Is free will just an illusion? (read details before answerings plz)?

Question

so lets say god knows everything that is going to happen. that means that the future is set right? because if it isnt set then god cannot know the future. if the future were to change god would already have forseen this change and concluding this wouldnt be a change.

now with that in mind, the future is already written. our choices "change" the future. but since the future cannot be changed, then our "choices" are just nothing more then illusion.

if we really had free will and "choices" we would be able to keep revelation from happening, and thus proving god wrong...

so tell me what you think of free will and our ability to choose. this is a serious question wanting serious and respectful responses. i dont want copy pasted verses i want your in depth thought.

Answer 1

Ok, you asked what I "think."

I think that when God (or whatever his/her name is) set everything in motion, that it included all the laws of physics and probability. That means, that unless literally believe Biblical stories like the parting of the Red Sea, the laws of physics rule the universe. And we don't even understand all of THEM yet...

Now, God probably understood the basics of human nature, too, and when he set us "free" to do as we would choose, he knew that one day the evil ones, the deranged ones, the insane ones would bring this beautiful planet to a horrible end.

I don't honestly know what to tell you about all that "meek shall inherit the Earth" stuff.

But, I have always maintained that I had free will, and that I was the captain of my life's ship; the director of my life's play.

If at any time, I did not like the direction my life was going, I didn't sit and cry in my beer about it, I made some choices, chose a different path, and moved forward. Except for all the millions of radical elements that might either help or hinder my "plans," I moved forward. If there are random elements out there, you can't plan for or against them, so they don't really matter. You just chart your course and GO.

So, yes, I believe in free will.

If God knows how it's all going to end, good for him/her. That doesn't change my pursuit of happiness one bit.

Let me pose this to you. If you knew that in one hour, your life was going to come to an end, what would you do?

I'd say,"deal the cards and would you please get me a cold beer."

Answer 2

I'm so glad someone else has brought this up. That has always been my argument against Christianity. If we have free will than NO ONE, including god can know what happens. Otherwise going to heaven or hell is already set from before we were born.

I believe there is only the present, no past or future physically exist. I don't believe there is a god, and our brains trick us into believing we're more than any other creature. Very arrogant. When you die you die.

Also think about this. Christians believe that your afterlife is decided by whether or not you believe. They say you have to have faith in God. But is faith a choice? Can you CHOOSE to believe in something? Some people's brains are designed in a way that they cannot believe in something no matter how hard they try. I can really really want to believe that there is a Santa but no matter what, deep down I do not believe nd I never truly can.

So yes there is free will we have to take accountability for everything we do, it is not a set path.

Answer 3

What if God "already knowing everything" does not necessarily mean that the future is set? What if the infinite realities theory is more correct, and every action taken causes another reality, about which God knows (because we're accepting God as omniscient uber-being)? Omniscience and foreknowledge does not dictate single-path outcome by necessity, unless you only inhabit a single thread in the great work.

It could also be said that an all-knowing God is an illusion and that free will obeys certain chaotic laws that seem to make it present this paradox. It seems natural when one looks at the human analogy of the Man-built machine. However, even machines have been known to show unpredictable behavior. Certain AI systems need input or they exhibit symptoms of psychosis in behavioral terms. Simply put, complexity is not something that Man can simply reduce to an omniscient God who is the puppet-master, which would thus lift the responsibility for his actions off Man's shoulders.

Personally, I believe in the possibility of many futures, based not only on my actions and thoughts, but the actions and thoughts of others. Somewhere in this "web" of being, there might be something transcendent lurking, waiting to open our eyes to more than just our own limited dimension. I search for that, but I never claim that I know what it is or even what it might be.

Answer 4

God has the power to see the future, but he does not necessarily use it. Just like a strong man does not use his power to lift everything he sees, God can see the future but he does not give a destiny to everyone. He only foresees what is important at one moment or other, but this normally has nothing to do with the majority of humans. Free will is not an illusion, most likely no one know what you will do in the future, so just keep making good decisions. By the way, if God destines some one or something to destruction, and God tells that something they will be destroyed, and that something or some one changes and does good, God won't destroy that person or thing. Why? It is just like the story of Jonah, when the city was going to be destroyed, but everyone in the city changed.

Answer 5

Surprisingly enough... it is only if there IS a deity that free will can exist, because only a deity could provide a nondeterministic / nonstochaistic modifier to an otherwise computational system.

The brain is a neural computer. Such computers are computationally equivalent to a von Neumann machine and thus to a Turing Machine.

In short, the brain takes inputs, and based on its current state, produces an output and moves to a different state.

Input -> Processing -> Output -> New State.

There is no free will in such a system. Every choice you will ever make is determined by all the inputs, processes, and outputs you received or made prior to that choice. You cannot take a step that is not indicated, either positively or conversely, in your past. Thus, you do make choices, but those choices are not free -- they're not even "free within bounds." They are absolutely determined.

A person who has never heard of, seen, or tasted alcohol cannot choose to cure himself of alcoholism. Alcoholism is not part of his state.

Answer 6

I guess you could say that free will is an illusion in that respect.

But just because God exists out side of time and space He knows the final outcome of all our choices.
We have the free will to accept or reject the gifts of God. These include among other things life (suicide), and faith (Holy Spirit). We can't look at the end result of any situation until we come to that point in "time," so we really do choose our role in each situation. Besause we don't know how it will end we can "choose" to fear and love God that we strive to conform our lives to the teachings of the Bible, or dicard those beliefs for a worldly view of life and what suits us.

Just because God knows in advanced what we will choose doesn't change the fact that we made a choice.

Hypotheticaly: I am a God-fearing man who likes to go out in the world and teach others of Gods will for their lives. I have been doing this for years, and have seen any people come to faith and die of old age with a stong love for Christ and His word. I then loose my faith and stop talking to others about God and kill my self in a fit of depression.

Was I pedestined for Hell? YES!

Do others think I was a good faithful man that helped many achieve salvation? YES!

Is my decision to stop talking to people about God going to leave someone out of heaven. NO!

God has a set of things for each of us to do while we are on earth. He knows what we are capable of and will put us into the situations that serve His puposes.

Just because He knows how we will choose doesn't mean we didn't make a choice.


Good question!!

Answer 7

First, you have to realize that free will has nothing to do with whether we are able to make day-to-day decisions. Free will is a theological issue that involves whether we have the ability to look to God for salvation or not. Calvinists say that we are completely dead in our sins and therefore we do not have that ability. Arminians contest this, and believe that in spite of our sinful nature, we are able to choose God.

I think Calvinism has the better answer to this because it makes your question go away if the final destination of man without God's intervention is Hell! Honestly, what does it matter whether God knows every possible decision we could make on a day-to-day basis, if we are not able to choose him anyway?

Answer 8

well, say you're a parent. you'd love to have your child/ren have a far more better relationship with you than just a mere thanks every now and then. you don't have to thank God EVERY SINGLE TIME for something. telling Him "Thank You for everything you've done for me and given me" is perfectly fine. when talking/ praying with God, you're not wasting over an hour telling Him what you've done wrong. again, just like a parent, you'd want your child/ren to tell you everything instead of keeping to themselves. in Christianity, you do not have no memorize any specific prayers. it's great if you do, but God would rather hear your heart than a memorized prayer. if you don't believe in God, it isn't His fault for apparently not giving you proof of His existence. He's given so much proof; i can't even comprehend of how much there is. miracles, intricacy of the smallest and largest of things, ect. just because you can't see Him doesn't mean He's not there. that's just what faith is. now, if you don't believe in God, think if He did. since He created EVERYTHING, don't you think He'd appreciate it if you acknowledged it and praised Him? heck, put yourself in His shoes. if you created everything and then looked down onto earth and heard that people curse your name, don't believe in you, and wonder why you need be praised if you really did exist, you'd really be sad about it. God feels the same way. He is jealous.

Answer 9

well the problem is this if we have freewill and choose to use it wrong and god knows already then it's up to us to stop the mistakes from happening by making better decisions before we come to that spot where we are supposed to mess up i lnow it doesn't make sense and it can be tricky but i believe that everybody makes decisions and choices on their own which is why i can find free will to not make a whole lot of sense

Answer 10

God gives us freedom, we only have freedom through The Lord, and The Lord gives each and every one of us choice, We have the oppourtunity to make the right ones, as The Bible is our written word, and The Holy Spirit is our Guide.