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Critically Asses the View That We Are Responsible for Our Actions

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Critically assess the view that we are not responsible for our actions

When arguing whether or not we are responsible for our actions we are also always asking the question, are we free? Some people such as hard determinists believe that we are not responsible for our actions, and so are not free due to other aspects in our lives. Others, such as the libertarians, believe that we are totally free and should therefore be responsible for our actions. An assessment of these views will show that we are clearly responsible for our actions and that we therefore, have free will.

According to Judeo-Christian teachings, God is omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipotent. For theological determinists God’s omniscience means that he has foreknowledge of everything that will happen in the future. This would mean that our paths are predestined and that we are unable to choose any other action than the one God has already seen, or planned for us. This would remove any sense of free will we have, as we could not make any choice other than the one god has already seen and chosen for us, so we could therefore not be responsible for our actions. This is very similar John Calvin’s beliefs, which sparked from his rejection of the catholic church and the idea that you could earn your way into heaven. Calvin believed that humans are predestined as to whether they go to hell or heaven. This would mean that no amount of good deeds or repentance could get you to heaven as you are predetermined and have no free will about the choice.
Although these theories bring up valid points to the idea of free will and how it fits in with our understandings of God, there are major problems with both of these theories. Firstly the idea that God knows what will happen before it does means that he is responsible for everything happening in the world. This would mean that God is responsible for the

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