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Full Idea
The Christian view, following Genesis, is that man is created in the image of God, and this is understood as crucially involving the idea that man has a free will in the image of God's will.
Gist of Idea
For Christians man has free will by creation in God's image (as in Genesis)
Source
Michael Frede (A Free Will [1997], 08)
Book Ref
Frede,Michael: 'A Free Will' [Univ of California 2011], p.126
A Reaction
The idea of free will evidently originated with Epictetus, but was taken up by Christians because it fitted doctrinal needs. Even Epictetus saw free will as originating in Zeus.
Related Ideas
Idea 23329 We make progress when we improve and naturalise our choices, asserting their freedom [Epictetus]
Idea 23333 The idea of free will achieved universal acceptance because of Christianity [Frede,M]
Idea 23332 Zeus gave me a nature which is free (like himself) from all compulsion [Epictetus]
| 23313 | The Gnostic demiurge (creator) is deluded, and doesn't care about us [Frede,M] |
| 23326 | In the third century Stoicism died out, replaced by Platonism, with Aristotelian ethics [Frede,M] |
| 23333 | The idea of free will achieved universal acceptance because of Christianity [Frede,M] |
| 23334 | For Christians man has free will by creation in God's image (as in Genesis) [Frede,M] |
| 23335 | In late antiquity nearly all philosophers were monotheists [Frede,M] |
| 23336 | There is no will for Plato or Aristotle, because actions come directly from perception of what is good [Frede,M] |
| 23337 | The Stoics needed free will, to allow human choices in a divinely providential cosmos [Frede,M] |
| 16137 | Earlier views of Aristotle were dominated by 'Categories' [Frede,M] |
| 16157 | Insurance on the original ship would hardly be paid out if the plank version was wrecked! [Frede,M] |
| 23249 | The early philosophers thought that reason has its own needs and desires [Frede,M] |