"You can do what you want, but if you dont do what i say you'll burn in hell!" - God
that doesnt sound like free will to me...
2007-03-08 17:34:45 · 28 answers · asked by funaholic 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
So, IKB, are you saying that you would send your son to an eternity of torture if he didn't obey you?
2007-03-08 17:41:13 · update #1
Apparently not. They're started young and inculcated with doctrine and dogma until it's easier to spout than to think.,
2007-03-08 17:41:35 · answer #1 · answered by Terry 7 · 2⤊ 4⤋
free will has nothing to do with god or with heavens...
Man is condemned to make a choice in every second of his life. Some choices are good for him and some arent. Whether he is fully aware of the consequences of his choices is more important than whether he has free will or not. He may sincerely think that the option he chooses is good for him and for mankind but it may come out the other way around. At such cases he cant be held responsible. The problem is that most of our choices are made in full ignorance of the consequences.
2007-03-10 11:38:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off, doesn't this mean that you still have free will to choose to burn in hell instead of obeying God?
But to answer your question, no of course I don't think that we don't have free will. God has a perfect plan for us. For every single choice you've made and are going to make, God already has the right solution. And He knows exactly which choices you are going to make, good and bad. But He leaves it up to you to follow His plan or see if you can do better somehow (which of course we can't).
2007-03-09 01:44:03 · answer #3 · answered by yishor 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The freewill that we are given is basically to chose God or "not God." The rest of the freewill that we are given centers around and is limited by this. For instance, you will not be allowed to interfere with someone else's (or even your own) freewill to chose God.
A Christian can go around doing whatever they want, but of course if they do, they are not a Christian because Christians make Almighty God their God (not their own selves). Making yourself god is childish and stupid.
I guess you could compare it to being a police officer, you cannot go around breaking the law and expect to be a true law enforcer. If you are breaking the law, you are a criminal.
Of course, if you go around keeping the law, that does not mean you are a robot without a mind of your own. It simply means that you are a good, descent, free, orderly, law-abiding citizen.
2007-03-09 01:51:28 · answer #4 · answered by Shawn D 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Fun: There is no such thing as an ever-burning "hell" fire ! In the Bible, "hell" means "grave" - not a place of eternal torment. And "yes" - Christians DO have the right to be wrong allotted to him or her by God.
2007-03-09 01:43:40 · answer #5 · answered by guraqt2me 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's that little word "if" that keeps getting us into trouble with resolving free-will issues.
There is no if! There is no innocence, not even a neutrality, if man carries a sinful nature and is worthy of only condemnation before the Lord. And this means that you are correct, no free will, but not for the "forced issue" reasons you imply from your question.
2007-03-09 10:10:21 · answer #6 · answered by ccrider 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is still individual choice.
Drunk driving is an individual choice, one which is almost universally frowned upon by police. People STILL do it.
The presence of CONSEQUENCES is often not a deterrent sufficient to prevent the unwanted activity.
Why do you think it should be any different with God and the consequences he sets for peoples' actions?
People are conditioned to think they can "get away with" whatever they do. IF the consequences were immediately visible and obvious to everyone, you would probably see a radically different world.
Picture this: by sunrise on April 1, the freeways of every major city in the country are littered with broken down cars. You turn on radio or TV and hear reports of hundreds of people saying that the second their car got to 76 mph the engine died. Would MOST people stop trying to drive faster than 75? Would there still be SOME that TRY?
2Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare...
That lack of IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES is God giving people the chance to make things right. BUT those consequences WILL COME.
2007-03-09 01:38:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
That is free will. We get to decide whether we want to ignore his instructions (but end up in hell) or live our lives according to the Bible (and go to Heaven). God's not stopping you from committing adultery, though if you do, it's your own fault.
Here's an example: We all have free will on Earth. We can eat, drink, or get high on drugs if we want. But in America, if we get high on drugs, we get arrested. That doesn't mean we don't have free will (we still got to get high, didn't we?) - it merely reflects the fact that our actions have their consequences. We are still allowed to decide on our actions. Danny's quote (see his answer somewhere above) sums up my point nicely.
"You can do what you want, but if you don't do as I say you'll go to jail!" - the long arm of the law (aka the police)
Sounds like free will to me...
2007-03-09 05:27:57 · answer #8 · answered by tigertrot1986 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christians have freewill so that God can receive a genuine love from them. If you are a real christian, you are always trying to do God's will for your life and that includes doing what God says. Disobeying God has consequences and people should consider the Bible as their life manual for a new life like never before.
2007-03-09 01:46:35 · answer #9 · answered by Disciple 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Those who are born into christian families do NOT have freedom of choice. They have to beleive or their families will reject them.
Those who were NOT raised in the christian faith, have the free will to beleive or not.
Those who choose to not beleive (or who choose to reject what they grew up with) have exercised their free will as well.
2007-03-09 06:32:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No check out my past questions about the forfieting of free will and being God's slave.
We are to give up our OWN will and follow God's will. May God's will become our Will. He is our King and Our Master.
2007-03-09 01:39:24 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋