Freedom is natural
Earth produces life naturally. Geothermal heat energizes the Kreb’s Cycle to start up in bubbles of chemical filled water. The geothermal heat also causes the surface of the bubble of fluid, usually water with a lot of chemicals dissolved in it, to start developing into a membrane. The Kreb’s Cycle starts churning out ATP that energizes other organic chemicals, amino acids, to stick together in long chains of RNA. The RNA naturally attracts a mirror image of itself to form DNA.
The membrane, the Kreb’s Cycle and RNA/DNA are the three functions that the chemistry of earth generates naturally. For two and a half billion years simple prokaryote cells evolved into a wide variety of creatures, Archaea and Bacteria, that mostly lived in water, but probably covered the ground around the water.
About two billion years ago some of the cells began attracting organic material to form around it and very gradually evolved into Eukaryote cells, with a nucleus, the original prokaryote cell, probably Archaea, surrounded by a cytoplasm full of organelles, like Mitochondria and Endoplasmic Reticulum and an outer membrane, managing the relationship between the cell and its surroundings.
All these cells, Archaea, mostly Bacteria and Eukaryotes were accumulating into microbial mats all over the earth. Volcanic vents, are still spewing very primal living organisms all over the place. Areas where sunshine penetrates into water is another fertile biome for the evolution of life. The chemistry of the universe causes life to evolve in hot water naturally.
Eventually, the mats of individual cells, strung out all over earth, very gradually start working together to form multicellular organisms. First, some of the cells evolved to form a membrane around the community. Then, other cells began evolving to specialize in other functions. The entire genetic code is in every cell. There is no central locus of control. Each cell naturally works for the benefit of the community.
Selfish cells are cancer and other diseases. They grow out of control and attack the community. The community evolves defenses against the cancer. Sometimes they win the competition, some times they lose. They learn and evolve in the process.
One part of the outer membrane of a multicellular organism folds into the interior of the organism, detaches from the membrane and evolves into a central nervous system. These specialized cells, neurons, begin developing into an organic system of systems that generates consciousness.
During millions of years of evolution the cells, all working together, learn how to do things, like swimming, walking on four legs, walking on two legs. Instincts, like eating, breathing, sleeping and procreation, are very primitive forms of consciousness. Emotions, like love, fear and anger, are another layer of more sophisticated motivations.
The human cerebrum is so large and advanced that it has capacities that no other animal does. While all animals have some form of executive decision making capacity, only human have the capacity to systematically regulate the expression of their instincts and emotions. Our Prefrontal Cortex, Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, and Anterior Cingulate Cortex enable us to be conscious of ourselves, communicate with each other using language and to voluntarily control the expression of our instincts and emotions.
Voluntary control of the expression of our instincts and emotions is the nature of freedom. Freedom is natural. Wild and free and two different things. Wild is lawless. Freedom is lawful. Wild is selfish, and competitive, individualistic survival of the fittest. Freedom is a feature of civilized human beings organized into communities. There is a common law that everyone follows. While we still have self-interest, we also have a sense of community and a common law that everyone follows.
Just like evolution itself, these changes are very gradual. Animals definitely have a sense of community and ways of communicating. Humans have a far more advanced form of consciousness. For example, we have the instinct of procreation in common with the animal kingdom. Humans get married and raise families and develop communities to a far more advanced extent than any animal.
Besides this biological nature of freedom, there is a psychological nature of freedom. Responsibility is not just a feature of freedom, it is freedom. Responsibility, accountability and self-determination are the nature of freedom. Take responsibility for yourself. Add value to society. Make the world a better place. You are responsible and accountable for your own thoughts, words and deeds, whether you like it or not.
Faith is a supernatural capacity that we learn by reading the Word of God. Faith transforms humans from wild animals into civilized human beings. It’s like language. Everyone is born with the capacity for both language and faith. We learn a particular language from our parents and our community. We learn our faith by reading the Word of God.
Sources:
Image by: Kadence AI
Biology, Solomon, Martin, Martin, Berg, 2011
The Zend Avesta, Unknown Author, 1887, 2008
Spontaneous Evolution, Lipton, Bhaerman, 2009