Is anything related to freewill actually the effect of a cause?

Question

Hence freewill is just an illusion used to write off causality? Causilty explains every "evil" in the world, but insecure people would rather categorize in hierarchy.

The principle of or relationship between cause and effect.

Answer 1

Free will is an effect of the Uncaused Cause, which I call God. God is immanent, transcendent, and eternal. Eternity is not just a lot of time. Either eternity is infinite time or a dimension that does not include time. Perhaps things do not appear sequential to God. But, I digress.

God is so powerful, and so sovereign, that He was able to give humanity free will to be co-creators with him, shaping a future for ourselves within His permissive will. Prophecy will be fulfilled. Jesus will return; Satan will be defeated. But God has given us a special gift of free will. Now, God cannot predestine or exhaustively foreknow our choices before creation and still provide us with free will, just as Jesus cannot be simultaneously our Savior and not our Savior.

I don't see how causality explains every "evil" in the world. You'll have to clarify that statement if I am to benefit from it. Frankly, I don't see how causality results in the notion of evil at all. The notion of good, bad, right, wrong, etc. must come from somewhere else, some natural law.

Cosmologists, like Stephen Hawking, seem pretty sure that the universe, space, and time had a beginning. Before, it was often believed that the universe was in an infinite steady state. But now, we know it is expanding, with no signs of future contraction. The argument once was, "Cant' I believe in an eternal universe, just like you believe in an eternal God?" This was a tough question logically. But the scientists fixed that one with the Big Bang Theory. Now they speak of a singularity about which they cannot possibly learn anything.

So yes, free will has a cause, but a godly one beyond our four-dimensional space-time. Free will also in turn causes new and unexpected things, including sin and rebellion, salvation and damnation. Mainly, we need to keep in mind that free will brings us responsiblity. We are responsible for our sins, our rejection of God, and our lust of the flesh, delight of the eye, and the pride of life.

As for natural disasters, this is the theodicy, which seems beyond our ability to explain with our usual Hellenistic logic. But this answer is long enough. Sorry, I'm sort of long-winded today. d:c)

Answer 2

Freewill is the "effect" of a Holy God whose Intelligent Design of human beings and the universe built into mankind the ability to choose his own path and decisions.

Freewill is not an illusion. This is made even more complicated by the recently publicized idea that there might be more than one universe with more than one of each of us making different choices in each universe. (Read Micho Kaku's Parallel Worlds.)

Chaos theory and quantum theory are involved in a discussion such as this. There is too little time or space for explanation.

What is your personal definition of "causality'?

Answer 3

For sure free individual and collective will is the actual cause of many things. And is in fact an illusion until it is put in motion. Ideas in and of themselves harm no one. Actions are where the dangers are. I'll take free will over compulsion any day.

Have a blessed day.

Answer 4

Everything happens for a reason...

(I don't know how freewill fits in with the above statement, it's like my screen name)