Is sin and its consequential "hardening of heart" used as a tool through which God bestows mercy, or is it solely the result of man's free will in turning away from God? To fully understand the import of this question, we must first examine its language, and define "hardening of heart" and free will. For the purpose of this discussion, spiritual hardening of heart is the soul's inability to receive the grace of God. Thus a human is led into more and more sin, as it lacks the grace necessary to resist sin or, at times, recognize the wrongdoing as such. To the same end, free will can be defined as the ability to choose between good and evil unhindered by any divine influence. It implies that the full knowledge of wrongdoing and therefore full culpability lies on the individual making such a decision. The question of whether these two concepts interfere with one another will be examined by exploring the viewpoints delineated by the narrative of "The Life of Adam and Eve," those offered by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, and those given by St. Thomas Aquinas in Suma Theologica. Throughout his letter to the Romans, Paul expresses clearly several times that God indeed is the cause of certain sin and hardness of heart. He also explores the concept of God's motivation in causing such infractions. In each of these instances, a central theme of sin and blindness leading to salvation is repeated. Paul uses many examples to prove the point that God, in his divine plan, uses the wicked to bring the righteous to salvation, and also bestows mercy on the righteous in order to bring the wicked to grace. The first example of this that he cites is God's judgment on idolaters. "Therefore God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies." (Rom 1.24) Thus, because of their sins, God himself removed his mercy and allowed them to continue their idolatry and their impure relations. While God ...
