His argument runs like this: there is no goodness without free will. Without the ability to freely choose-or reject-the good, an individual possesses no control over his own soul, and without that control, there is not possibility of attaining grace. In the language of Christianity, a beliver cannot be saved unless the choice to follow Christ is freely made, unless the option not to follow him genuinely exists. Compelled belief is no belief at all. . Thomas C. Foster
About This Quote

It is true that we cannot know the truth about God and the eternal and perfect love He has for us unless we choose to believe in Him. However, God’s desire is that we be free to make that choice. We can choose to reject Him and reject our heritage as children of God. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “But as for you, you were called as a result of righteousness. The righteous will live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)

Source: How To Read Literature Like A Professor: A Lively And Entertaining Guide To Reading Between The Lines

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More Quotes By Thomas C. Foster
  1. Reading is a full contact sport; we crash up against the wave of words with all of our intellectual, imaginative, and emotional resources. What results can sometimes be as much our creation as the novelist's or playwright's.
  2. His argument runs like this: there is no goodness without free will. Without the ability to freely choose-or reject-the good, an individual possesses no control over his own soul, and without that control, there is not possibility of attaining grace. In the language of Christianity,...
  3. Real people are made out of a whole lot of things–flesh, bone, blood, nerves, stuff like that. Literary people are made out of words.
  4. We sometimes hear of the death of literature or of this or that genre, but literature doesn't die, just as it doesn't 'progress' or 'decay.' It expands, it increases. When we feel that it has become stagnant or stale, that usually just means we ourselves...
  5. The real reason for quest is always self-knowledge.
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