Do Angels Have Free Will?

[AccountDeleted]

I thought that only humans had free will, but if this is true, then how did Satan turn against God and the other angels that fell with him? Did they have free will -- and do angels still have it today after the Fall?

[Templari]

[quote name='nunsense' post='1239307' date='Apr 11 2007, 09:13 PM']I thought that only humans had free will, but if this is true, then how did Satan turn against God and the other angels that fell with him? Did they have free will -- and do angels still have it today after the Fall?[/quote]
Angels have will, but because of their awesome knowledge it isn't the same as ours. Satan had a choice to be obedient or not, he chose not too, and has no chance to go back on that because he understood entirely what he was choosing.

[Resurrexi]

[quote][b]The Catechism of Pope St. Pius X:[/b]
The Angels

13 Q. Which are the noblest of God's creatures?
A. The noblest creatures created by God are the Angels.

14 Q. Who are the Angels?
A. The Angels are intelligent and purely spiritual creatures.

15 Q. Why did God create the Angels?
A. God created the Angels so as to be honoured and served by them, and to give them eternal happiness.

16 Q. What form and figure have the Angels?
A. The Angels have neither form nor material figure of any kind, because they are pure spirits created by God in such a way as to exist without having to be united to a body.

17 Q. Why then are the angels represented under sensible forms?
A. The Angels are represented under sensible forms: (1) As a help to our imagination; (2) Because they have thus appeared many times to men, as we read in Sacred Scripture.

18 Q. Were all the angels faithful to God?
A. No, the Angels were not all faithful to God, many of them through pride claimed to be His equals and independent of Him — for which sin they were banished for ever from Paradise and condemned to hell.

19 Q. What are the Angels called who were banished for ever from Paradise and condemned to hell?
A. The Angels banished for ever from Paradise and condemned to hell are called demons, and their chief is called Lucifer or Satan.

20 Q. Can the demons do us any harm?
A. Yes, the demons can do us great harm both in soul and body, especially by tempting us to sin, provided God permits them to do so.

21 Q. Why do they tempt us?
A. The demons tempt us because of the envy they bear us, which makes them desire our eternal damnation; and because of their hatred of God. whose image is reflected in us. God on the other hand permits these temptations in order that we may overcome them by His grace, and thus practise virtue and acquire merit for Heaven.

22 Q. How are temptations conquered?
A. Temptations are conquered by watchfulness, prayer and Christian mortification.

23 Q. What are the angels called who remained faithful to God?
A. The Angels who remained faithful to God are called the good Angels, heavenly Spirits, or simply Angels.

24 Q. What became of the Angels who remained faithful to God?
A. The Angels who remained faithful to God were confirmed in grace, for ever enjoy the vision of God, love Him, bless Him, and praise Him eternally.

25 Q. Does God use the Angels as His ministers?
A. Yes, God uses the Angels as His ministers, and especially does He entrust to many of them the office of acting as our guardians and protectors.

26 Q. Should we have a particular devotion to our Guardian Angel?
A. Yes, we should have a particular devotion to our Guardian Angel; we should honour him, invoke his aid, follow his inspirations, and be grateful to him for the continual assistance he affords us.
[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/PIUSXCAT.HTM"]http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/PIUSXCAT.HTM[/url][/quote]

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='Templari' post='1239320' date='Apr 11 2007, 11:25 PM']Angels have will, but because of their awesome knowledge it isn't the same as ours. Satan had a choice to be obedient or not, he chose not too, and has no chance to go back on that because he understood entirely what he was choosing.[/quote]
Just an iota, the angel's will consists of the entire being, therefore the creature had to go 'move' its whole being to become evil. I guess one can say that demons are literally "hell" because of instantaneous and complete choice to separate from God.

[kujo]

What is the difference between the free will that we humans have and the "will" that angels have?

[Paddington]

[quote name='Templari' post='1239320' date='Apr 12 2007, 12:55 AM']Satan ........... has no chance to go back on that because he understood entirely what he was choosing.[/quote]


To me, that could be speculation. (Just correct me if I'm wrong.) It would fly in the face of "gates of hell are locked from the inside" that is often used in Christian explanations/justifications of hell.

EDIT: I understand that hell does not end and that is dogma. It is just a matter of does it never end, because they will not leave OR are not permitted to leave.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Paddington

[cappie]

Do the angels have a free will? Yes, they do. But immediately we must make clear what stage of angelic existence and what angels we are talking about.

When originally created by God, all the angels had a free will. Indeed, their eternal destiny depended on how they would use their freedom. Mysteriously the angels could choose between the real good and the apparent good. They could choose between submitting and refusing obedience to their Creator. We know what happened. Some angels refused to bend their wills to the Divine will, and they were eternally condemned for their pride. Others freely surrendered their wills to the Almighty and are the angels about whom we are mainly speaking in this conference.

We continue. The angels certainly have a free will. But then we ask, “What kind of freedom do they possess?” It cannot be the freedom of choosing between good and evil, which means between doing the will of God and committing sin. The angels are in heavenly glory. They have the peak of freedom, because they always choose to love God.

So true is this that the angels spontaneously love God more than themselves. They do His will because they want to. Behind this statement is a profound mystery of our faith, but a mystery that we should try to understand. The mystery is that a person, whether an angel or human being, is only as free as his will is inclined to conform to the will of God.

The fallen angels are slaves of their selfish wills. The angels in heavenly glory enjoy the sublime freedom of loving God with their whole being.

Before we conclude this first conference, let us make sure we learn the first lesson of angelology. Like the angels at the dawn of their creation, we too have a free will. Like them we can choose to love God with our whole heart or love ourselves in preference to God.

We do not comprehend the next statement, but we better believe it. Our destiny depends, of course, on divine grace. But it also demands the cooperation of our free will.

Quote from Saint Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. Says Ignatius:

We should apply the memory to the sin of the angels, that is, recalling that they were created in the state of grace, that they did not want to make use of the freedom God gave them to reverence and obey their Creator and Lord. Falling into pride, they were changed from grace to hatred of God, and cast out of heaven into hell.

[url="http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Angelology/Angelology_015.htm"]http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/An...elology_015.htm[/url]

Edited April 12, 2007 by cappie

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='cappie' post='1239606' date='Apr 12 2007, 02:49 PM']Do the angels have a free will? Yes, they do. But immediately we must make clear what stage of angelic existence and what angels we are talking about.

When originally created by God, all the angels had a free will. Indeed, their eternal destiny depended on how they would use their freedom. Mysteriously the angels could choose between the real good and the apparent good. They could choose between submitting and refusing obedience to their Creator. We know what happened. Some angels refused to bend their wills to the Divine will, and they were eternally condemned for their pride. Others freely surrendered their wills to the Almighty and are the angels about whom we are mainly speaking in this conference.

We continue. The angels certainly have a free will. But then we ask, “What kind of freedom do they possess?” It cannot be the freedom of choosing between good and evil, which means between doing the will of God and committing sin. The angels are in heavenly glory. They have the peak of freedom, because they always choose to love God.

So true is this that the angels spontaneously love God more than themselves. They do His will because they want to. Behind this statement is a profound mystery of our faith, but a mystery that we should try to understand. The mystery is that a person, whether an angel or human being, is only as free as his will is inclined to conform to the will of God.

The fallen angels are slaves of their selfish wills. The angels in heavenly glory enjoy the sublime freedom of loving God with their whole being.

Before we conclude this first conference, let us make sure we learn the first lesson of angelology. Like the angels at the dawn of their creation, we too have a free will. Like them we can choose to love God with our whole heart or love ourselves in preference to God.

We do not comprehend the next statement, but we better believe it. Our destiny depends, of course, on divine grace. But it also demands the cooperation of our free will.

Quote from Saint Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. Says Ignatius:

We should apply the memory to the sin of the angels, that is, recalling that they were created in the state of grace, that they did not want to make use of the freedom God gave them to reverence and obey their Creator and Lord. Falling into pride, they were changed from grace to hatred of God, and cast out of heaven into hell.

[url="http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Angelology/Angelology_015.htm"]http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/An...elology_015.htm[/url][/quote]

Wow - thanks everyone for the great answers. I think I understand a lot more now. One of the statements I particularly like is "Others [Angels] freely surrendered their wills to the Almighty". I asked once on a forum about whether I could offer my Free Will to God and was told that I couldn't since that is why it is called "Free Will" and God wants us to choose to love Him freely. But I do like the idea of making His Will, my will... and "surrendering my will to the Almighty" sounds like a very wonderful thing to do. I think it is a question of semantics however since every moment we seem to be faced with choices, so every moment is another chance to "freely choose God" or align our will to His.

Thank you - very good answers to my question!

Edited April 12, 2007 by nunsense