Church History Documentary| The Free Will Debate | Augustine vs. Pelagius | Gnostics vs Early Church

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This is one of the most important documentaries I have ever made.

It’s a theological film about church history.

Did Augustine corrupt the church with Gnostic doctrine?

That’s a very important question!

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A lot of people don’t realize that the Early Church Fathers debated the Gnostics on the topic of free will.

The Gnostics taught that man’s nature was sinful and corrupt and that man had no ability to do good.

In contradiction to the Gnostics, the Early Church Fathers (the disciples of the Apostles like Polycarp and Ignatius) taught that man is responsible and accountable for His actions because God has created us with a free will to choose between good and evil.

All of the Early Church Fathers, for the first three to four hundred years of Christianity, taught the doctrine of free will.

It wasn’t until Augustine “converted” to Christianity out of Gnosticism (Manicheanism) that this anti-free-will theology found its way into the Church.

Augustine’s denial of free will was a radical change in Christian theology and it was Augustine’s writings who influenced Martin Luther and John Calvin, who also both denied free will.

Can it be shown from historical sources that Augustine actually corrupted church theology with Gnostic doctrine?