Chapter 10 - Hard Theological Determinism and Divine Forgiveness Are Incompatible

Summary

In this chapter, I argue that hard theological determinism is strictly incompatible with divine forgiveness. After laying out my argument for this conclusion and defending its central premises, I discuss some implications of the argument. I focus in particular on the apparent conflict between hard theological determinism and traditional theological perspectives. My discussion of these issues also highlights a reason why religious believers might attach importance to the idea that we sometimes have free will and are morally responsible for at least some of our behavior.