Jumpstarter 4 of 10

Direct Answer Justin’s argument, as presented by Bercot, challenges any modern excuse that removes real choice—because if our actions are fated, then moral responsibility, judgment, and even the meaning of praise and blame collapse.

Support from Transcript:

• Justin says some may think Christians teach “everything happens by fatal necessity because it has been foretold,” but he rejects that conclusion.
• He insists rewards and punishments are “rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions.”
• He argues: “if all things happen by fate, then nothing at all is in our own power.”
• He gives the moral consequence: if one is fated good and another evil, “neither is the first one praiseworthy, nor the second one to be blamed.”
• He concludes: “unless humans have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions.”