In Orthodox Christianity, the doctrine of election is not in contradiction with the concept of free will. If we conceive freedom as the victory of our true nature (which is divine) over the temptation we are exposed to (as Job did), there is no contradiction with the idea that everything will go according God's plan. Our inner nature is divine: the plan of God and the plan of the "inner me" and "inner you" are no different.
Perfection is not a static concept: if you not challenge good with evil, you will never know what is fire-proof good. I think that the life of Job is the best example, but the New Testament has many parables to make people understand this concept (eg. The Good Seeder, the invitation to the Banquet etc.).
See Mauro Biglino on youtube
In Orthodox Christianity, the doctrine of election is not in contradiction with the concept of free will. If we conceive freedom as the victory of our true nature (which is divine) over the temptation we are exposed to (as Job did), there is no contradiction with the idea that everything will go according God's plan. Our inner nature is divine: the plan of God and the plan of the "inner me" and "inner you" are no different.
Perfection is not a static concept: if you not challenge good with evil, you will never know what is fire-proof good. I think that the life of Job is the best example, but the New Testament has many parables to make people understand this concept (eg. The Good Seeder, the invitation to the Banquet etc.).
Damn, a japanese christian. I don't want to remind everyone what Iemitsu did to japanese christians.
It’s a pointless reminder.
17th century persecutions aren’t really relevant to modern Japan’s constitutional religious protections.