i conclude my citations from the book by foster with his comments about freedom of will:
“traditionally . . . cartesian dualists have taken human subjects to enjoy a freedom of the will. . . . thus they have held that, at least in normal circumstances, the non-physical subject has a genuine power of choice, whose operation is not constrained by prior physical or psychological conditions, and which enables him to exercise an ultimate control over the movements of his body. and they have seen this power of choice, in combination with his knowledge of right and wrong, as the basis of the subject’s moral accountability. all this, moreover, is thought of as contributing to man’s distinctive glory.”
when god created homo sapiens sapiens (Man/Adam/human beings) he gave man freedom of will, so that our love of god is not by force or in our intrinsic nature. god created man with the desire for a personal bidirectional communion with him. by the sin sacrifice of jesus christ, communion is restored by the indwelling by his holy spirit of the human spirit and repentant soul. it is a dualist interaction made possible by the grace and love of our creator, and it is eternal.