Theological Theses · §2170 · Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu

Protestants grant the corrupt will is free from coercion and physical necessity, only not from bondage to sin

Again, although the Protestants deny that man in the state of sin has his freedom with respect to divine and spiritual acts, they grant that his will, however corrupted by sin, can be called free in various ways with respect to those acts.

On their view, the corruption brought in by sin does not prevent man's will, with respect to any acts whatever, from being free not only from outside force and compulsion but also from any physical necessity and brute determination.

They hold only that the will of corrupt man, until it is set free by God's grace, is not free from bondage to sin, that is, from the necessity of sinning that comes from vice; and so, regarding spiritual good, it lacks the freedom that is opposed to bondage.

Latin

XXIII. Praeterea quanquam negent Protestantes hominem in statu peccati libertatem suam habere respectu actuum divinorum & spiritualium, fatentur tamen voluntatem ejus, quantumvis peccato corruptam, actuum istorum respectu, variis modis liberam dici posse. Nec enim corruptio per peccatum inducta impedit, juxta ipsos, quominus hominis voluntas, actuum quorumvis respectu, libera sit non solum a vi externa & coactione, sed etiam a qualibet Physica necessitate, & bruta determinatione. Id solum volunt, hominis corrupti voluntatem, antequam per Dei gratiam liberetur, non esse liberam a servitute peccati, seu necessitate peccandi ex vitio. Ac proinde illam, circa bonum spirituale, carere illa libertate quae servituti opponitur.

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