ill be transformed into a glorious, immortal being where power to contrary is no longer necessary. Every thought, deed, and motive will be free to be all that God intended. In the glorified state the conditions will be such that individuals no longer are inclined away from God and toward evil. The tenacious problem Paul calls the "flesh" will be laid to rest once and for all. "Making choices consistent with nature confirmed in righteousness will be our highest freedom!" 23 If these categories obtain and (1) the conditions of the Fall radically affected human freedom and (2) redemption restores human freedom, then what is the source of sin? In the company of Augustine, one cannot discuss human freedom without discussing the origin of evil. According to Augustine, "There are two sources of sin, a man's own spontaneous thought, and the persuasion of a neighbor . . . Both, however, are voluntary."24 Sin issues from within and without. There are two mediums through which sin enters: (1) the bodily senses and (2) evil desires (cf., I Jn. 2:14-15; Jam. 1: 14). In either case the will is utilized. "Sins . . . are to be ascribed to nothing but to their own wills, and no further cause for sins is to be looked for."25 That persons are both impotent and ignorant does not make them less guilty before God. These are the conditions under which unregenerate creatures exist. Ignorance and impotence are conditions, not causes. Analogously, a drought is not the cause of hunger; lack of food is. The drought may be the condition under which hunger occurs, but it is not the cause of hunger. So too, God created the condition (viz., freedom) from which humans could move closer toward him. Adam voluntarily chose otherwise and, hence, became guilty. The cause of the guilt is the misuse of the condition (freedom). In essence, God caused the condition, Adam abused it and, therefore, became guilty. Why should not the Author of the soul be praised with due piet...
