is predestination compatible with free will?

Question

with reference to Augustine

Answer 1

Augustine's own early writings clearly affirmed that God's predestinating grace was granted on the basis of his foreknowledge of the human desire to pursue salvation. After 396, however, his understanding began to turn increasingly toward the necessity of God granting this grace in order for the desire for salvation to be awakened. Thus his thoughts took a more determinist direction, especially as Augustine wrestled with the implications of the writings of the Apostle Paul.

His solution was not to deny that man has freedom to choose, but to assert that on account of Original Sin, human free choice is enslaved to sin (liberum arbitrium captivatum). The individual does not lack knowledge of what God's will is and knows it to be good, but is deprived of the ability to desire to do God's will, and subsequently freely chooses what is desired, which is sin. The grace of God cures this disease, which has as its main symptom the absence of any desire to be cured, setting the person free to choose God's will (liberum arbitrium liberatum). God's grace acts first on the human heart, to awaken the desire to do His will, and cooperates with the individual in a process of granting prayers for the greater desire and ability to choose His will and to do it, according to Augustine's later thought on the issues.

Answer 2

This was raised in depth by the Existentialists, who believed that every decision we made was predestined due to our upbringing (family & state), and that we only thought we were making a choice. Augustine felt that God influenced us, rather than our family.

Answer 3

Yes. Predestination indicates a pre-determined end point of your actions, regardless of the choices you make in the middle. It's a bit like going from London to Edinburgh. You're end point will always be Edinburgh but you choose the route and mode of transport. Everyone has a final destination, be that a pinnacle, climax, or death but the route to that point is one of our own making and we are the only limiting factor on that route.

Answer 4

I think so. I would think they define and compliment each other such as life and death do (life is made precious BY death and wuld not be worth living without death)

Allow for predestination as the free will of the cosmos to tell you what you are going to do and if you comply then good but if you go another way you have exercised your own private free will

Answer 5

absolutely not! Even were there an omniscient being, if they knew all of our futures that would mean we did not posses free will..right.
but help is at hand..Kurt Godel proved that within any n-complete system of logic there exist propositions which are neither provable or disprovable..So not even this god could know everything.. after all ye cannae change the laws of mathematics?! Q.E.D. Science1 Religion 0!
'Bene disserere est finis logices'.. as my old man was wont to say!

Answer 6

Neither are true.
All you do is inter-react with your environment. Information coming in from the outside dictates how you behave, and how you behave decides what goes out and what goes out decides what comes back in again and so on.
It doesn't start with you and it doesn't start with your environment but rather it's just that you and your perception of the 'outside world' are one and the same thing, and indivisible. As the Hindus say 'you are what you see and you see what you are'.

Answer 7

There is one phase (level of law,cause & effect,karma) where one believes they have free will but in reality their "will" is controled by The law and at some point in time and space they will "surrender their will" to God and learn to follow the only will,Gods will."God dwells within you as you". All things are but God expressing his vision of himself. Predistined from the original vision of creation,which is still in progcess of manifestion.

Answer 8

NO,dont you know what free will is? it means you make your own choices, right or wrong.
predestination means that no matter what you choose it doesnt matter, it has been decided for you& you really have no choices.

you guys really need to read more, or maybe it would be the comprehesion part you need to work on..

Answer 9

Mutually exclusive.
Try Kant.

Answer 10

simple answer NO