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Volume 4, Issue 2 (2024)
J Clin Care Skill 2024, 4(2): 109-122 |
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History
Received: 2023/11/6 | Accepted: 2024/06/17 | Published: 2024/06/30
Received: 2023/11/6 | Accepted: 2024/06/17 | Published: 2024/06/30
How to cite this article
Radfar N, Alizamani A. The Free Will Position in the Doctrine of Holy Spirit Indwelling in Alston’s Viewpoint. J Clin Care Skill 2024; 4 (2) :109-122
URL: http://jpt.modares.ac.ir/article-6-72289-en.html
URL: http://jpt.modares.ac.ir/article-6-72289-en.html
1- Department of Islamic Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Motahhari University, Tehran, Iran
2- Department of Philosophy of Religues, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
2- Department of Philosophy of Religues, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
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Introduction
After the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, his presence is through the Holy Spirit within a Christian believer. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a Christian doctrine to explain inner guidance, which is in connection with the doctrine of salvation. A person cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born again or, in the words of the Bible, born from heaven. and reach happiness and salvation [St John:1-6].
Indwelling in Alston's sharing model
As a non-traditional theologian, Alston disagrees with the idea that the Holy Spirit does not play an active role in transforming the Christian believer's personal situation during the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a serious challenge is raised here, which is how the free will of man is realized in the course of his inner guidance by the divine guide.
To explain human free will within the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Alston focuses especially on the Holy Spirit's inner changes in the Christian believer's character and believes that the Holy Spirit's special action is personality change in the believer. The Holy Spirit transforms the Christian believer so that he conforms more to the image of Christ. Alston writes that the transformational action of the Holy Spirit is done with personality changes, which we can call a change in the individual's motivational structure: Changes in tendencies, desires, values, approaches, and personal emotional tendencies as well as interests [Alston,1989: 126]. Alston describes three models of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: the Fiat model, the Interpersonal model, and the Sharing model. After examining the hypothetical models and their intellectual problems, he chooses the sharing model as a reasonable model of the doctrine of indwelling [Alston, 1989: 137]. According to the sharing model, psychological changes are produced in the Christian believer through his participation in the divine life [Alston, 1989: 125]. Alston writes: In the doctrine of the indwelling, the Holy Spirit fills the whole being of the Christian believer. So that his whole heart and interior will be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and as a result, there will be mutual inclusion of personal and divine life, and the obstacles that would naturally separate the individual life of a Christian believer from God will be removed [Alston, 1989: 141].
Cognitive and Active sharing in Divine Lif
Psychological elements linked in Alston's sharing model between God and believers can include experiences, feelings, approaches, talents, values, and beliefs [Alston, 1989: 145]. The nature of such participation is of two types: First, cognitive sharing, the believers participate in the divine psychological life and are cognitively aware of these psychological states. In other words, believers gain knowledge and awareness of what God considers good or right. For example, they become aware of God's love in a direct, lively, and cheerful way. Second, another type of participation can be based on believers' motivation, namely, active sharing. This means that a believer is not only aware of various psychological elements but also shares in the special divine motivation and desires to show a worthy and appropriate response to good things and to avoid evil [Alston, 1989: 249]. Alston believes that in active sharing, the human motivational system of the believers is not replaced by the divine inclinations, but rather the divine inclinations manifest weakly as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, due to the sinful nature of mankind [Alston, 1989: 251-252].
Analyzing Alston's Perspectives in the Sharing Model
Man's free will to perform a volitional act is based on wanting and intending, which are mental states, and it can be said that intending plays a causal role. Also, a person's intention in performing a voluntary action is inseparable from their beliefs and desires. Therefore, any proper description of free will must seriously include two aspects: first, the beliefs and desires that lead to free will in humans, and second, attention to the causal role of human free will. Human beliefs and desires are two basic conditions for the realization of human free will. Because when a person intends to do an action, at least at the beginning, it seems that he believes that the realization of the action is probable. Another condition is having the desire to do the action, which, of course, seems a little more complicated than belief. So, the main characteristic of desire is trying to achieve good [Kern, 2016: 45-56]. Trying to reach means willingness to try to reach, which is a kind of motivation for the realization of volitional action and directs human will. Another aspect of the description of free will concerns its causal role [Alston, 1996: 175]. That is, the answer to this important question: what is really the reason for the realization of the action after the human has made the intention and will based on his belief and desires to perform the action? It can be said that whatever the human mind has chosen as its belief and motive, and with a combination of beliefs and motives, they are the cause of the human will, and as a result of the realization of the action. Therefore, a kind of executive function of intention and authority to perform the action is involved [Aristotle, 2006: 96]. So, a person's belief or tendency model leads to a serious decision to carry out the voluntary action [Edwards et al., 2013: 583]. The Christian believer, by indwelling of the Holy Spirit, gains knowledge and awareness of what is good and feels that he wants to show a proper and appropriate reaction. Because in voluntary action, it is necessary to acquire knowledge or action based on sensual attributes, and the Holy Spirit, by dwelling, actually shares divine approaches, tendencies, and values with man. And the inclinations for the human person appear as their own psychological states. So, human approaches, inclinations, and values become divine. In such sharing, God allows man to become aware of God's love, enables him to follow God in his behavior and desires, and distances him from his sinful nature, becoming a new creation and achieving salvation.
Criticisms on Sharing Model
Although Alston gives a good description of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there are some criticisms about the sharing model. How can the psychological states of the existence of the Holy Spirit, which eternally emanates from God the Father and the Son, be shared with human existence? In fact, there is a great difference between the existence of God and the existence of man, and man really cannot participate in the psychological states related to a transcendent being [Ray, 2014: 218].
It can be said that the Holy Spirit, by indwelling within man, makes it possible to experience the phenomenological relationship and to participate in the divine life, thereby enabling individual transformation. The sharing model seeks to reduce the spiritual distance between God and us by indwelling the Spirit within man. Therefore, although there are many differences between God's existence and human existence, it is possible to share the Holy Spirit's psychological states.
Conclusion
According to Alston’s sharing model, which is the psychological sharing between man and the Holy Spirit, the changes in the human sinful nature caused by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the changes in the personality motivational structure of man, cause the Christian believer to find knowledge and awareness of what is good and evoke the desires. In this way, in all transformations, the Holy Spirit has an important inner role, while human free will is explained.
After the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, his presence is through the Holy Spirit within a Christian believer. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a Christian doctrine to explain inner guidance, which is in connection with the doctrine of salvation. A person cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born again or, in the words of the Bible, born from heaven. and reach happiness and salvation [St John:1-6].
Indwelling in Alston's sharing model
As a non-traditional theologian, Alston disagrees with the idea that the Holy Spirit does not play an active role in transforming the Christian believer's personal situation during the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a serious challenge is raised here, which is how the free will of man is realized in the course of his inner guidance by the divine guide.
To explain human free will within the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Alston focuses especially on the Holy Spirit's inner changes in the Christian believer's character and believes that the Holy Spirit's special action is personality change in the believer. The Holy Spirit transforms the Christian believer so that he conforms more to the image of Christ. Alston writes that the transformational action of the Holy Spirit is done with personality changes, which we can call a change in the individual's motivational structure: Changes in tendencies, desires, values, approaches, and personal emotional tendencies as well as interests [Alston,1989: 126]. Alston describes three models of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: the Fiat model, the Interpersonal model, and the Sharing model. After examining the hypothetical models and their intellectual problems, he chooses the sharing model as a reasonable model of the doctrine of indwelling [Alston, 1989: 137]. According to the sharing model, psychological changes are produced in the Christian believer through his participation in the divine life [Alston, 1989: 125]. Alston writes: In the doctrine of the indwelling, the Holy Spirit fills the whole being of the Christian believer. So that his whole heart and interior will be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and as a result, there will be mutual inclusion of personal and divine life, and the obstacles that would naturally separate the individual life of a Christian believer from God will be removed [Alston, 1989: 141].
Cognitive and Active sharing in Divine Lif
Psychological elements linked in Alston's sharing model between God and believers can include experiences, feelings, approaches, talents, values, and beliefs [Alston, 1989: 145]. The nature of such participation is of two types: First, cognitive sharing, the believers participate in the divine psychological life and are cognitively aware of these psychological states. In other words, believers gain knowledge and awareness of what God considers good or right. For example, they become aware of God's love in a direct, lively, and cheerful way. Second, another type of participation can be based on believers' motivation, namely, active sharing. This means that a believer is not only aware of various psychological elements but also shares in the special divine motivation and desires to show a worthy and appropriate response to good things and to avoid evil [Alston, 1989: 249]. Alston believes that in active sharing, the human motivational system of the believers is not replaced by the divine inclinations, but rather the divine inclinations manifest weakly as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, due to the sinful nature of mankind [Alston, 1989: 251-252].
Analyzing Alston's Perspectives in the Sharing Model
Man's free will to perform a volitional act is based on wanting and intending, which are mental states, and it can be said that intending plays a causal role. Also, a person's intention in performing a voluntary action is inseparable from their beliefs and desires. Therefore, any proper description of free will must seriously include two aspects: first, the beliefs and desires that lead to free will in humans, and second, attention to the causal role of human free will. Human beliefs and desires are two basic conditions for the realization of human free will. Because when a person intends to do an action, at least at the beginning, it seems that he believes that the realization of the action is probable. Another condition is having the desire to do the action, which, of course, seems a little more complicated than belief. So, the main characteristic of desire is trying to achieve good [Kern, 2016: 45-56]. Trying to reach means willingness to try to reach, which is a kind of motivation for the realization of volitional action and directs human will. Another aspect of the description of free will concerns its causal role [Alston, 1996: 175]. That is, the answer to this important question: what is really the reason for the realization of the action after the human has made the intention and will based on his belief and desires to perform the action? It can be said that whatever the human mind has chosen as its belief and motive, and with a combination of beliefs and motives, they are the cause of the human will, and as a result of the realization of the action. Therefore, a kind of executive function of intention and authority to perform the action is involved [Aristotle, 2006: 96]. So, a person's belief or tendency model leads to a serious decision to carry out the voluntary action [Edwards et al., 2013: 583]. The Christian believer, by indwelling of the Holy Spirit, gains knowledge and awareness of what is good and feels that he wants to show a proper and appropriate reaction. Because in voluntary action, it is necessary to acquire knowledge or action based on sensual attributes, and the Holy Spirit, by dwelling, actually shares divine approaches, tendencies, and values with man. And the inclinations for the human person appear as their own psychological states. So, human approaches, inclinations, and values become divine. In such sharing, God allows man to become aware of God's love, enables him to follow God in his behavior and desires, and distances him from his sinful nature, becoming a new creation and achieving salvation.
Criticisms on Sharing Model
Although Alston gives a good description of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there are some criticisms about the sharing model. How can the psychological states of the existence of the Holy Spirit, which eternally emanates from God the Father and the Son, be shared with human existence? In fact, there is a great difference between the existence of God and the existence of man, and man really cannot participate in the psychological states related to a transcendent being [Ray, 2014: 218].
It can be said that the Holy Spirit, by indwelling within man, makes it possible to experience the phenomenological relationship and to participate in the divine life, thereby enabling individual transformation. The sharing model seeks to reduce the spiritual distance between God and us by indwelling the Spirit within man. Therefore, although there are many differences between God's existence and human existence, it is possible to share the Holy Spirit's psychological states.
Conclusion
According to Alston’s sharing model, which is the psychological sharing between man and the Holy Spirit, the changes in the human sinful nature caused by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the changes in the personality motivational structure of man, cause the Christian believer to find knowledge and awareness of what is good and evoke the desires. In this way, in all transformations, the Holy Spirit has an important inner role, while human free will is explained.