Its like this can god make a mountain even he can't move. Then he is not all powerful. One can not know the future and allow free will or that would.........well I think by observation of enviroment and life, prayers being answered , he is not all knowing and there is free will. How about you?
2006-11-23 14:38:30 · 15 answers · asked by darkEable1 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Your question has plagued theologians for thousands of years.
Regarding free will and all knowing. let me give you a very limited example. I have a dog. Her name is Pecas. When she was a pup, I knew that if she got loose she would allow me to get about three feet from her and then she would run. I also knew that this game would go on for a long time. She knew that I wanted to catch her. During these "Game times" I would call her repeatedly.
I purchased a shock collar. When she got loose, I would call her, and if she didn't come I would press a button and she would get a shock. It took only three of these shock treatments for her to realize that if she came she would not get shocked.
When I call her her now she comes immediately. I know this will happen. Does Pecas have free will? I believe so. Do I have foreknowledge that she will come when she is called? I think so. If I can have this sort of foreknowledge on a limited basis why is it logically impossible for an all knowing God, that created the universe and every human being to be all knowing.
As to your question about God making a mountain so big he cannot lift it and still be all powerful. The Christian answer to both parts is yes! We are getting into deep waters here so bear with me. The Christian God eternally exists in three distinct persons, but yet there is only one God. We call God a Tri-unity or Trinity. Each of these persons is no greater or less than any other person, but each have different functiions and responsibilities. One of these persons is called the "Father". He is the creator of the universe including life. He is also the sustainer of life. Without God the Father you and I would die in a moment. He is the God that made that huge mountain you were talking about.
Right in the very first chapters of the Bible we see that man was created in the image of "God". It also says that God walked with and talked with man. The person of God that works directly with man is called God the "Son". One of the things that God the Father gave to man was free will. If man did not have this free will he would be less than human. At some point in time, man rebelled against God. (We could get into the role of satan etc., but that would be a digression). This was no suprise to the Trinity. In fact in the third chapter of the first book of the Bible the Trinity declares how this rebellion will be eventually crushed. God the Son was given the responsability to crush the rebellion. In order to do this he took on the very form and nature of man. He did this by his death and ressurection. To answer your question, as a man God the Son was completely unable to physically move a mountain. God the Son is still working directly with man to help him overcome the effects of the human rebellion.
The third person of the Trinity is called God the Holy Spirit. His responsibility is somewhat less defined than the other two persons. His role is to convict man of his rebellion, and then to lead man to a place of forgiveness.
This is my own opinion. It is not official Christian dogma. Each of the three Persons takes on both specific tasks, and also takes on limitations. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, for example do not have a physical body. Perhaps the Holy Spirit did not have need to be part of the physical creation. Possibly God the Son and the Holy Spirit do not need to have foreknowledge. I could go on, but I hope that you get the point that an all powerful and an all knowing God still has given man the power of free will.
2006-11-23 16:28:05 · answer #1 · answered by free2bme55 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God cannot create something greater than him, and he can't be exceeded by a more righteous being; otherwise he wouldn't be God. God can do anything, anything that does not de-throne himself. In that way, God technically has limitations but it does not mean "weakness".
And yes, free will does exist even though God knows all. The fact that one person knows what will happen does not mean it is pre-destined. A very simple analogy - God may know you will cut your hair tomorrow, but that doesn't mean God forced you to cut your hair because you still chose on your own (without knowing what God knows) that you will indeed cut your hair.
So our state of a free-will and an all-knowing Supreme Being are not contradictory or illogical.
2006-11-23 23:16:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
For over eight hundred years the Church denied free will and taught that our lives are all predetermined by God. They reasoned just as you do that if God has seen and determined our fate then predestination must be real. After the reformation and science taking on the idea of a predetermined world, one in which science could know the future if it knew enough about the present the Church changed their position on free will and Gods power of precognition.
2006-11-23 23:07:38 · answer #3 · answered by Barabas 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on your point of view.
Free will is something that God has given us, but you need to realize that it has its limitations.
Christianity teaches that our free will is so powerful that it can supersede the will of God. This is simple nonsense. God loves us too much to ever allow this to happen.
Our free will is constrained by the choices God makes available to us. That is all of the possible choices that are available to us, lead eventually to the exact same outcome. Some take us in more circuitous pathways but all of the possible choices eventually lead us back home to God.
So the answer is actually yes and no. We do have free will but it is constrained by the choices God allows for us to pick from. God simply loves us too much to allow us any choices that would allow us to become permanently lost to Him.
Many religions teach that this is not the case, that we can become forever lost due to our choices. This is a simple lack of faith in Gods love for us. A simple misunderstanding No more no less.
Love and blessings Don
2006-11-23 22:42:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your forgot about Karma. What goes around comes around. And Reincarnation. If one does not have the hole understanding the big picture you will never understand Gods unlimited all knowing all loving merciful nature. God is love and love means free will or choice and that is why we have this world so one can choose to be separate from if they wish. But He is never separate from you that is just an illusion. He is in every ones heart as Super Soul waiting for you to turn to Him.
2006-11-23 22:45:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okkkkk? What would be the logic in making a mountain that you can't move (which btw just shows how much power even you admit God has) and then try to move it. God would not even bother with such stupidity.
2006-11-23 22:48:41 · answer #6 · answered by Mikki 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the answer to your question is that no one knows. if anyone tries to give a definitive answer on this question then they dont know what they are talking about.
however i personaly think that you have to believe in free will because if you don't then you are accepting the fact that you can't make any decisions because some being made all of the decisions that you will ever be presented with for you before they even come about.
2006-11-23 22:47:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do you seek agreement are answers??AS long as one is in the state of living the Law of karma,cause & effect they Believe they have free will,but they are being lead through life by cause & effect,karma which determines their destiny. until they are raised into spiritual union with God,in unconditional love, Doing Gods will,which is the only will.There is but one will, one power, and one Life.
2006-11-23 23:01:35 · answer #8 · answered by Weldon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Human beings do not have free will. Each of us have a will, but the idea that the human will is free basically just came from marketers and advertisers who want you to feel good about choosing their product just for the heck of it. If the will really is "free," what is it free from? Is the human will free from sin? from selfish desires? from misinformation? Free will is a myth.
2006-11-23 22:46:48 · answer #9 · answered by ngik 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe there is free will and that God is all knowing.
The reason is that God is outside of time. It's not that he knows what will happen before it does... he knows because time only exists in creation.
2006-11-23 23:56:44 · answer #10 · answered by Mark W 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋