27th
Feburary 2010
Question.
-- Is man a free agent in all his actions, or
is he compelled and constrained?
 Answer.
-- This question is one of the most important
and abstruse of divine problems. If God wills,
another day, at the beginning of dinner, we
will undertake the explanation of this subject
in detail; now we will explain it briefly, in
a few words, as follows. Some things are subject
to the free will of man, such as justice, equity,
tyranny and injustice, in other words, good
and evil actions; it is evident and clear that
these actions are, for the most part, left to
the will of man. But there are certain things
to which man is forced and compelled, such as
sleep, death, sickness, decline of power, injuries
and misfortunes; these are not subject to the
will of man, and he is not responsible for them,
for he is compelled to endure them. But in the
choice of good and bad actions he is free, and
he commits them according to his own will.
For example, if he wishes, he can pass his time
in praising God, or he can be occupied with
other thoughts. He can be an enkindled light
through the fire of the love of God, and a philanthropist
loving the world, or he can be a hater of mankind,
and engrossed with material things. He can be
just or cruel. These actions and these deeds
are subject to the control of the will of man
himself; consequently, he is responsible for
them.
Now another question arises. Man is absolutely
helpless and dependent, since might and power
belong especially to God. Both exaltation and
humiliation depend upon the good pleasure and
the will of the Most High.
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