but give credit to God for all good things. Is free will only a licence to do evil?
2006-09-22 16:57:35 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Because it is the most solid piece of intellectual dishonesty the Christian church could come up with. Free will implies that we can choose, yet God is perfect and knows what we will do ahead of time anyway, which kind of calls the free will doctrine into question. Also, if God is in control of the universe (which a perfect diety would have to be) then all things must be predetermined. A perfect God by definition can't leave things to chance.
It seems that 'free will' is the last line of defense before moving to a 'God isn't perfect position.' This is the position I take. The universe, human beings, and nearly everything I observe is in a state of evolution (not even talking Darwinian here, more of a philosophy of becoming), and if God does exist, then God must also be undergoing the same process of becoming along with the rest of the universe. This to me explains the existence of evil and chance much better than free will. Evil exists because God isn't perfect, God is simply doing the best God can do at the moment. This would also allow God to exist within space/time, which I rather like.
Good question.
2006-09-22 17:11:35 · answer #1 · answered by Tukiki 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you need to cite some examples to clarify.
Remember you're talking to a variety of ideologies here. There are literalist, firgurtivists, revelationists, reformsits.
I keep asking the science people why no one is citing Steady State, I thought that was suppose to be a very mainstream theory and Big Bang was the joke theory.
While the Free Will concept is probably a majority concept there are lots of religious people and Churchs who give it no credibility at all and say EVERYTHING is predestined and God predestined you to write this questions and me to answer it. They further say entry to heaven is PREDESITNED.
Under strict definition there is no free will if there is predeistination. If God or Satan demands something or influences something then there is no free will.
This gets back to the old Flip Wilson skit "The Devil Made Me Do it!"
Free will is plain and simple. You're married with kids and go after work with friends to a bar, have a beer to two and some cute girl takes an interest in you makes it clear she wants to take you out to her car and do you. Free will. Do you do it or say no and go home or shoot more pool.
Saying the devil made me do it or God predenstined it is often a cop out.
Charlie Mason could be predestination. Hitler could be predestination. But you doing a girl in a bar. That's just a choice and free will is the direction you go in.
IF you're single and that happens and you exercise free will and say no because you are relgious and not married to her and she takes one of your freinds out and they get the crabs from her, is that punishment from God? Maybe.
It certainly reenforcers your moral codes when that happneds, gee that COULD have been me, because she offered it to me first and I said no. And now don't got to go to no doctor.
That's free will.
2006-09-22 17:32:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because God is the source of all good things, and his enemy--including his enemy's power to persuade people--is the source of all bad things.
No Christian "hides behind" freewill. It is an explanation. There is nothing furtive or evasive about it.
Perhaps when you understand that you are making a choice against God, you will come to appreciate what choice means. You can't know God until you choose to know him--and so everything about him just baffles you.
Right now, though, you're just trying to understand something you have no experience with...and you're failing.
2006-09-22 17:05:29 · answer #3 · answered by Gestalt 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not hiding behind it. Just tellin it like it is. Free will gives me a choice to do good or evil. My choice. And my responsibility.
2006-09-22 17:05:40 · answer #4 · answered by yagman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
not all Christians do
I am a Christian and I know bad things happen because
- the devil tempts you
- free will (see the first answer)
- God is testing you
- God wants you to struggle (Through struggling we find out who we really are and what we really need. We learn what is important and what is trivial!)
- that bad incident is part of a larger plan, of which you unfortunately are part of too
- bad people
2006-09-22 17:03:50 · answer #5 · answered by the nothing 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We dont. It is really free will you don't have to do the things that you do but you choose to. I think you should read the Bible. Here a verse that I think will help you understand. Levi 19:5 'And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it of your own free will. In todays langauge "if you want to come to know me I want it to be out of your free will."
2006-09-22 17:19:50 · answer #6 · answered by babygirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just Look at the answers. These people can't even answer the question!
Look how many of them are saying bad things happen because people make bad choices.
Are they joking?
What about babies born with cancer? All of them made bad choices? They actually had a choice in the matter?
Christians can never win this argument because to answer honestly, would show the absurdity of their belief system.
2006-09-22 17:08:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
good day, whilst i replaced right into a Presbyterian (a calvanistic church) they taught this doctrine even though it did no longer make sense to me and as much as i attempted to rationalise it - there comes a factor the place you purely could desire to settle for it or believe that the Bible is probably no longer the stimulated be attentive to God afterall. Paul replaced into fallable and his doctrine (i think of it replaced into in Romans) purely would not make sense once you communicate approximately loose will. Your factors are valid and the difficulty comes once you attempt to declare that each and every thing Paul wrote replaced into stimulated .... and that i don;t think of he replaced into impressive continuously - Take the Trinity doctrine to illustrate - it extremely is a concoction of one of the early Christian Councils to counter so called heresy and safeguard the twin character of Jesus. thrilling to observe interior the Gospels that Jesus in no way actual replaced into quoted as saying that he replaced into the equivalent to God (simply by fact the Trinity doctrine states) - he stated he replaced into the son of guy yet that could desire to signify something. i believe the church homes at present have moved removed from the middle message as expressed interior the Gospels and are actually very lots "Pauline" concentrated. What a shame!! I gave christianity/church homes away a 12 months or so in the past - doesn;t do it for me anymore. regards Mike D 0707011
2016-10-17 11:53:37 · answer #8 · answered by equils 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because scripture teaches that all good things come from the Father of Lights. Why would we not give Him credit?
2006-09-22 17:03:50 · answer #9 · answered by Prophecy+History=TRUTH 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will, meaning we have a choice, the bad things occur when we choose wrongly, and we don't hide behind it. We 're not perfect, just saved by the grace of God.
2006-09-22 17:00:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋