Relationship Between Free Will and Original Sin in Theology

The relationship between free will and original sin is a complex and contested theological issue across Christian traditions. While there is general agreement that sin is a transgression against God's law ^[1], the extent to which original sin impairs human free will is a point of significant divergence.

One perspective, prominent in Reformed theology, holds that original sin has profoundly corrupted human nature, rendering individuals unable to choose good apart from divine grace. John Calvin, for instance, describes original sin as a "complete reformation of all its parts," affecting not only outward conduct but also the inner state of the soul ^[5]. This view suggests that humans are born with a sinful nature, as indicated by passages like Psalm 58:3 and 51:5, which state that all human beings are born sinners ^[2]. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed theologian, elaborates that people "sinned in their first father Adam" and derive a corrupt nature from their ancestors ^[6]. Charles Hodge further notes that the effect of Adam's sin was the loss of original righteousness, leaving the soul in a state where it cannot inherently choose good ^[7]. This position often emphasizes that while humans retain a will, it is enslaved to sin, making genuine free will in spiritual matters impossible without God's intervention.

In contrast, other traditions, such as Scholastic Catholicism, while acknowledging the impact of original sin, maintain a different understanding of free will. Thomas Aquinas argues that original sin primarily infects the "essence of the soul" and its inclination to act, but does not entirely eradicate free will ^[3]. He posits that there is one original sin in each person, stemming from the first sin of Adam, which is transmitted to all posterity ^[4]. However, this does not mean a complete loss of the capacity to choose. The Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles also address original sin, describing it as the "fault and corruption of the Nature of every man" ^[9], yet the implications for free will are often understood differently than in Reformed thought, allowing for a greater degree of human cooperation with grace.

Eastern Orthodox theology also presents a distinct view. While acknowledging the ancestral sin of Adam and Eve, it typically emphasizes that humans inherit the consequences of sin (mortality, corruption, and a propensity to sin) rather than inheriting Adam's personal guilt in a forensic sense. John of Damascus, a key Eastern Orthodox theologian, discusses the nature of humanity without explicitly detailing a complete loss of free will due to original sin in the same way as some Western traditions ^[8].

Despite these differences, traditions generally agree that original sin is a pervasive condition affecting all humanity ^{[2, 6]}. The divergence often stems from differing interpretations of the nature of sin itself—whether it is primarily a legal imputation of guilt, a corruption of nature, or both—and the extent to which it impairs the human will's ability to respond to God.

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sin — Is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6:12-17; 7:5-24). It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment,”
Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 58:3: 58:3 All human beings are born sinners (see 51:5); however, whereas the wicked indulge their sinful nature, the godly fight against it (Rom 7:19-23; Jas 4:1-10).”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the Subject of Original Sin, Art. 3: Article: Whether original sin infects the will before the other powers? I answer that, Two things must be considered in the infection of original sin. First, its inherence to its subject; and in this respect it regards first the essence of the soul, as stated above (Article [2]). In the second place we must consider its inclination to act; and in this way it regards the powers of the soul. It must therefore regard first of all that power in which is seated the first inclination to”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of Original Sin, As to Its Essence, Art. 2: Article: Whether there are several original sins in one man? I answer that, In one man there is one original sin. Two reasons may be assigned for this. The first is on the part of the cause of original sin. For it has been stated (Question [81], Article [2]), that the first sin alone of our first parent was transmitted to his posterity. Wherefore in one man original sin is one in number; and in all men, it is one in proportion, i.e. in relation to its first principle. The seco”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 37: a description of original sin; The same thing appears more clearly from the mode of renovation. For the spirit, which is contrasted with the old man, and the flesh, denotes not only the grace by which the sensual or inferior part of the soul is corrected, but includes a complete reformation of all its parts ( Eph. 4:23 ). And, accordingly, Paul enjoins not only that gross appetites be suppressed, but that we be renewed in the spirit of our mind ( Eph. 4:23 ), as he elsewhere tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind ( ”
Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 106:6: We have sinned with our fathers,.... Sinned in their first father Adam; derived a corrupt nature from their immediate ancestors; sinned after the similitude of their transgressions; sinned after their example, in like manner as they did; guilty of the same gross enormities as they were: though sufficiently warned by the words of the prophets, and by punishments inflicted, they continued their sins, a constant series and course of them, and filled up the measure of their iniquities; they rose up in their stead an increase of sinful men, to augment the fierce anger of ”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 43: the Latin Church on all the questions relating to sin, grace, and predestination. It having come to be generally admitted that original righteousness was a supernatural gift, it was also generally held that the effect of Adam's sin upon himself and upon his posterity was the loss of that righteousness. This was its only subjective effect. The soul, therefore, is left in the state in which it was originally created, and in which it existed, some said a longer, others a shorter, period, or no perceptible period at all, before the receipt of”
CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 105: 9:5 9:5 9:5 9:19 9:21 9:21 10:4 10:4 10:6-9 10:13-21 10:17 11:8 11:25-27 11:28 11:32 11:33-36 11:36 11:36 11:36 12:3 12:13 15:10 15:12 16:25-27 1 Corinthians 1:9 1:10 1:17-25 1:20 1:20-25 1:23 1:23 1:23-24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:27 1:27 2:2 2:7-8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:10-11 2:11 2:12 2:12 2:14-15 3:8 3:8 3:16 3:17 3:19 7:2 7:25 7:31 8 8:5 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:7 10:1 10:17 10:31 11:2 11:24-26 11:29 11:31-32 12:3 12:3 12:3 12:3 12:4-7 12:4-11 12:5-6 12:5-6 12:8 12:8 12:8-10 12:11 12:12 12:24 13:10 14:32 14:37 15:3-4 15:16-17 15:20 15:2”
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), 9.Of Original or Birth-sin.: 9.Of Original or Birth-sin.”

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