ABSTRACT
This chapter explains Bernard’s distinction between the three kinds of freedom and show how this distinction entails a non-deterministic view on the divine–human relationship. Thus ‘there are three forms of freedom, as they have occurred to us: freedom from sin, from sorrow and from necessity. It must be admitted that Bernard’s analysis is not always equally consistent. It seems as though these various kinds of freedom sometimes overlap and that features that are sometimes ascribed to the one are at other times ascribed to the other. Bernard’s concept of freedom is fundamentally personal and libertarian: our liberum arbitrium belongs to our created nature as persons, and since it is as persons that God wants us to enjoy eternal happiness, the exercise of free choice is a necessary condition for our eternal salvation. There is a marked difference in style between the writings of Bernard and Calvin.
