Historical doctrine (question)

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scunish

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Hi,

I'm trying to dig up some stuff on 17th century (english, restoration period) mainstream church doctrine. There's a key point that I need to clarify--did folks generally believe (back then, not now) that angels DID or DID NOT have free will? Were they governed by the same sets of principals that humans were?

I've been trying to research this online, but thus far all I'm able to pull up is contemporary opinions on it. Hopefully someone here's got an idea. Thanks much!
 
It depends what you mean by Mainstream. If you mean the majority then I think this would be hard to know for sure because they didn't take opinion polls. But the majority of Christians at the time were Catholics and the Catholic Church teaches that angels had free will but after the fall their decision to either follow or not follow God was irrevocable. It should also be asked what you mean by free will. Because I take free will to mean the ability to choose between Good and Evil. However you may mean the ability to make independent decisions without direct orders in which case the answer would be different
 
scunish said:
Hi,

I'm trying to dig up some stuff on 17th century (english, restoration period) mainstream church doctrine. There's a key point that I need to clarify--did folks generally believe (back then, not now) that angels DID or DID NOT have free will? Were they governed by the same sets of principals that humans were?

I've been trying to research this online, but thus far all I'm able to pull up is contemporary opinions on it. Hopefully someone here's got an idea. Thanks much!
Click to expand...
This link might help some, as others have gone over this issue a bit.

http://www.comparative-religion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2394&page=4&pp=15

v/r

Q
 
Hi scunish - have you read anything on the Elizabethan mystic, John Dee? I suspect you'll find notes on his regarding angels which will provide at least one interpretation. :)

However, as for popular opinion - that would certainly be difficult to ascertain, because it implies that most people cared enough about the question to care to raise a personal opinion, let alone whether such an opinion was or was not against more specific teachings on the issue at the time. :)
 
I don't think so, not with Christianity. Angels had complete free will to be with and Glorify God, or to leave heaven and glorify Satan.

Jewish belief systems however are Extremely Monotheistic, in that angels do not have free will, and are rather vague beings of God, almost like outer extensions of his personality or will. Only in pre-NT Apocalyptic texts like the Book of Enoch will you find there were oppositions against God. But other than these, Ha-Satan was just another one of God's angels according to Judaism. In fact I think there were many "satans" right?

What's the Islamic thought on angelic free will?
 
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