Theological Voluntarism
Voluntarism also refers to theological commitments—that is, specific interpretations of doctrines of Christianity—arguably held by such figures as Pierre Gassendi, Walter Charleton, Robert Boyle, Isaac Barrow, and Isaac Newton. It resulted in an empirical approach associated with early modern science. Voluntarism therefore allows that faith or belief in God can be achieved by will as opposed to requiring a prior divine gift of faith to the individual. This notion holds at least in so far as it has found favor among some historians and philosophers (e.g., the historian Francis Oakley and the philosopher Michael B. Foster). A twentieth-century theologian of voluntarism was James Luther Adams.
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