Editor:
I write concerning the commentary by Mr. Perry Mann describing his rejection of the presence of free will in human beings (July 12). As I read his column I thought of the recent event when a violent man killed nine Christians while they were praying in their church.
Believers in free will were filled with revulsion on hearing of the murders and filled with awe as we heard words of forgiveness. Deniers of free will would be indifferent to the murders and the mercy. Where there is no free will there is no personal responsibility.
Mr. Mann reveals a contradiction in his article. He argues that people in authority can make free choices to change our methods of dealing with evil. Then he wants us to hope that determined criminals will change their ways and be cured.
Of course, all atheists are perfectly logical as they reject the concept of human free choice. If people are made of only matter then our human actions are physically determined. When our world is without the possibility of free choice then our lives are without meaning. There are no realities such as kindness or cruelty, wisdom or foolishness, courage or cowardice. But when we conceive reality as both physical and spiritual free will makes sense. As women and men we experience ourselves as body and soul, matter and mind, physical and spiritual. We have this understanding because we believe in a loving God who created us with the gift of free will.
The lack of a sense of free will often leads people to a feeling of despair. William Shakespeare captures this tragic emotion in the heart of murderous Macbeth as he says, "Life is a walking shadow. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." For those of us following the Hebrew-Christian tradition, we live by the words of Moses (Deuteronomy-30): "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse, therefore choose life and you and your offspring may live."
Father Pat McDonough
Pastor, St. Francis of Assisi
St. Albans