Freewill............?

Question

If this "god" character knows everything I am every going to say or do, then how does freewill come into play?

If my destiny has already been decided, how does freewill affect this?

If he already knows that I am going to hell then what is the point? Why waste the time on it?

To me this does not sound like freewill at all. It sounds like your screwed no matter what you do.

Freewill by definition is basically doing what you want is it not? So how if every action and thought is planned out already, is this freewill?

It sounds to me like all the decisions you make in life are irrelivent no matter what you do or who you worship.

Answer 1

Believers can get around this paradox by claiming:

a) you have complete freedom to choose what you want to do.
b) god already knows how you will decide, and even whether you will care about it or not.

scary, eh?

Answer 2

God created the environment that ebaled the universe to exist. Most of us can probably agree on that.

I do not believe that God micromanages all the activity human or otherwise in this universe. There is no such thing as destiny because freewill is something the humans have evolved to possess. Freewill is the ability to alter one's present and future through thought and action.

Evolution has allowed homo sapiens to develop freewill as an efficient method to survive and become fruitful and multiply.

Freewill has enabled mankind to develop society's laws that encourage good behavior.

Freewill has also enable some bad and even evil behavior. This must be fought and eliminated or humankind will not be able to live in peace and reasonable harmony.

That's why criminals go to jail, why Nazi's got executed, why Hezbollah is evil and should be punished, why Osama ben Laden and followers should be hunted down and eliminated from the face of the earth just like other evil men of the past.

Answer 3

God's 'omniscience' must be regarded in the context of his other cohabitant attributes... omnipresence and omnipotence.

God is suppossed to be a 'transcendant' being, living apart from the constraints of the physical universe. He is supposed to be:

* Omniscient - knows all; i.e., prescient awareness of every thing, every thought, every decision, every action, every outcome, for every living entity over all of time.

* Omnipotent - All powerful. Can accomplish anything at any time by merely 'speaking' it.

* Omnipresent - Is present in and is a part of all people, places and things, at all times, for all time. In other words, more than existing apart from the universe, god (in a sense) IS the universe... or is at least inextricably intertwined with it.

Whoever it was that initially dreamed up the concept of god evidently did not think things through in their entirety, because later (beginning most notably in the 4th century), theologans began to recognize that these concepts were logically inconsistent with the concept of 'free will', and so they got their 'dancing shoes' on and began to spin a bunch of weak philosophical/theological arguments to try to weasel their way out of the dilemma. They never did succeed, and the argument goes on 'til this day. This 'congitive disconnect' was a key element in some of the various 'heresies' that were spawned in the early days of Christianity.

All of that brings us to this point: If god is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, then 'free will' is an impossibility, because everything is pre-ordained. In these circumstances, the best we could achieve is having the illusion of free will; i.e, we might think we have free will, but we really don't.

So, there are two (count 'em... 2) possible logically valid conclusions:

* We DO have free will; thus if there is a god at all, he cannot be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.

* We NO NOT have free will, leaving open the possibility of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent diety.

Note that NEITHER of these possibilities REQUIRES a diety.

So, if you believe in an all powerful god, then logic requires that you give up the notion that you have free will.

If you believe in god and believe that you have free will, then logic requires that you give up the idea that god is all powerful.

If you think that you have free will, and you don't believe in a god, then you should be OK... unless the 'future' of the universe has already transpired (as viewed from another dimensional plane), in which case everything is again pre-ordained... from the 'extra-dimensional' point of view, 'though not necessarily from our point of view. (Gets confusing, huh?)

Those are the choices. Take your pick.

Answer 4

Yes it's Gods big lie.
That's why Religion is BS. And if there is a God they are the last people on Earth to know what it is or what it wants from us.
I know Religion doesn't know God.
Yeah they also like to correct you and say free choice, but that's the same thing.

Answer 5

What if you are wrong, what if the way you are looking at it is from some deep thing in you that holds your thinking. Think about a prism, if you hold it in only one way and don't move it around, you will see only one color. but if you move it around, you will see a rainbow of colors, many aspects of one piece of glass. just because you have opinion(s) about God, who is to say you are right, maybe you haven't researched it enough. Think about this, the same sun that melts butter, hardens clay. Same sun, different reactions to the same intense heat.

God says if you seek me, you will find me. Have you tried that? Probably not, but you think you are an expert on God.

Answer 6

who says its works like that. I believe there is no future and no pass.Everything God predicted in the bible (prophesies) are acted out by God in the now... (when the time is there to full fill the prophesies). God contains the now and acts out in the now the things He wants to fulfill from His own prophecies. That is allmight.

Future and past only exist in our minds. Reality is now. God is always in control of the moment we live. So that would never have to interfears with your free will. Choices made now, will form your future...

Answer 7

GOD IS THE GOD OF EVERYTHING: INCLUDING TIME.. Jesus knew the end from the beginning, including everything you, and I, would do say and think. He KNEW whether you would wind up in Hell. YOU are confusing foreknowledge with predestination.. Just because He knows what you will choose, Does not mean He intends to make you do it. In fact He is seriously pained by the knowledge that so many will choose Hell, and so few choose Heaven... What you do with the BLOOD OF JESUS is up to you.. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..

Answer 8

God's divine will cannot be thwarted.

God is capable of foreknowing all things, and taking into account every single one of our voluntary actions and choices.

With that foreknowledge, God's will always prevails, and we get to be held completely accountable for our works.

That's why prayer is so important. Rather than changing God's mind, prayer allows us to gain insights into God's divine will, so we can better conform our will to his, and (hopefully) achieve the best possible outcome.

Free will!

Answer 9

This is a hard answer to give to you,and i must say,you are very inteligent than most Christian's in this country,because they have no idea about how to answer you,nor do they know anything about the doctrine of election,let alone believe in it,because so many Christian's in this country are brainwashed from the pulpit,instead of studying their Bibles,they blindly believe and obey what their pastor or minister says.Yes,you are either elected to go to eternity in Hell or to eternity in Heaven.However,it does not end there,because God makes us responsible for our actions,whether we reject Christ from being Saviour,or we accepy Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives.God is Just and Righteous and Holy,and He condemn's to Hell those whom He KNOWS have already rejected Him,and God is Just and Right for doing so because He is God and can do whatsoever He wishes,He does not need our approval or stamp of approval from ANY of HIS CREATURES that HE CREATED! You have a problem with God's Sovereignty.Obviously,you have sat under some type of doctrine on this subject,or else you would not have brought this up,let alone know about this doctrine.Christ died to atone for your sins,you must repent of your sins,and admit that your a sinner,and that you have sinned against a Thrice Holy God,and beg Him to have mercy on your wicked soul,and to make Him Lord of ALL your LIFE,not just a piece of it.Dont know what more to say,that IS the Gospel,you have heard it,and this may be the trillioneth time you have heard it,you may not have tonite,you may die before tonite,and if you continue to harden your heart against God you will face eternity in Hell seperated from Christ.With that said,you are held accountable before God for th trillioneth time that you have heard the Gospel,and done nothing with it.This is what condemn's you,YOURSELF,NOT GOD!

Answer 10

If I put both Hagen Daz chocolate ice cream and a jar of pickled okra on the table for my kids, I know ahead of time which one they'll eat. But I'm not making them choose it. I just know them very well.