Why can't Christians make up their minds about whether we have free will or everything in predetermined?

Question

The christian philosophy seems to flip flop on the issue constantly. You have free will, but the devil made you do it. Jesus was destined by god to die for our sins, but he chose to die for us. Can you all make up your minds on the determinism vs. free will debate?

Answer 1

Because they are a bunch of idiots.

Answer 2

If there weren't an 'us', does it not stand to reason that there'd be no 'our sins?'
Jesus took our sins upon himself, and paid the price for our salvation. Whether we chose to take this gift of salvation, is our choice. Free will.
As to the devil making you do things, I'm not certain. Seems a cop out actually.. people refusing to take the blame for their wrong doing. I do know that you an easily be lead astray.. that may be the devils doing.
Tell you what, get yourself a bible, read it from beginning to end, more than once, attend a good christian church, join a bible study.. make friends, share... ask questions. But please, read God's word, and find the answers you seek, in there.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, there are some issues we won't have a solid answer to until we get to heaven. I believe God has a plan for my life, but i can chose whether or not i follow that plan.
The devil can't make you do anything. he will tempt you and lie to you, and if you don't believe me, try resisting him for once instead of buying into every thing he says!
Yes, Jesus' destiny was to die on the cross for our sins, but He had a CHOICE on whether or not he would follow God's plan for His life. In the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was praying before he was crucified, he prayed," Father, if there is any way, let this cup pass me by, nevertheless, not my will,but yours be done. Matt 26:39" Jesus CHOSE to do the will of his Father. What's your choice?

Answer 4

Flip flop? Flip-flopping is when you go back and forth between two issues. Christians haven't flip-flopped, they just divided. There are some churches who believe and teach free will, and some believe and teach predestination. But in my experience, most realize that while it's a big issue, it's not the most important one, so we're not gonna start killing each other over it. Everyone has their own opinion, why can't you accept that?

Answer 5

It depends on the sect. Christians call this the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. It's not so much that there are inconsistencies in a given individual's position, it's that different individuals believe different things. In other words, Christians have indeed made up their minds, but different individuals have made up their minds in different ways. And then there are those casual Christians who don't really care & just believe at each given moment what they feel like believing & those folks do have inconsistencies from one minute to the next. Just like any other religion.

Answer 6

I personally never "flip flopped" on the issue of free will. The Devil didn't make me do anything; he merely tempted me and I was dumb enough to go for it. Anybody that falls back on that pathetic excuse is a mentally weak "Christian," because they fail to realize that very thing. Satan is an influence, not a dictatorial ruler. For that matter, so is God! If there were no free will, there'd be no unconditional love. If there were no unconditional love, there'd be no need for Heaven or Hell because there'd be no sin and we'd still be living in Eden. I've made up my mind to be the best Christian I can be according to God's Word and not waver. God wants us to be "steadfast, unmoveable" as the Scripture speaks of. He also said, "I wert that thou wert either cold or hot, but because thou wert neither cold or hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth!" He doesn't want "flip-flop Christians" clouding the issues for those who are still struggling with their Christianity; that's why he said that he would "spew" or vomit them out of His mouth! He would prefer either a zealous Christian or a studious one, not one who was trying to "reason" with Him.

Answer 7

Seriously, I believe it's because we can't understand how a being who knows all things in the past, present and future could not be hands on in the lives of His creation to bring about His will. We figure that since He knows all and sees all, it can't be possible for Him not to be involved in all and directly influence all. Our confusion comes because many are confused about Time vs. Eternity. In time, we experience things in one direction -- forward -- one second, minute, hour, and day at a time, without knowing what is ahead, making choices and experiencing the results of those choices.

Eternity, where God abides, doesn't operate like that. It is outside of time, and God views time (and thus our lives) like a roll of expanded movie film. He sees the end from the beginning at a single glance, knowing what choices we will make and stepping into our "frame of life" from time to time to influence our choices, if we let Him. God dwells in eternity, but steps in to deal with us according to time, where we dwell (tomorrow, today, yesterday, etc.) Since He already knows the outcome of time, it blows our minds to think that it wasn't already determined. The only think God predetermines -- with salvation, anyway -- is what final form those who choose Christ will take and what He will do with them when they come. It's like a cookie cutter; I say, "What ever dough is given to me, I have predetermined that it will look like the shape of this cookie cutter." I don't predetermine what dough will come, only the final "destination" of it once it does.

We know that God doesn't determine who will be saved, because He clearly says He wants them all (1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9) But He also knows that some will choose death, and says so. He even knows who it will be, and plans events on the earth accordingly. In the end, time will be done away with and we will dwell in eternity with Him. Ony then will we truly understand His perspective. That is so mind blowing to me!

Answer 8

God created us as human beings individually. He knows us so much better than we know ourselves. We have our agangy to choose what we want. We are tempted, but we have the choice to choose either right or wrong. God has set up our lives with millions of choices. The idea that it is predetermined comes with the fact of how well God knows us. He created us. We are his children. He knows our desires and hopes. He knows what we are going to choose because he knows us so well. Most parents can offer so much, yet still know their child so well that they won't pick what they offer. It is not that our earthly parents have predetermined what we are going to do, but they know us well enough that they know what is going to happen. I hope this helps.

Answer 9

You see it as flip flopping. We see from the perspective of man. God see it as though it has already happened. This is why we can say that we are predestined. God already knows the fullness of our lives. God is not constrained by time like we are. He is everywhere in time . There at our birth and our death all times are present before Him.

Answer 10

The devil does not make us do anything- he can tempt us with sin, but it is our choice whether or not to. Jesus was sent by God to pay for our sin, but He as a human could have chosen not to. Free will refers to the fact that we can accept Christ as our Savior and go to Heaven, or reject Him and go to Hell forever.

Answer 11

There is NO hard and fast rule in the Bible regarding this. That's why it's debated...if someone tells you one way or the other, they are telling you their belief or opinion only. God did not intend for us to know for sure. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't really matter. Just believe, and all the other details don't matter.