God knows you will die in a horrible fire. He allows this, He provides the environment for this to happen, and you preach that its free will?? Why would a God allow your mother to suffer with a terminal disease for five years, and then all the sudden make it disappear because YOU prayed? Why would he allow something so incredible, that He supposedly created, destroy itself? Unless He's got a very dark sense of humor and this is all a game to him.
2006-06-07 09:02:27 · 16 answers · asked by carolinagrl 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You hit the nail on the head, it is very sadistic! If an an omnipotent and omniscient god exists, like is said in the Bible, he IS evil!
About free will: In this argument, because god does not have a gender, instead of "he" or "she", god is referred to as "it".
"The problem here is that God knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen. Its knowledge cannot be wrong. There is not a single event that it has not foresaw. Given that it created the Universe the way it did, do we have free will? Consider that when God made the Universe it could see every possible result of what it was doing. Which means: it could not create something without knowing what the results would be, and without knowing how it would be affected (and effect) the things around it.
Let's say that Fred has a choice that will save his life, to accept God or not to accept God and the final choice is to be made tomorrow. God knows already what choice he will make - God cannot be wrong therefore Fred cannot choose otherwise to what God has predicted. When God created the chain of events that made Fred it also knew that it was making Fred's choice for him, and knew how the various circumstances and character would make him choose either right or wrong. Fred would go forth and make that very decision that God knew he would make, and by virtue that God knowingly set up all the factors that affected his decision, it was not up to Fred but to God to decide how Fred would fare.
This argument does not imply that God does not exist. It leaves us with three results, two of which have to be wrong.
1. God created everything with full knowledge and we have no free will to change it
2. God does not have full knowledge
3. God did not make the Universe or there is no God"
- Written by Vexen Crabtree
More free will information by Vexen Crabtree: http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/freewill.html
2006-06-07 09:17:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Great question. Let's assume for a moment that no one provides a satisfactory answer to it. What does that mean? Does that mean there's no God, just because you can't understand him? There are lots of things that are really out there, but that I don't understand. No, that doesn't mean there's no God. Does it mean that the solution you've provided (God has a dark sense of humor and this is all a game to him) is the only answer? No, there are other potential answers. Okay, so what does it mean? It just means you are intelligent enough to ask the question, but haven't gotten to the point where you can answer it. Hmm, some comfort there, eh?
Now, as to the answer I'm going to give: you're going to hate it. Why? Two reasons: it's long, and it makes you really think about what free choice and fairness are, and you're not going to like the answer.
What is fairness? Fairness is when people who put the same effort have the same chance of getting the same result. It doesn't mean the do get the same result. In this way, the lottery is fair: two people play with a dollar, and they both have the same chance of winning. One of them might win, and the other might loose, but it's fair. Fairness does not require that things are equal: a person who plays the lottery with two dollars and gets two tickets is more likely to win, but he put in more effort. Chess is equal. Free choice means that you can act in one way, or act in another, and it is up to you which way to act.
Now, as to free choice, what if I freely choose to murder my innocent brother. There are people who make that decision. My brother has put in the same effort as me into life. He therefore deserves to have an equal chance of living a long life. There are two ways to make this fair: he can either stop my chances of killing my brother, thereby taking away my free choice, or he can make it just as likely that I will die young as well. So the only way to preserve fairness and leave free choice is to allow random acts that will hurt, maim, even kill, the same way a person with free will could.
Now, what about curing those things? Doesn't that seem unfair? Of course! Why would God do that, then? God has a particular goal in mind for the use of our free will. He wants us to seek him and worship him. But how are we to know we are seeking the "right" him? How are we to know this prophet speaks from him, and that one doesn't? Miricles! Something that only God can do, being asked for by someone who serves God. Then we know that this one is actually sent by God, and that the others are liars (abusing their free will and falsely claiming to serve God.)
2006-06-07 09:24:20 · answer #2 · answered by Sifu Shaun 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God guides us to make the right choices, we opt to live in or out of sin, God has a plan for everyone but we must follow it. God did not create sin, that is important that you know, man made sin, God wants you to come to him for prayer and if you do accept and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ, God promises an eternal life with joy and not the pain we face in this world. This world is only a steeping stone for what lays ahead, but don't blame God for we must look to God for love, strength, and forgiveness.
2006-06-07 09:08:04 · answer #3 · answered by bryton1001 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont believe that free will can exist with complete foreknowledge. I do believe in free will, which means I believe God knows what will happen if we make certain choices but chose not to know which choices we make. You might want to look into Open Theism to help understand this or contact me personally if you would like to discuss it.
2006-06-07 09:06:45 · answer #4 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God knows our all. He puts us through things for us to realize that through him all things are possible. We decide to either do right or wrong. What is wrong? Anything that is not pleasing to God. What's not pleasing to God? Anything that will keep us from becoming intimate with him. God is a good God and he is so worthy to be praised. He doesn't ask for much from us at all.
2006-06-07 09:59:32 · answer #5 · answered by LD 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have free will. God is onmiscient and knows the choices we will make, but it's still our decision. This isn't a game, it's a matter of life and death.
2006-06-07 09:16:18 · answer #6 · answered by trace 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are predestined, who are we to question wether god made us for contempt or honor. Free will is a fallacy, man made that up!We are here to learn our lessons in life, all the rest is a smokescreen, If my final lesson is going to be learned in a horrible fire so be it, i,ll not question the creators wisdom,
2006-06-07 09:09:20 · answer #7 · answered by Bruce 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God thinks that if you keep asking questions,
God is gonna have to do something God doesn't
necessarily want to do.
Don't test God.
Ask Not and Ye Shall be decieved.
2006-06-07 11:45:29 · answer #8 · answered by wlday2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well if you were say older than 100 billion years what would be one human lifetime. Considering that we go to heaven and heaven is supposed to be eternal, why after 50 billion years in heaven would the way you died matter. It only matters to us while we are here but here is not very important if you consider the whole picture.
2006-06-07 09:10:25 · answer #9 · answered by Rich 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How much of a God would he be if he DIDNT know what was going to happen.
Free will, yes. But God already knows what you are going to do.
2006-06-07 09:09:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋