There are a number of different ethical structures with a religious basis, some developed within a religious framework, others adapted from secular philosophy to the needs of a religious community. Christian ethics can be found in different forms as well, and underlying all is the essential view that human beings have free will and so that ethical decisions are valuable. This idea has been expressed by Christian religious philosophers in different ways in different eras.
Freedom is a vital topic for the Roman theorist Boethius. Boethius was a Platonist and derived elements from both Plato and Aristotle. He considered human nature a distinct entity and argued that Christ embodied both a divine nature and human nature. At the same time, human nature is included in divine nature, for all things which exist are also God, including every human being. He saw philosophy as a means of learning more about God and of coming to grips with one's relationship to the rest of creation. That relationship defines the human being and is couched in terms of one's relationship to God. Boethius also helped transmit the ideas of Aristotle in particular to later generations. Boethius was a Master of the Offices under the Italian king Theodoric in the sixth century. He was later accused of treason and imprisoned and tortured before being executed. Boethius was important in the history of philosophy because for centuries, Aristotle was known only through two translations by Boethius.
In writing about the issue of freedom, Boethius addressed the issue of freedom versus determinism in terms of the reality and role of God. Boethius talks the issue over with Philosophy, pictured as a she, a nurse ministering to him while he awaits his execution. Philosophy tells him that there is freedom, that indeed it would not be possible for there to be a rational nature without it:
Whatever by nature has the use of reason has the power of judgment to d...