Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Religion and Freedom: - Coggle Diagram

- - - - True freedom : comes from knowing and relating to God
        
        knowing and relating to God is central
        
        this understanding is expressed in first in the stories of creation, reinforced throughout the bible and is at the heart of who Jesus is for Christians
        
        the Christian faith, expressed in its many tradition or denominations, is about true freedom
        
        human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27)
      - Freedom attains perfection when directed towards god
      - Freedom does not equal license - humans have responsibility for their actions
        
        Any exploration of freedom needs to acknowledge that freedom is not the same as license
        
        it is about people being able to choose for themselves and implies a commitment to being responsible for what one choses
        
        this is important as without being responsible, a person could freely choose something but be unwilling to accept the consequences
        
        to be free implies ownership of what is chosen freely
        
        "freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts" (CCC 1734)
      - Freedom is part of God's creative plan - God created humans with free will
        
        in catholic teaching the desire or yearning for freedom is part of being human and has a purpose
        
        first revealed in the creation stories, Catholic believe that all God creates is good, people are created in the image and likeness of God, begin their existence in Gods created world knowing and relating fully with God
        
        they are created with free will and the full ability to choose the goodness and love that God has to offer all who accept God into their lives
        
        "God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel (cf. Sir 15:14), so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him" (CCC 1743)
      - Human sinfulness requires the saving work of God
        
        after the two creation stories the book of genesis then tells a series of stories about how the first humans make choices that reject what God offers and harm their relationship with God and the world they live in
        
        chapter 11 of the book of genesis then tells how God reaches out to people through Abram with the intention of calling people back to a relationship with God again always inviting people to freely make this choice
        
        "mans freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. he freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he deceived himself and became a slave to sin. the first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom