Do you understand the concept of free will?

Question

I have seen many questions and responses here that seem to show a misunderstanding of what free will is.

it is defined as: "freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention "

That means that if I choose to kill someone, I am free to make that choice - it does not mean that I will not face the consequences. I can choose to make racist remarks at work - but I'll get fired.

What about the choice of the victims? - the fact is that crime involves taking away the victim's choice. That is the essence of crime. How then could the Creator take away our free will?

Do you understand that being free to do an act does not mean you are free from the consequences of that act?

to the fourth respondant - knowing what will happen is completely different than controlling it

Answer 1

Yes, I understand that, but I see many people on this site that think God should just stop all bad acts and thereby save all the victims from being victimized. They don't apply that to themselves and their own bad acts, however. They don't want God to step in and keep them from lying or stop them from having affairs or keep them from taking that third trip through the buffet line. They want the "free will" to do whatever seems right in their own eyes but for God to stamp out anything that they deem "wrong." So while they criticize God for saying that some behaviors are wrong and we should abstain, they also criticize God for allowing some people to do exactly as they please--when that results in someone else getting "hurt." And they accuse Christians of being irrational.

Answer 2

It is my understanding that free will is percieved and that it really does not exist. Consequences are merely results of our actions that we cannot control. Let me explain, we all do things for a reason. Even seemingless random acts are actually products of us, our environment and history. What you do at any given moment is based on a complex equation that incorporates things such as what you are thinking at the time, how you feel, where you are, what your past experiences are, your social and economic situation, race and religion, etc... The equation is so large and complex that we would like to simplify events in our lives as the results of one or two things, when in fact it is determined by millions of things stretching far into the past.

Because everything is part of this grand equation everything is predetermined and we are merely playing out the results of the equation. God, being all-knowing and all-powerful, never really took away our free will because he never truly gave it to us. Instead, he gave us the perception of free will. We have the ability to contemplate and rationalize our situations and our decisions, our past present and future. But God would know every action we make because he knows how everything plays out.

So, the important thing here is to understand that free will is perceived and that we can only control how we feel about our decisions and consequences.

Answer 3

I absolutely agree. The arguement people make that since God knows all of our choices then our lives must be predestined, and if they are predestined then we must not have free choice. At first glance this almost makes since and sounds like a rational and logical arguement, but through logic and reason one can deduce that knowing the choices a person faces and the consequences for each does not equate to making the choices for them and removing their ability to make them for themselves. Doesn't work that way.

When people get into situations in their life, how often do we know what choices they have to make and the consequences for those choices? We know that our children will one day face the pressures of alcohol, sex and drugs. We know the choices they will be faced and the consequences of those choices. Does that mean we take their free will to make those choices away because we know ahead of time what they could be? No, then how is that any different from God knowing the choices we face and the consequences of thsoe choices? It isn't.

Answer 4

Who gave you free will? God? Your attitude problem? Free Willie? There is no giving or taking of free will. God didn't give it to us. He was unable to take it away.

As long as you have a conscious, emotions or any authority, you can't exercise free will. In other words, in order to exercise free will, you must let go and disobey all authority, even yourself.

Will you face consequences? Yes. Will you bring out your true self? Yes. What is wrong with doing what you believe even if it is against the main stream? What is wrong with facing consequences? Should that keep you in your cage?

Comments:
If it is impossible for god to give you free will, and yet you have free will, does that prove that god does not exist? Also, don't forget that god intervened by creating the Bible, thus causing a "butterfly effect". He had to know what consequences would come of that. In essence, he chose at that point who would be going to heaven and who will go to hell. Did god flood the Earth because he made a mistake and everyone became corrupt except Noah? Oops!

Answer 5

Ok yes, I've actually explained this to someone in a past answer. I'd find the link, but it's burried behind about 200 other answers, so I guess you'll have to take my word for it.

The beef I have with free will isn't that you have to take responsibility for the decisions you freely make, it's that, supposedly, we were each created by a being who KNEW what decisions we'd freely make.

I'm told that people can change their mind at any time. I DON'T DISPUTE THAT. What I find odd is that even after all the mind changing and the minds NOT changing, it doesn't fool God (according to the belief). God isn't going to be surprised. God KNOWS each move, each breath, each decision and each damning free choice. And yet.......

God STILL allows for the creation of beings who he KNOWS will damn themselves straight to hell. He basically says to himself "well, Sally is going to make a hell-worthy decision that will doom her eternally... she'll have the freedom to choose and I know what choice she'll make... hm......... I'll send her down there to screw herself anyway".

If God, while conceiving his plan, decided this was the best course of action, that planning for people to be created just to unknowlingly wait for certain punishment (and yes, God would be certain, wouldn't he?), then that seems awfully heartless and decidedly AGAINST the "omnibenevolent" characteristic he's assumed to possess.

If he KNOWS but cannot CHANGE it... how is this being all powerful? If God KNOWS and had the POWER to form his plan WITHOUT all the hellbound humans involved, why WOULDN'T he? If he was WITHOUT the power, he is not omnipotent. If he KNEW and DID have the power but did nothing, he is not omnibenevolent.

But then again, this is "flawed human logic" talking. Here's my question in that regard: how is reasoning that God works in mysterious ways and that there really IS a point in creating people he KNOWS are doomed is FLAWLESS human logic while any suggestion to the contrary is FLAWED?

Answer 6

i understand freewill all to good
one can do what one wants but the freewill applies to everyone so crimes against people or their property invite repercussions
so be prepared to face up to the consequences of your actions
i have lived in places with out law .and there was more courteous social behavior and less crime ,than anywhere else

i saw 13 year old kids beat a man to death with sticks,because he stole a sheep the previous year ,in the few years that i was in that place several people were killed because they coveted the wrong women
social justice .cheap and effective

in Mexico where i am now many people get killed out of revenge for other killings .

and needless to say everybody is very polite in those parts where freewill conquers
so i know free will in action
what are your personal examples of freewill

in the USA freewill is sistimatically being taken away and slowly ,so that the people will not be aware of it too much(.www.infowars ,Alex jones)

Answer 7

Well I for one am adult to know that my actions have a consequence and I will have to be responsible for that. I don't think everyone expects to have free will and just get away with anything. Free will in the terms used in religion is free to think which ever way you want and free to worship anyway you want. We all know that the consequences of that action, worshiping, are still going to be a 50/50 deal.
So Free will is different than Free Acts. Two different things altogether.

Answer 8

Wonderful explanation of a basic concept that so many anti-God people here just can't seem to grasp.

I agree with you completely.

The counter-argument that god's omniscience precludes free will is fundamentally flawed. Knowledge of someone's actions in advance does not prevent those actions to be freely taken. For example, if my child loves ice cream, and I offer him an ice cream cone on a hot day in the summer...do I know what choice my child will make? Of course I do. Does that limit the child's ability to make the choice of his/her own free will? Not at all.

Answer 9

advantages to all. we've the loose will and we do incorrect because of the fact we can't help it, our nature is sinful and God's is conscious this. Our spirit is so keen to do solid issues, yet our flesh is so susceptible.that's a relentless warfare between the spirit and the flesh. maybe God, develop into merely finding out us to coach that guy is sinful and our hearts have been evil from a youthful age, that's interior the Bible. guy continually breaks the regulation, because of the fact of disobedience, ego self center, potential to regulate , and maximum think of that we are able to do all issues on my own, even shutting out the Lord out of our lives, .while God's created guy is objective develop into for guy to stay for ever, technology talks approximately how efficient our physique is , yet sin became each and every ingredient the different way up and regulate the completed creation, ever in view that that happens guy have never been the comparable. loose will is a decision maximum attempt to do solid, yet how can we do solid while we live in a relentless warfare interior of our contributors.

Answer 10

Good explanation.

We have to understand, too, that the exercise of free will ( choice) may have consequences even if our action is not discovered in this lifetime!