Are there Christian groups or denominations that believe that direct doxastic voluntarism is true (i.e. that atheists can choose to believe in God)?
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I will offer the perspective of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My faith does not have an explicit position on the philosophical matter of direct doxastic voluntarism, but it does have teachings that are relevant to the matter at hand.
The Light of Christ
The Book of Mormon teaches:
For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; (Moroni 7:16)
("the Spirit of Christ" here refers to what is elsewhere described as "the light of Christ" or a conscience).
All humans are given the influence of the light of Christ, providing some innate degree of recognition between right & wrong (this doesn't mean that ignoring this conscience for a long period of time will have no effect). Thus, no one can claim to have been left entirely in the dark.
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Choose to Believe
L. Whitney Clayton, at the time a General Authority of the church, gave a sermon in the church's April 2015 General Conference, entitled Choose to Believe.
I highly recommend the full sermon; here are a few notable excerpts:
Every day each of us faces a test. It is the test of our lifetimes: will we choose to believe in Him and allow the light of His gospel to grow within us, or will we refuse to believe and insist on traveling alone in the dark?
God does not force us to believe. Instead He invites us to believe by sending living prophets and apostles to teach us, by providing scriptures, and by beckoning to us through His Spirit. We are the ones who must choose to embrace those spiritual invitations
Belief and testimony and faith are not passive principles. They do not just happen to us. Belief is something we choose—we hope for it, we work for it, and we sacrifice for it. We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing. We actively choose to believe, just like we choose to keep other commandments.
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Moral Agency
Lehi taught:
26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil (2 Nephi 2:26-27)
3 Nephi 11:32 records the Savior's teaching:
I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
If we are given agency to act for ourselves, we are free to choose the course that leads to eternal life, and we are commanded to believe, then it must be possible for us to choose to believe.
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Source: stackoverflow.com
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