Premium
‘Willing Is Not Choosing’: Some Anthropological Implications of Dyothelite Christology
Author(s) -
McFARLAND IAN A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of systematic theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1468-2400
pISSN - 1463-1652
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2400.2006.00227.x
Subject(s) - christology , presupposition , doctrine , worry , agency (philosophy) , philosophy , epistemology , convergence (economics) , theology , sociology , psychology , economics , anxiety , psychiatry , economic growth
The dyothelite Christology of Maximus the Confessor provides a basis for countering modern worry that an Augustinian doctrine of the bondage of the will undermines human integrity. Modern discomfort with Augustine presupposes an anthropology that equates genuine agency with freedom of choice. In defending the principle that Christ has a fully human will, Maximus challenges this presupposition by denying that a human agent's willing is to be identified with choosing. Thus, while Maximus does not share Augustine's doctrine of original sin, he offers a framework within which to explore possible convergence between Eastern and Western understandings of the will.