Free will is the ability to make decisions which hold equal consequences. For example I can chose to eat an apple or an orange.
But if someone comes with a gun and holds it onto your head and tells you. You are free to eat either the apple or the orange but if you eat the apple I will shoot you in the head.
In that case it's not really free will because no one will die to eat an apple. The guy with the gun just wants to disclaim any responsibilities and blames the victim.
Therefore, you all know that the choice bewteen heaven or hell is not really a choice and it's masquerading as a choice in an attempt to hide the fact that it's a direct threat and you have no choice.
2006-07-02 02:52:03 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Agreed. A choice made under duress is no choice at all.
As for "free will," I suspect it's an illusion. We are driven by our hormones, our fears and our desires; we are conditioned by our education and our environment; so in making any choice we actually have less "freedom" than we suppose.
2006-07-02 02:57:33 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 6⤊ 4⤋
I am not sure that I agree with the statement that "free will is the ability to make decision which hold "equal" consequences" because I see no reason why a choice would have to hold the same exact level of consequence as another choice.... that said, I think most of us would exercise our "free will" if that's what one would choose to call it.....by doing a certain activity that would not harm ourselves or our family, and tend to make our lives better. if someone came up to us and said, for instance, "drink this gallon of anti-freeze" or I will kill you and your family...well, your free will is still there........but it is heavily tainted....and it has been "changed" in some way.. it is no longer the same.."pure, whole and untouched." another factor has been figured in to this "free will" which of course is "fear." Can we really make a rational decision when we are looking fear in the face and is it still "free will" or has it been changed to something else via another emotion invading "free will" space?
2006-07-02 03:40:13 · answer #2 · answered by amber 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is free will, irregardless of the result. Apples and oranges are not heaven and hell. The Spiritual realm is not earthly, we can only understand a small amount of what using our free will does here and there. You are given free will, this is authority the God has given us. After we had this authority, Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, spiraling sin into all future lives. Be cautious in judging the Lord. One should never undertake judging God.
2006-07-02 03:12:51 · answer #3 · answered by uspatrioteer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, your logic is flawed. If someone comes to you with a gun and says don't eat the apple or I will kill you, you still have the free will to choose. You exercise that free will when you choose to eat the orange and you choose not to die. You still have free will. If the guy came up to you and said do not eat that fruit, or I will kill you, If you do not eat the apple or the orange in order to not be killed, you are still exercising your free will. No matter what scenario you come up with, it is all flawed. No matter what, we have free will. Your free will can either get you saved or killed.
2006-07-02 03:12:13 · answer #4 · answered by proudmatriarch 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will is not the ability to make decisions "which hold equal consequences." Free will is the ability to make a choice - period. One is free to choose - period. If one is aware of the consequences, fine. If one is not aware, fine. But the consequences - while giving one more information - neither gives nor negates the ability to choose. And that is all free will is - the ability to choose.
2006-07-02 03:01:49 · answer #5 · answered by Hannah J Paul 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
We don't really get free will from the Bible. We can either choose to worship God, or we can choose to go to Hell. That's not a real choice. When Christians say we have free will, they don't see the logical fallacy that religion puts on us.
We do have free will, but its not granted by religious dogma. It's granted by our ability to make choices. Our minds are free. We choose to live by the rules we feel are just, and disobey the rules that are not just.
2006-07-02 03:00:56 · answer #6 · answered by dgrhm 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God isn't arbitrary, neither is He contradictory. therefore He can’t teach any of His attributes on the rate of the different. for the time of the former testomony circumstances, He became constrained in expressing His love for His introduction because His desires for justice and righteousness had no longer been met. for the period of those circumstances He became prevalent as an indignant and jealous God who periodically presented judgment upon the disobedient international. on the flow God made peace with us by utilizing starting to be the guy all of us comprehend as Jesus of Nazareth and absence of life for our sins. His desires for justice and righteousness were finally met and He became free to precise His love (Colossians a million:19-20). Now He asks us to stay at peace with others out of gratitude for what He’s finished (Romans 12:17-18). even besides the undeniable fact that in person-friendly words those contained in the believing Church popular the sacrifice that made peace with God accessible, the total international has been blessed by utilizing His love for the Church, in that His anger has been held in verify. because of the presence of the Church contained in the international, love has change into His maximum glaring characteristic. yet sometime quickly, He’ll take the Church out of the international (a million Thes. 4:16-17). when we’re lengthy gone God will vent the full fury of His wrath on those who’ve rejected the most spectacular present of affection the international has ever prevalent, and by utilizing the time it’s over guy will be scarcer than organic gold (Matt. 24:21-22, Isaiah 13:12). Then God's want for justice and righteousness can were satisfied, and He’ll be free to precise His love back and peace will flow like a river the international over (Isaiah sixty six:12).
2016-10-14 01:29:29 · answer #7 · answered by schwenck 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is what Calvinisms believe... That , whatever you do with your life, you are already chosen before birth for heaven or for hell...
Well, God knowes everything, therefore, He knowes where you'll end.. this is in His power...
But He does not push you to do anything, He lets you choose either to do it or not.
That's why YES we are given by God free will... and that's the fact.. if you want to find more about this, read the Bible more.. I guarantee you that you'll find there your answer to all your questions...
2006-07-03 02:35:05 · answer #8 · answered by eunice 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only choice you give in your example, is to accept your situation, or not. That's also the choice that Adam and Eve had. You have identified the serpents lie. I can only add that the fear of the Lord, is just the beginning of wisdom.
2006-07-02 03:09:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are already sure that you know the answer, as your extra information states, then why waste your time posting the question? Put your statements of your opinion in a 360 blog where they belong, and leave Y! Answers as a forum for answering real questions.
2006-07-02 02:57:34 · answer #10 · answered by Scotty Doesnt Know 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having a free will mean we determine our own fate. If something goes wrong, it is our own fault. If something goes better, it is our success. We don't blame any other person or situation or God or even Satan for our own failure and mistake. Failure is not always related to mistake or sin. Sin and mistake may lead to failure but not conversely. Random chance happens.
2006-07-02 03:15:19 · answer #11 · answered by Kardi Teknomo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋