by David J. Roscoe
It was the Christian historians who, working in the framework of Judeo-Christian concepts of man, were forced to deal with the problem of man’s place in historical causation. Not that they abandoned the deterministic factor which they now called “Providence,” but that they could not reject the concept of man having the freedom to choose between good and evil. The real problem which faced the church historians was reconciling the concepts of Divine Omniscience and free will. The great theologian and historian, Augustine, wrestled with this problem and came to the seemingly ambiguous conclusion that while God knew all future events including all of man’s decisions, man still had complete freedom. Augustine, while laying the philosophical groundwork for predestination, firmly rejected such a position and was active in attacking those who would deny man’s free will.
