Why dont people understand Free Will?

Question

Under the idea God gave us Free will, why does it confuse so many when it is so easy to understand.

We have free will to make ALL our choices, good or bad, God or not, we have free will to use our minds to determine what to do, how to act, what choices to make, and what to believe. So why do people think it is impossible that God gave us that? He may know what you will choose before you choose it, but he lets you decide. He lets you choose it, without plucking you up by your shirt collar and telling you "NO". He lets you reap the reward, or take the consequences based on your own choices.

Main Entry: free will
Function: noun
1 : voluntary choice or decision

By definition, what so hard to understand?

Atheists often say it is impossible to believe in an all knowing God AND believe in free will. My example is, when you choose to.....lets say, drive 20 miles over the speed limit, because you want to get there faster, knowing you could get a ticket, or cause an accident, does God stop you? No. You CHOOSE to. Maybe you get a ticket, maybe you dont, but your choice was made, and noone made it for you, noone stopped you, not even God. Free will at work.

Answer 1

There is nothing difficult to understand about the concept of free will.

Answer 2

I never met a God or any evidence of one (or many Gods), so for discussion about that I give a few references below. Moreover, I never heard a clear definition of 'God'. Of course, one can believe in anything, this is the difference between a belief and knowledge. At X-mass night I exercise my Free Will by choosing to believe in Santa, as a really pleasant and non-violent myth.

As for the Free Will, modern physics operates with probabilities, not with trajectories. Even if a fundamental particle is set initially as precisely as possible, it then has different probabilities to end up in different states. No wonder that far more complex systems, such as a worm or a human, have much less defined future. There is no 'fate' and nobody can predict even result of a simple quantum experiment, let alone dynamics of complex biological systems. Fundamental science (quantum physics) predicts only probabilities of different outcomes.

For believers there should be no any problems with Free Will too. Being a believer, a person has luxury to ignore any contradictions - that is the very nature of belief. If you try to test your views by logic and facts, then you are not a believer anymore – why you need a faith if you seek confirmation by facts?!

Answer 3

Oh, it's easy to understand, but it makes no sense if God has already predestined everything in accordance with Romans 8:29-30 and Eph. 1:5 &11. If God has already determined who will follow him and who will not, then you have no choice in the matter. Any decision you think you made was an illusion, for God already made it for you and simply allowed you to imagine that you were making a choice.

Furthermore, just think of this: Eons in the past, God already knew everything that every human ever born would do, think, choose, and believe--so why bother with a savior at all? He already knew that the majority of humanity would reject that savior or never even learn of him, so what a waste of time it was to send him to Earth! It's like knowing that your architectural plans for a skyscraper are all wrong and will result in people dying when the building collapses, but you go ahead and build it, anyway--and then blame the victims for choosing to be inside it!

In addition to all of that, the concept of free will is not supported by the Bible. For something that is so important to Christianity, doesn't it seem strange that the phrase is never even mentioned? God gave the Israelites more than 600 laws to ensure that they would never exercise their will at all. Many of those laws carried the threat of death by stoning or burning, further driving home the point that they had no free will, but must obey God or die. As a Christian, you have no free will, either. Don't you refer to yourself as a slave, servant, or sheep? Slaves and servants do what their master tells them to do, not what they want to do; and sheep are stupid beasts that are raised for wool and meat. None of the three need to think for themselves or exercise any free will--in fact, a sheep that shows too much willfulness is likely to find itself in the slaughterhouse a lot sooner.

Answer 4

Given that this '?' is in the religious section, I'll answer with a religious perspective.

Many religious types may be confused by it because the two largest religious sects, (Christian-Catholic and Islam), seek to indoctrinate their followers rather than suggest to their followers that they have the right to think for themselves.

IOW, these religions prefer to tell their followers what they should believe, and in some cases, that their only connection to God is through them.

But, if God's will for our the creation of mankind is so that we can return his love, then first we must have free will to decide that we love God.

Answer 5

But what if I chose something different? Wouldn't that make God fallible? The very nature of predestination with an infallible God is not compatible with free will. God knows what you are going to do. If you don't do that God will be wrong. God can't be wrong. Therefore you must do what God knows you will do. Perhaps you "choose" to do it but for you to be able to freely choose you must also be able to choose the opposite action. Say God knows you are going to turn right. This has been laid down and set for eons. Can you do anything but turn right?

Answer 6

advantages to all. we've the free will and we do incorrect because we gained't help it, our nature is sinful and God's knows this. Our spirit is so prepared to do solid issues, yet our flesh is so weak.that is a consistent conflict between the spirit and the flesh. per chance God, replaced into purely sorting out us to prepare that guy is sinful and our hearts were evil from a comfortable age, that's contained in the Bible. guy always breaks the regulation, because of disobedience, ego self center, skill to regulate , and maximum imagine that we are able to do all issues on my own, even shutting out the Lord out of our lives, .even as God's created guy is purpose replaced into for guy to stay for ever, technological understanding talks about how effective our body is , yet sin became each and every ingredient the different way up and regulate the total creation, ever on account that that occurs guy have under no circumstances been a similar. free will is a decision maximum attempt to do solid, yet how can we do solid after we stay in a consistent conflict interior of our individuals.

Answer 7

The idea of free will in itself is not confusing.

Are we really conscious of the reality we are in? Has our free will actually been hijacked by the conditioning of our parents, teachers, government etc. To say you have freewill may on the surface be your truth. But in reality are you acting from free will or by a reaction as dictated by your environment?

I thought I was acting from free will until I understood what reactions really are. Once I put consciousness on what was actually going on in my life I realised what was reaction and what was my choice and my use of free will.

Decisions you make as a result of the dictates of others is not free will.

Answer 8

Free will is a contradiction if you analyze it. To say that our will is free is the same as saying it is not caused, which means we aren't really in control of it.

But if it IS caused, so that we can be in control, then it isn't free.

Answer 9

That is a choice they make. That is how they use their free will.
I want to be with God forever, and that is a long long time.

Answer 10

Could you give an example? I don't really understand what you are trying to say.