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Question 4
Clement, Archelaus, and Methodius treat denial of free will as morally serious (even “impiety toward God” because it makes Him “author of human evils”); where does that accusation land on modern Christian speech about God’s control over sin, and what wording do we use today that the early Christians might challenge?
Another way to ask: Early Christians said denying free will makes God the author of human evil. How does that challenge the way Christians today talk about God controlling sin, and what phrases might they question?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests the early Christians would strongly challenge modern ways of speaking that make God the direct cause of human evil, because Methodius says denying free will turns into “impiety toward God” by making Him the “cause and author of human evils.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Clement says moral judgment is not “right if the soul does not have the power of choice and avoidance, if evil is involuntary.”
  • Archelaus says God gave “to every individual the sense of free will,” and “whoever will may keep the commandments.”
  • Methodius says those who claim man is governed by fate are “guilty of impiety toward God Himself,” making God “the cause and author of human evils.”
  • Bercot later connects arbitrary predestination to Gnostic teaching, where an “unjust, inferior God” makes humans totally depraved, so salvation becomes arbitrary election.
  • Origen insists “things worthy of praise and blame are within our own power,” implying evil cannot be blamed on God’s causation.
Discussion Follow-ups When we say, “God made him do it” or “God decreed that sin,” are we drifting toward language the early Christians would call dangerous?

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