Free will, Apologetics & the Logos
an Apostolic Perspective on Modern Christian Intellectualism
Deacon Razmig Kalanjian
Free Will is not just a philosophical concept but the keystone of Christian belief. Since the time of Aquinas' Summa Theologica, the technical aspects of Free Will have been at the forefront of Christian apologetics and intellectual discourse, but it was first shaped by the field of metaphysics and continues to operate under its modern, entirely secular descendant, epistemology. For over a century, the field of Apologetics—the reasoned defense of faith—has been largely dominated by post-schism Christian denominations, raising the questions: where are the voices of the ancient churches in this discourse and can we find a worthy opponent for determinism in the concept of the Logos?
Deacon Razmig Kalanjian is a lecturer of Philosophy and Epistemology at the Armenian Theological Seminary in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy taking a special interest in compatibilism-centered theories of free will in an academic field otherwise settled on determinism.