Do we have choices in life, or are we simply playing roles in God's tableau?

Question

It seems i have sparked a debate...excellent opinions...but come to think of it...if we have choices but God would be the one to have the final say, then still, HIS will is what is really accomplished. Thank you for all comments...further reactions are still welcome.

Answer 1

I find it enlightening that we all have answers to give, whether we have considered the full implications of what we say or not. Trave would have us believe that Christianity, or for that matter any religion, is a fable. Yet he still speaks about that which is good or evil. If there is no God, then how could there be good or evil? Do animals have a conscience? Does the rampaging elephant that destroys trees, and habitats later weep over what it has done? Yet we humans do. Why? Because we have a moral center. How does that fit into the evolutionary process absent God?

Then there are the many who vocalize a belief in freewill, yet state God is sovereign. If we have freewill, then God could only know the ultimate and infinite number of possibilities that an act of a human could result in. Doesn't sound sovereign to me. Thus, one cannot believe in total freewill and sovereignty at the same time.

However, those who propose the sovereignty of God at the expense of freewill end up with automatons, fate as it was once called. We would be thinking robots programmed to carry out divine decrees, while programmed to believe we have choices. No one likes that idea either.

Now, if the Bible is true, and it is a revelation from God, one would expect that God would reveal the answer to your question. And surprise, it does with a declaration that both ends of your paradigm are true. We have choices in life and God is sovereign.

If we did not have choices, then why would God have become flesh, suffered the ignomy of the cross, and died? If we are playing a playing roles in a cosmic chessgame, then such suffering on God's part would have no point. We are told that God weeps over our misfortunes, gets angry at our rebellion, laughs at our futile strivings against Him, and much more. Such emotions are incongruous with some divinely computerized, pre-programmed history.

Even Judas Iscariot was offered a final choice by Jesus Christ when he came to betray Him. That choice remained in Judas's court, not God's.

Yet, the Bible equally affirms God's sovereignty. He knows all things and has desigend all things toward the ultimate end. Judas's decision was known before he made it, and not only so, it was planned for. How so? Because the truth is, we all make decsions, as one of your responents answered, based on our knowledge and environment.

Since the whole human race has chosen since the beginning of time to reject and ignore God, the outcome of our decisions will always be rebellion against Him. Unless God does something to change our outlook on life, then we will carry out the ongoing activities of ignorance and unbelief.

In the end, God acted in Jesus Christ to change human hearts and reactions. When you choose Jesus Christ, your eyes are opened to a new and better way of life. Your attitudes, desires, and beliefs receive radical reorientation. Thus, your choices change. Good and evil become clear. And what you hated before because of your rebellion against God, now become the things you love.

You have choices and God is sovereign.

Answer 2

Ah, yes -- the perpetual contradiction of religion. If god is all-knowing and had this "plan" he made before he made the world, then "free will" is just an illusion. If he knew Adam and Eve would eat of the fruit of the tree, then how could there have been any other possible outcome? And how can there be free will if there is no possible outcome other than the one god already knows about?

Why do christians pray for things at all, if it's already decided if they will happen or not? What's the point? If you believe the christian mythology, you have no free will, and you are just watching already decided outcomes go by. Nothing you can do can change anything. It also means that part of god's already-determined plan includes all the bad things that happen -- death of a child, mass murder, war, famine, etc.

Those of us who don't buy into that mythology, though, know better. We know that we are in control of our own destiny, and that there is no all-knowing being that has already decided everything. What happens in our lives and in the world is the result of the choices we make, not the whim of some unseen mythological being. We take responsibility for our own actions as well, and don't blame "god's will" for bad things, or satan for tempting us -- it's our own fault. As are the good things that we do. It's a much better way to live your life, believe me.

Answer 3

you have choices....but often, as you grow older and realize what you are good at and what not, say you are a dad...you become...defined...inextricably a prisoner to what you ARE and your fate--you have responsibilities...and therefore any choices against these goals and responsiblities aer msot often not in your favor...so you end up doing...what you are supposed to do, to acheive the goals you ahve set for yourself, and therefore, the less you deviate from the path, the more succesful you become.

most of the things that incapacitate us...are only in the mind

You have a choice, but often, the right choice, is the one that is along your set goals to success. So often, you DON'T have a choice. Your on a train, and you arrive at your destination..at the opportune and precisely defined time..

..for the right man in ther right place...can make ALL theee diference in the world...

Answer 4

Free will... Everyone seems to have something to say about free will. Your question is one for debate, because unless we can fully know who God is, then we'll never know if everything was predestined or not...

I believe we have a choice in everything because God said it. If you believe what God says about himself is true, then it's easy to grasp the concept of Free Will. But my question is why He gave us free will? The answer is that we wants us to choose Him. It's what sets us apart from the angels, right?

Answer 5

Both!

God did give us the power of choice. In the Bible,it is written, that He said "Behold, I place before you, life and death; choose life!"

Though He disposes at will He did orchestrate everything when He passed down the law saying that we will reap what we sow, which follows our making sensible choices to avoid reaping bad fruit.

Things were set in motion so that when we hurt others, someone else hurts us, etc. There is no escape. He set us up!

Answer 6

I think we all have choices good or bad then perhaps we have learned something. People who feel they have a vocation perhaps try to play a role in God's tableau.

Answer 7

I think God gives us free will to make choices. I think the choices lead us to the same ending, but determine if the road will be easy or difficult or in between.
I don't have scripture to back that up. Just what I believe to be true.

Answer 8

We definitely have choices. God is not up there controlling what we do - humans make their own choices. He may know what we are going to choose, but He is not making the choice for us.

Answer 9

everyone says we have choices, but God knows all right? so it's not really a chose if God knows the outcome before it happens and the end result is already decided.

Answer 10

Well God only guides us but he doesn't force anybody
He gave us free will because if we don't have free will we wont be questioning a lot of things we just obey like Robots
And there wont be any website like this to ask questions