Willing To Believe: The Controversy Over Free Will

What is the role of the will in believing the good news of the gospel? Why has there been so much controversy over free will throughout church history? Willing to Believe is a major work on the Protestant doctrines of man's total depravity and God's effectual grace. R. C. Sproul traces the free-will controversy from its formal beginning in the fifth century, when Augustine took up the pen against Pelagius, to the present. By the time you finish this historical tour, you will understand the nuances separating the views of Protestants and Catholics, Calvinists and Arminians, the Reformed and Dispensationalists. You will also see how this debate colors our view of our humanity and shapes our understanding of God's character.

What is the role of the will in believing the good news of the gospel? Why is there so much controversy over free will throughout church history? R. C. Sproul finds that Christians have often been influenced by pagan views of the human will that deny the effects of Adam??'s fall. In Willing to Believe, Sproul traces the free-will controversy from its formal beginning in the fifth century, with the writings of Augustine and Pelagius, to the present. Readers will gain understanding into the nuances separating the views of Protestants and Catholics, Calvinists and Arminians, and Reformed and Dispensationalists. This book, like Sproul's Faith Alone, is a major work on an essential evangelical tenet.