Michele,

Methinks you haven't grasped the fundamentals of the issue. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Calvinists affirm that man is a "free-agent", that is man is a moral being that is capable of choice and is held accountable for the choices made. The bone of contention regards the effects of the Fall. Did man "die" as God promised he would the very day that he ate of the fruit? And what does the Bible teach about that "death"?

Calvinism affirms that man died physically (began to age and would eventually die as a consequence of the Fall), eternally, (to be judged and condemned to eternal punishment for the guilt of the Fall), and spiritually (immediate and radical change in his nature). It is this last item which is relevant to this matter of "free-will". Again, Calvinism teaches that man's nature became corrupt in all its parts. Man's disposition, his inclinations were changed from desiring God and to be an obedient creature under His authority as LORD, to that of hating God and desiring only that which was contrary to God's law and to rebel against His authority.

Man's choices are always determined by his nature. If one's nature is upright (see WSC Q&A #10 in the "Study Center" forum), created in true knowledge, righteousness and holiness, then he will be thus inclined to do that which is good and pleasing to God. If, however, one's nature is corrupt, depraved, sinful, then all the choices made will be likewise, evil and sinful. So, man is surely "free" to choose, but always and only according to his nature.

For further reading go here: Anthropology: The Doctrine of Man.

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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