Happy Easter, everyone. Below are some of my thoughts regarding the concept of freewill, maturity, and the book, Brave New World:
I do not want autonomy from God, but autonomy in God. I fully promote obedience to God, but what is that obedience based upon? Is it merely fear of retribution? That, at least, seems a valuable start, but Jesus didn’t die so that we would fear Him.
In all, I think it depends on our view of humanity. Does God want us to be infantile forever, obeying Him blindly and never understanding, or does He want us to be His children, those whom He loves and nurtures and grows? I do not think we can have the latter relationship without autonomy. Autonomy opens the door to a rejection of God, but it is also the door by which we can accept God.
There is a really great quote from a character named John in the book, Brave New World: “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
Can we actually have a relationship with God without autonomy? The character John is arguing, in a sense, for autonomy. As he is questioned, he “claims” the right to be unhappy. He wants God, but recognizes that there is real danger in knowing God, that the possibility of goodness is also the possibility of sin.
I want God.
Tale Told 