the notion of choice, which is an essential element of will in man. Let it be her recognised once for all as a general principle that all the words of man's vocabulary when used for God's attributes are similarly metaphorical.[1]
- ↑ It is interesting to note here the following passage from a modern European author: If we forma conception of a Perfect or Infinite Mind it is in this sense that we must speak of such a mind as free, To speak of choice between alternatives is to suggest that another than the best might be chosen and this would be*inconsistent with the idea of perfection.
A finite mind, limited in knowledge and power and distracted by desires other than the will to goodness, may yet have a partial measure of self-determination which is complete only in the infinite. It is incompletely determined by forces external to itself. And if it stand—as it does stand—between the realm of nature and the realm of goodness, conscious of the good and yet beset by many temptations to fall to a lower level, then the relative independence or partial spontaneity of such a mind may be exhibited in the power to direct its own path toward the goal of goodness or to allow it to lapse into evil. Its freedom will be neither complete independence of external determination nor complete agreement with the ideal of goodness; but it will exclude total subordination to the forces beyond itself, and it will give opportunity for choosing and serving the good. In spite of its restrictions human activity will be recognized as possessing a core of spontaneity", W.R.Sorley: Moral Values and the Idea of God. Cambridge 1918 pp. 446–7.
