are going to do in your life, is your choice to believe in God not already chosen so you really don't have any say in whether you are a Christian or not. Please don't take this question the wrong way - I am a Christian, this is just something that confuses me. I'm sure the answer is really obvious or i've got something wrong maybe. Only serious answers please.
2007-02-28 06:17:53 · 22 answers · asked by Spinach 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes. We have free will. And, yes, God is omniscient. Those attributes are not in conflict with one another. God's foreknowledge does not in any way negate our free will. God exists outside of time and space, and therefore sees the future as clearly as he sees the past. We are free to make our own choices...God simply knows "beforehand" what our choices will be.
This may be a poor example, but I'll give it a shot: When I go home from work tonight I have the choice to drive my car off of the bridge or stay on the highway. I KNOW that I'm not going to drive my car off the bridge. Does that mean my choice doesn't exist? Of course it exists...
EDIT: I strongly disagree with some of the assertions made by "Elizabeth" in her response to your question. The fact that God shapes the events/course of life does not negate our choices....neither is God "forcing" a particular response from individuals. God does hear our prayers, and does answer them according to His will. For example, the natural circumstances of life might determine that I would get in an accident on my way home from work tonight and die in a car crash. If I get a flat tire and miss that accident it could be chalked up to "blind luck"....or, it could be the hand of God allowing me more time on this earth. Is God forced to react a certain way? No. Can He use the events of life to shape the course we take? Absolutely.
2007-02-28 06:29:21 · answer #1 · answered by Seven 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Your friend has invited you to a very elegant dinner party. Because this is your first time going, you are very cautious and want to make a good impression. Halfway through the evening, the hostess lets out a tremendous fart. However, no one so much as bats an eye, opens a window, or even remotely acknowledges what has just taken place. What do you do?
If you point out the obvious, then people will condemn you for being 'rude' (how dare an 'upstart' make a comment about the propriety of the hostess, and after she was soooo generous in letting them attend) and never invite you again. On the other hand, if you follow everyone else's example and pretend it didn't happen (which your friend will politely, but firmly, encourage) then you run the risk of slowly becoming what you briefly see everyone else is: people whose elegance is based upon their ability to ignore that which is unpleasant to them.
It would be a simple matter of saying "I don't want to be a part of this" if it weren't for the fact that these are the 'it' people, and that this is THE place to be. Entry here means that you have nothing else to worry about, ever. How many will throw such an opportunity away and never return? Isn't ignoring such small unpleasantries a little price to pay for such a guarantee?
2007-02-28 06:34:55 · answer #2 · answered by Khnopff71 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is one of the theological inconsistencies of the Christian religion. You don't have free will if you have an omnipotent and omnipresent God. Christian apologists say that in Christianity free will applies to the ability to either accept or reject God's plan for you nothing else. Free will is a very limited concept. This still doesn't make sense since God would know ahead of time that they were creating individuals who didn't believe or be purposefully creating those who don't believe.
ON MAN'S FREEWILL
1.) God has an unchangeable plan for everything past, present & future.
2.) Everything that occurs past, present and future will be part of God's unchanging plan.
3.) Thoughts and actions occur and are part of God's unchanging plan.
4.) Thoughts and actions cannot be anything other than what God has planned.
5.) Free-will doesn't exist
ON PRAYER
1.) Prayer is sometimes used to ask God to change a situation in one's life or anothers.
2.) God has a divine plan that cannot be changed.
3.) Prayer cannot be used to change any situation.
(Prayer may make you feel better emotionally, but it doesn`t change God`s mind.)
2007-02-28 06:26:14 · answer #3 · answered by Zen Pirate 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
By believing in god you accept that the inconsistencies and contradictions within your religion aren't a problem.
Thinking your beliefs through, will not make the contradictions go away, though at some point you will get bored and just ignore them after awhile. Don't worry about this; it's why religions still exist. The human mind is fantastic at compartmentalising inconsistent and contradictory information.
Of course, there is one alternative... Why not try being one of those naughty free thinkers and do away with god and all the peculiar baggage which goes along with it.
2007-02-28 07:31:18 · answer #4 · answered by Mike N 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You linked two separate things together that are not together.
"If God already knows everything you...? "
"is your choice to believe in God not already chosen "
No, the choice has not been made. It is your choice. Whether someone exists who knows you so well that they know how you will decide, does not effect your choice. From your point of view, you just choose.
~ Eric Putkonen
2007-02-28 06:25:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Alternately, ones belief that there is no God might reflect a lack of existence of any God...
Grammart (above): Presbyterians don't believe in predestination... Calvinists might, but Presbyterians definitely don't unless they've changed the belief substantially since I was a kid.
2007-02-28 06:22:30 · answer #6 · answered by Blackacre 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the classic philisophical questions (even for us Jews ;-)).
The basic philisophical flaw is confusing knowledge with causation. Think of it this way, if you were to take a time machine back to the day that JFK was murdered. You are in the theater, and next to you is Lee Havey Oswald, loading his gun. How sure are you of what he is about to do? 100% certain. Have you CAUSED him to shoot JFK. No.
Its the same thing with G-d. Since G-d is not bound by time, he knows what you are going to do. THat doesn't mean that G-d FORCES you to take that path.
2007-02-28 06:38:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anon28 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not at all. Simply because you (or God) knows what you are going to do doesn't mean you don't have free will. Here's an analogy: My roomate will get up tomorrow at 4 AM and run 10 miles (really!). I know she's going to do that--but her decision to do so is entirely hers. I don't have anything to do with it.
Point being, God knows what you are going to do in advance, sure. But its still your choice--and your responsibility.
2007-02-28 06:27:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Your choice to believe in the Lord isn't chosen its your choice to believe or not. God wants you to come of your own free will he will never force his will on you otherwise you'll be like a robot.
If want to have a personal relationship with Jesus that choice is yours.
2007-02-28 06:24:35 · answer #9 · answered by levy 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I don't think your life is planned out for you at birth, if it were why would we be constantly tested? What would be the point of having complex thinking skills? You make the decisions in your life, God merely gives you a choice. Which path do you choose?
2007-02-28 06:25:33 · answer #10 · answered by Looking to spend some money 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋