If God granted us free will, how is it that during the last supper Jesus (God), told the gathered apostles that "one of them would betray him", the one being Judas. Where was Judas' free will? Just before his arrest Jesus (God) told Simon Peter that "before the rooster crowed three times he would betray him", again, where was Peter's free will? Is free will selective? It seems to me either we have free will or we do not. If we do not, how can we be held accountable for anything we do by a just God? If we have no free will as my examples seem to indicate, the atonement is meaningless, since we had no choice in the matter.
How do you correlate free will with an all knowing God? The two concepts are mutually excluding.
2006-06-22 13:44:47 · 5 answers · asked by Paul S 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Another Bible scholar??
It's peter will deny him 3 times before the rooster crows,,
not the rooster 3 times..
Matthew 26:34
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the rooster crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
I did have to change one word because yahoo doesn't accept it.
You can choose between heaven and hell,, hardly a thought needed for that choice...
2006-06-22 13:57:54 · answer #1 · answered by Rusty Nails 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Always love it when people ask the easy questions.
Ask any parent, they can usually tell you what their kids are going to do in most situations. But they are not "forcing" the child or taking away their free will. They just know their kids.
Every person has free will, but like any good parent, God can predict in advance what they will do. As He stands outside of time, He already knew what both Judas and Peter would do. He did not force them to do it, He just knew. ANd when they made their decides, they proved Him right.
That is one of the three requirements to be "God" - you have to be all-knowing. (As well as all-powerful and ever present.)
2006-06-22 13:56:22 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is simple, really. The All-Knowing God knew that with the free will given to them, Judas will choose to betray Him and Peter will choose to deny Him.
2006-06-22 13:55:31 · answer #3 · answered by Rain 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Judas had already betrayed Jesus before he sat with Him to celebrate Passover. Peter could have remembered what Jesus said to him and not denied but he didn't. He remembered the saying only after he had denied. They both had free will. Jesus just knew their natures better than they themselves.
2006-06-22 13:51:38 · answer #4 · answered by karen wonderful 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will doesnt mean that there is no plan for our lives nor that nothing at all is planned. Things can still be "meant to be" and happen and yet we can still have more choices in life than you can shake a stick at.
Where its true, you are right that God foreseeing everything and there being free will is not possible. Though God can set SOME things to happen, though it is obvious Biblically, not everything that happens is His will. Some things He has set to happen, some things may or may not happen. Look into Open Theism or contact me about it. It helps explain a lot.
2006-06-22 13:51:23 · answer #5 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋