Free will and the Problem of Evil

Before we tackle on the idea of St. Augustine’s free will and the problem of Evil let as then acknowledge that he read the works of Plato and even understand things in a Platonian view. The world of ideas and the senses. But when he was converted to Christianity he used this kind of framework in understanding his belief regarding Christianity and even believed that what he found in the Sacred Books which are not to be found in Plato. He has a lot of teachings and he regarded as one of the doctors of the Catholic Church.

In the past, Plotinus explained how man become unfree. He even said that it is in the body that we become materialistic, as I put it. Inside in us, there is this tag of war, the battle of the soul and the body. The attraction of our body is towards sensible world, while the attraction of our soul is towards Nous/One, or in Christianity God.  For St. Augustine, he believed that God made soul and body. But he denied of what others understood that it seems other thinkers blame the body as the cause of evil. In fact God made this substance, how could God create a substance evil besides God is good? “I saw that their search for the cause of evil they had become full of malice, and because of this they deemed that your substance is subject to evil, rather than their own substance committed evil”.[1] It is our freedom that we commit sin, we commit evil. Man has a freedom to choose and that’s the greatest gift that God gave to us. But this, if we let ourselves lavish in the sensible world, it is then that we are sinned. God did not create evil by the way, for He is absolutely good.  

Augustine understands evil is not a substance as he said, it is just a “deprivation of good”.[2] He made an example; for instance an animal. An animal has a disease or wounded, this disease or wound is a deprivation of health. When this animal die, the disease would simply go away and die also. “A wound or disease is not a substance, but a fault in organic flesh substance; it is flesh which is the substance, something good therefore which these evils happen to…”[3] He believe that God did not create evil for He is absolutely good. He created all things good without a mixture of bad, for if it is bad, it’s nothing because evil is not existing and no one creates evil for there is no creator. Plotinus even said; Evil is nothingness, it is void and none existing.” “But evil, of which I asked, “Whence is it?” is not a substance, for it were a substance, it would be good”.[4] “Evil has no positive nature; but the loss of good has received the name 'evil.”[5] Augustine realizes that evil is always injures us and this injury is the deprivation of goodness. We can barely understand this, since all things are created good, evil must be a deprivation of goodness. All that is corrupted must be a deprivation of goodness and this is called evil.

Now let us proceed to freedom of man. In CCC.no.363 stated that; “ Freedom is the power given by God to act or not to act, to do this or to do that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. Freedom characterizes properly human acts. The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. Freedom attains its proper perfection when it is directed toward God, the highest good and our beatitude. Freedom implies also the possibility of choosing between good and evil. The choice of evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the slavery of sin.” Augustine’s answer of freedom is based on his understanding of the rationality of man.

“He argues that in order for God to create rational creatures, such as human beings, he had to give them freedom of will. Having freedom of will means being able to choose, including choosing between good and evil. For this reason God had to leave open the possibility that the first man, Adam, would choose evil rather than good. According to the Bible this is exactly what happened, as Adam broke God’s command not to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.”[6]

Rationality is the ability for us to evaluate choices through our reason. This would only possible if there is freedom to choose, either good or bad.

“Augustine also suggests a third solution to the problem, asking us to see the world as a thing of beauty. He says that although there is evil in the universe, it contributes to an overall good that is greater than it could be without evil—just as discords in music can make a harmony more lovely, or dark patches add to the beauty of a picture.”[7]

“A world without evil, Augustine says, would be a world without us—rational beings able to choose their actions. Just as for Adam and Eve, our moral choices allow for the possibility of evil.” What made Adam capable of obeying God’s commands also made him able to sin.

Conclusion 

It is now clear to us that evil is not something which is created, it is uncreated, without substance and absolutely nothing and void because no one created it. That is why we cannot blame God nor our body if we commit sin because it is what we chose. We are responsible for our freedom. CCC no.362 says; “Freedom makes people responsible for their actions to be the extent that they are voluntary, even if the imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or sometimes cancelled by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, inordinate attachments, or habit.” The responsibilities of man depend on the morality of his actions. In CCC no. 367 presented that there are three sources of morality of human acts; the object chosen, either true or apparent good; the intention of the object who acts, that is, the purpose for which the subject performs the act; and the circumstances of the act, which include its consequences.

We have seen how St. Augustine understands freedom and the problem of evil. In fact, as Christians we also understand it base on his idea. Can we therefore blame God by giving us freedom? Or can we conclude that it is because of our freedom we commit sin? I think we can only accept the second question. But I think it is also tantamount to the first one. But if we give credit to the idea that is given by CCC no. 368 we can have an idea that is not because of God. It is because of how man acted his choices. How is an act morally good? As CCC no. 368;

An act is morally good when it assumes simultaneously the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances. A chosen object can by itself vitiate an act in its entirety, even if the intention is good. It is not licit to do evil so that good may result from it. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good itself. On the other hand, a good end does not make an act good if the object of that act is evil, since the ends does not justify the means. Circumstances can increase or diminish the responsibility of the one who is acting but they cannot change the moral quality of the acts themselves. They never make good an act which is in itself evil.

It is though our action that we become sinful. It is not because of God but it is because of how we choose our action wisely.

 For instance; “There was a man live in a squatter area. He have children but have no work. His scarcity of food and of everything lead him to steal for the benefits of his family. His intentions, for the goodness of his family, in order to leave and out of hunger were for the first place good, but it doesn’t mean that the act itself is good. He’s still responsible of his action and that leads him into sin.”

Some people would blame God of how they suffered (e.i. problems, poverty, etc.) but they do not know that it is because of how they chose their choices wisely. We cannot blame God which is the creator of all goodness. Man’s freedom is toward goodness, not for sinfulness. Sometimes we equate freedom as the cause of our sins and this absolutely against the goodness of God.

Finally, it is the nature of man to seek God, for his life is nothing without Him. It is in Him and with Him that we can taste absolute happiness for He is the true happiness. When man does not seek God, he is thrown and succumbed by evil and that is how he commit sin. For man is for God and not for evil. Evil is not the creator of man because evil is nothing. Man cannot find happiness from evil for it is not his nature. It is in his heart that goodness is planted by God. That is why St. Augustine would say; “My heart is restless until it rest in Thee”.

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[1] John K. Ryan, The confessions of St. Augustine,(A division of Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1960).,160.

[2] Henri Marrou, Saint Augustine and his influence through the ages,(Harper and Brothers, New York).,87.

[3] Ibid.

[4] John K. Ryan, The confessions of St. Augustine,(A division of Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1960).,172.

[5] Augustine, The City of God, XI, CHAP. 9.

[6] https://www.inkling.com/read/the-philosophy-book-buckingham-1e/chapter-2/st--augustine-of-hippo-354430

[7] Ibid.