Can you have free will without evil?

Question

If it's not possible to have free will without evil, then the situation in Heaven is one of the following:
1) You have no free will in Heaven but also no evil
2) You have evil in Heaven and free will (like earth)

So which is it?

If it IS possible to have free will without evil, then why are evil acts allowed on Earth?

beta_fish: So they why didn't god create EARTH in such a way that people freely choose not to do evil? Wouldn't that have been the humane thing?

Samurai Jack: That is true, but everyone would have to voluntarily choose to do only good.

I define an evil act as "an act which intentionally causes physical or emotional pain to someone who does not want it"

Answer 1

yah thats what i said.

bible says we will be worshipping god for eternity in heaven. we obviously have no free will cause there is no sin and no sadness..

thus we are forced to worship the very being who sent our loved ones to hell.

that sounds just as bad as hell imo

Answer 2

Once you are in heaven you will be in total submission to God. There will be no question about God's authority or what he demands. You will willing and easily obey the Great King of the Universe.

And even if it is possible to have free will without evil....which who knows? Right! Then they are allowed because just because it is possible does not mean that is what happens in reality when people use their free will.

Regards to Don H Comments:
There are morals and ethics, standards of right and wrong that are universal and cross-cultural. If a particular person does not agree with that unverisal code, it does not cease to be universal.

UPDATE:
God purposely choose to create the world with both CHOAS and ORDER. He did this so when we make choices we realize that there is consequences for what we do. This was all designed in order that we can become better moral creatures. Read the ADAM and EVE account with this perspective. It will open your eyes to something different.

Answer 3

We cannot even from our wildest imaginations begin to fathom what heaven is like.. God does tell us that we wil all be given new bodies and there will be nopain and suffering only happiness, in a place like heaven our free will will only want to be good..im sure that all will agree ( who believe that heaven exists) that heaven is only good. Evil couldnt live in heaven..that is an oxymoron

What the bible tells us about heaven we know that all of our dreams come true and we ont be there 3 seconds before screaming out loud...Why did I waste so much time trying to store up earthly treasures? Because NONE of that matters now!!
Even tho the bible says that all of our needs will be met, dont misconstrue that too many evil needs...because, again..in heaven our minds will not be capable of evil.

Matt 19:21 says we will have treasures there
Luke 15:7 says there will be constant rejoicing in heaven
James 3:17 says heaven is PURE, peaceful, considerate full of mercy and good fruit (does that sound like a place where evil can thrive?)

If you have ever know that peacefulness of God and felt his hand upon you , you know that God is a pure, loving God and he could not exist in Heaven if evil did. There is a place where free will with evil does exist and that is called Hell

Answer 4

Well, most people do have free will. For the deeper Bible student, the elect of God, who were founded by Him after the war of the last earth age, do not have free will - because they were already judged.
But - your question is a good one. The answer is that this earth age is for a reason - the reason is choice. You cannot have free will if there is no comparitors. Thats why God tells us that even though satan has already been judged and condemned to perish, God is still using him. Yes, God is using satan to do his work in this flesh life - so you can have a comparitor, and make your choice. In the eternity, all will be governed by Christ as King.
No one will be present there who does not want that - God knows the heart, nobody will con him. We are going into the eternity forever - we do not want a repeat of this nonsense, and I can assure you that we wil not have a repeat of it.
So both free will, as well as the comparitors are necessary in this flesh age. When we are finished requiring satan for a comparison, then he will be turned to ashes from within.
Along with all those who thought they were clever and professed to follow him.

Answer 5

Of course there is the third possibility, which is the correct one: You have free will in Heaven and you choose to do no evil. So does everyone else there.

People have free will on Earth and some choose to do evil acts. Free will is not contingent upon the existence of evil, but the ability to choose between good and evil.

Answer 6

very thought provoking! Evilness is not the issue though, it's whether you are going to do things God's way, or your way. If you have a son, and he decides to disobey you consistently, it's going to hurt your relationship, it's going to hurt you, and it's going to hurt him, right? It's the same with God. In heaven, however, we won't be tempted because we will be spiritual beings away from temptation. Imagine that a child would be born without the desire or the idea to disobey. We can't relate to that becuase we live in a fallen state. Heaven's not like that. There will be no tree of the knowledge of good and evil there or satan like there was in the garden of eden.

Answer 7

* Evil does not eixst, but the bad things we humans do to each other is considered evil, so no. However, you bring up something I often thought about while a Christian. According to bible legend, Lucifer better known as the devil was once an angel with free will as was the angels who followed him. They rebelled and fell. Hell according to the bible was created for the devil and his angels.

So if it happenned once, what is to say it will not happen again. If people go to heaven and keep free will, what is to keep a rebellion from happenning again?

If we have free will here as we know we all do, why would that be taken away from us in heaven? *

Answer 8

The reason why there is Free Will is because there are choices to make. You can choose to do what you think is right for all or you can choose to do what is only right for your selfish interest which others may find evil.
I do not believe in heaven the way I guess you believe but I believe heaven is a place where everybody is acting happily, peacefully and harmoniously in one place. Doing his own chores coordinated with other activities. Your logic is not quite mature for me but it is a good question.

Answer 9

You are right: free will is not possible without evil.
I don't understand though why heaven needs to have free will. I see heaven as a place of rest. Rest from the need to make decisions, for instance.

Answer 10

Blessings or Maledictions—There Is a Choice!

“I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the malediction; and you must choose life in order that you may keep alive.”—DEUTERONOMY 30:19.

JEHOVAH GOD designed us—his intelligent human creatures—to be free moral agents. We were not created as mere automatons, or robots, but were extended the privilege and responsibility of making choices. (Psalm 100:3) The first humans—Adam and Eve—were free to choose their course of action, and they were accountable to God for their choice.

Will you obey God, or will you disobey him? The Israelites had a choice. Though all of us have inherited a sinful inclination from Adam, we have also received the gift of free choice. Despite Satan, this wicked world, and our imperfections, we can make the right choice. Moreover, our Creator is confident that in the face of every trial and temptation, there will be those who make the right choice, not only in word but also in action. (1 Peter 5:8-10) Will you be among them?

Answer 11

Technically no. You're assuming that evil is limited to the physical realm and not the spiritual realm. Also you're implying that "evil" exits on its own, and that choices have only 2 options good or evil. Both of these assumptions are rather tough to swallow. On the existance of evil, you need to define what you mean by it and how it's different from the capacity to do evil. On choice we have many alternatives for all the choices we make, i.e. when I drive to work I have several routes, none of which are are evil or good.