Free Will

The ability of humans to choose their own courses of action.

All branches of the historic Church affirm that we have free will, except theological traditions that are heavily influenced by Augustine's later writings. Those who deny free will (e.g. the Calvinists) argue that God cannot be truly sovereign if humans have free will. The rest of the Church disagrees, observing that scriptures tell us to choose and to obey, two things that cannot possibly be done without free will.