for identifying that C is the correct answer.

Now, some Christians believe that because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, humans actually have an inbuilt tendency to abuse their free will and commit sin so to go against God.

Now this belief is known as original sin.

Father Jason is a Roman Catholic priest and he explains the Catholic church teaching on original sin.

Father Jason says "The Catholic church teaches that evil entered the world through Adam and Eve's sin and that all humans since Adam and Eve have inherited their tendency to use their free will to sin, which is known as original sin, which then causes evil and suffering." Now, not all Christians believe in original sin, but many Christians agree that free will is a cause of evil.

John is a Quaker, also known as a member of the Religious Society of Friends.

John says this, I don't believe in original sin, but I do believe that free will explains why there is evil in the world.

God has given us freedom over our actions and choices, and sadly, people often make choices that hurt others.

So what we can see here is that John does not believe in the concept of original sin, but he still believes that free will causes humans to suffer.

So let's now check your understanding.

Which term refers to the belief that humans have a tendency to sin? A original evil, B, original temptation, C, original salvation, or D, original sin? Fantastic, the correct answer is D, original sin.

Well done.

Now like you, Lucas and Sofia have been learning about free will as a cause of evil and they raised some questions about free will and God's nature.

Lucas asks, "I've learned that most Christians agree that God is omnipotent or powerful and omnibenevolent or loving.

If this is the case, why does God allow humans to use their free will in a way that will hurt other people? Can't God stop this or does God not want to stop this?" Sofia also asks "If God is omniscient, all knowing, surely he would know that humans would abuse their free will before he created Adam and Eve.

So why did he still give them this gift?" Now, the questions raised by Lucas and Sofia are questions that many people have when learning about free will and the problem of evil.

But many Christians would actually argue that God gave the gift of free will to humans because freedom is a greater good than a world without evil, but also without choice.

Now Fiona is an Anglican Christian and she explains her beliefs about this.

Fiona says, "I believe that free will is essential for love and moral good.

If God created a world without free will, this would mean that humans would only be acting with love and goodness towards God and others because there is no other choice." Now, I'd like you to spend just a little bit of time reflecting on whether you agree or disagree with this idea.

So is having free will that leads to evil better than having a world without choice? So pause the video and either have a quiet think to yourself or discuss with a partner.

Off you go.

Now, although free will can be misused And lead to evil, humans do still have a choice as to how they use their free will.

And this might have been something that you thought about during your thinking time or your discussion.

Now, many Christians would argue that through the revelation of the Bible and through Jesus, God has shown humans how they should use their free will responsibly.

And this means that it's now each individual person's responsibility to make good choices and use the free will that was given to them by God in a positive way.

Now, this argument is known as the free will defence.

Why do you think this argument is called the free will defence? Pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

Off you go.

So this argument is known as the free will defence because God's nature as omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient can be defended by arguing that the misuse of free will is the cause of evil and suffering rather than God being the cause.

So God's nature has been defended through the free will argument.

So let's now check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Many Christians believe that God allows free will because it's a greater good.

Fantastic, that statement is true, but why is that statement true? Well, it's because free will is believed to be a greater good than a world without evil, but also without choice.

And this argument defends God's nature as all loving, powerful and knowing.

So well done for identifying that the statement is true and for identifying why.

It's now time for you to have a go at your final task of the lesson.

Like you, Sam has been learning about the free will defence, Sam is trying to explain how free will is a cause of evil and the free will defence.

I'd like you to help Sam by completing her sentences.

So far, Sam has said "Most Christians believe that God gave humans, which is, some Christians believe in original sin, which means, when humans misuse their free will, moral evil can occur because, the free will defence argues that.

So pause the video and help Sam by completing the sentences.

well done for your work during that task.

So I'd asked you to help Sam explain how free will is a cause of evil and the free will defence by completing her sentences and your answer might look similar to this.

Most Christians believe that God gave humans free will, which is the ability to choose between actions freely.

Some Christians believe in original sin, which means that humans have inherited the tendency to do wrong because of Adam and Eve's disobedience.

When humans misuse their free will, moral evil can occur because their choices and actions can hurt other people and cause them to suffer.

The free will defence argues that God allows humans to have free will because it's a greater good and allows for true love and goodness.

So well done for helping Sam explain and completing her sentences.

We've now reached the end of our lesson, but before we finish, let's take a look at some of the key things that we've learned today.

So we've learned that free will refers to the ability to choose freely between different actions and that Genesis two describes God creating humans to have free will.

And Genesis three describes Adam and Eve misusing their free will to disobey God.

We've seen that for many Christians, Adam and Eve's disobedience introduced evil into the world and that most Christians agree that evil still exists in the world today because humans continue to misuse their free will.

And some Christians believe that this is due to original sin.

We've also seen that God allows humans to have free will because it's for the greater good.

And that many Christians would argue that explaining the existence of evil and suffering through free will shows that God is still all loving, all powerful and all knowing, and this is known as the free will defence.

So a huge well done for all of your work this lesson.

It's been wonderful learning with you today.