Did Pelagius get a bad rap, and does genuine free will require some 'autonomy' from God?
A viewer asks Sungenis to comment on Ali Bonner's book 'The Myth of Pelagianism,' which argues Pelagius was treated unfairly, and on her view that man needs some autonomy in order to freely choose God.
Answer
Once you say, as Bonner does, that man's free will is autonomous from God in even one percent, so that he can make a single decision for his salvation apart from grace, you are into a whole different territory, and it does not matter what percentage you assign. That is essentially where Pelagius was, teaching that man has an innate ability to do good apart from being moved by God. Augustine's answer was that your free will is not autonomous; it is given by grace, and even coming to the point of using it is led by prevenient grace, so grace comes before free will. Pelagius said no. The Church already sided with Augustine and condemned Pelagius, so there is not much Bonner is going to change. We hold both predestination and free will, but how they fit together the Church has never fully resolved.