thoughts on things taught in church last sunday - part 1 - the gift of free agency
(i was originally planning on writing this on sunday, but it had to be post-poned due to the whole mkh ordeal)
during my elders quorum meeting on sunday, the teacher got up and began his lesson saying that he wanted to have a deep discussion without the standard answers. as everything i said was quickly ignored, i soon realized that what he meant was that he wanted deeper standard answers as opposed to shallow standard answers. this will be the first of a few short things i wanted to say, but was kept from saying.
"our greatest gift from god is the gift of free agency"
free agency is as much of a gift to humans as being able to blow air is a gift to fans. by this i mean that free agency is not a gift to humans... it is part of what it means to be humans. just as being able to blow air is part of what it means to be a fan. you just can't seperate the two. satan wasn't trying to remove free agency. he isn't that stupid.
"laws are required for us to have free agency"
laws are not requisite for free agency. when i wake up in the morning and get dressed, i get to freely choose whether or not i'm going to wear a blue, green, or black shirt. no laws about what color shirt i should wear are needed for me to have this choice. the distinction that needs to be made is between free agency and moral agency. while the former is just about choices in general, the latter deals with the type of choices which can be made.
"free agency doesn't exist because the phrase 'free agency' is not in the scriptures"
that's just stupid. if i have to explain why, then you won't get it anyways.
"free agency doesn't exist because it means that we can do whatever we want without consequences"
no it doesn't. i can freely shoot myself in the head if i want. that does not mean that i can choose to do it without dying.
"free agency (moral agency) requires consequences - without the commandment's of god there is complete hedonism"
ok, nobody said hedonism - i doubt they even know what it means. i believe teacher used the ol' "eat, drink, and be merry." either way, you'd be surprised by how many times people acceptingly said contradictory things... or maybe that isn't too surprising. as slightly discussed in steve m.'s blog, there is a false dichotomy that's often expressed that a person must either fear punishment from god or live in sin. believe it or not, there are many athiests out there that are very moral - that do things because they believe it is right, even without the iron fist of god hanging over them.
I really like this post (with the possible exception of the bitter sounding title).
ReplyDeleteI think you are perfectly right about agency being inherent in human nature. Elder Neil Maxwell spoke often about agency as the only thing that is uniquely ours. We can, however, thank God for providing us with opportunities to exercise agency- creating the universe (including our spirits). To extend your analogy, like providing atmosphere for the fan to blow air.
I find the Brethren's changing usage of the term 'free agency' interesting. When I was growing up, I remember hearing it spoken of in precisely those terms: 'free agency'. Later on, 'free' was dropped- most likely to avoid the strange ideas that 'free' connotes (look no further than statements 3 or 4). Lately, the Brethren have been using 'moral agency' much more frequently, for exactly the same reason that you distinguished between the two. It is really just an issue of semantics- always referring to the same thing- but changing it to emphasize what 'agency' really means.
Laws aren't necessary for agency, opposition, as in options, is.
Finally, your last point addresses the second half of the statement- I think the first half is solid doctrine. Many of God's commandments are based on eternal Truths (others are just to see if we'll obey him). People can abide by eternal Truth without knowing they are following commandments.
Thanks for letting me throw in my ten cents.
russ,
ReplyDeleteWe can, however, thank God for providing us with opportunities to exercise agency- creating the universe (including our spirits). To extend your analogy, like providing atmosphere for the fan to blow air.
well put. basically, the gift of agency is the gift of life. they are one and the same.
Lately, the Brethren have been using 'moral agency' much more frequently, for exactly the same reason that you distinguished between the two.
they have been using moral agency more often. however, i have too often heard the *brethren* equate free agency with moral nihilism and choices without consequences. both of those definitions are very problematic (if not plain wrong).
becca,
i had a chat with a friend about the very things you brought up today and had an epiphany of sorts. the thesis is pretty controversial and i think i'm going to write it up more clearly.
to make it short here is the thesis and the main points to my idea.
t - the church's rhetoric encouraging people to follow god to achieve glory or avoid punishment is satan's plan put into effect.
-free agency can't be removed (you can choose what color shirt to wear)
-free agency can be greatly hindered/reduced (i can put a gun to your head and tell you to wear a blue shirt - or i could offer you a million dollars to wear a blue shirt)
-satan can't remove free agency
-satan tries to reduce free agency
-satan's plan was to 'force' people to make certain choices through fear of punishment and rewards of celestial glory
-in the temple narrative, satan is basically portrayed as the jealous prince, even after the war in heaven, trying to prove to his father that he can still put the plan into effect.
-satan's plan is still in some effect when people are pressured to act in fear of punishment or hope of rewards, instead out of because the moral rightness of a thing.
Maybe you could get more readers, if you didn't scare them off with your titles.
ReplyDeleteYou make very valid and good points that are not offensive to members...but many members won't read the articles, just because of the titles.
chris, you are right.
ReplyDelete