we do not have free will because ZGod knows all. So if god knows all then he already knows who is on his side or not, who he is goign to send to hell and who is going to heaven. That's not free will.
2007-06-11 15:38:04 · 36 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
it's amazing the lack of critical thinking skills all you christians have. this is not hard logic to figure out.
you all have murdered your intellectual mind with this religios horsepoo
2007-06-11 15:56:51 · update #1
No, he's right. If God knew everything you were ever going to do before he created the universe (omniscience) and he created the universe and everything in it-including you, and he could have done it differently (omnipotence) then you really don't have a choice. You're going to do exactly what God decided you would do. If not, you're denying his omnipotence or omniscience, or both.
2007-06-11 15:42:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Since God is all-powerful and not limited by man's concept of time, he can see the beginning and the end. He knows what we're going to do, but that doesn't mean He's making us do it. Lots of people do stuff that's clearly not God's will, but e's not forcing them to do it. It's like watching a tape of an old sporting event. Just because you know the play-by-play, the box score, and the winner, doesn't mean that you're affecting the outcome of the game. The players are playing just like it's live, even though you know what's going to happen. That's how you can reconcile free will with an omniscient God.
2007-06-11 15:51:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I was a practicing Mormon (LDS, Inc.), I thought we had free will. I thought we were making choices on our own. But I could never have been so wrong. The church decides, for the most part, what you think, do, etc (Even if it's hard to admit). Think of this COMMON Mormon phrase: "When the prophet speaks, the thinking is done." That is a good way to sum it up. Now that I have found the truth about LDS, Inc, I realize that I was a prisoner and getting out was the best thing I have ever done.
2007-06-11 15:46:34 · answer #3 · answered by Cheese and Rice 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily!
Perhaps it could also be that the omniscient God knows what we'll do with the free will He gave us. The difference being that He is "all-knowing" not "all-dabbling".
It's silly, I know. Sort of like the modern day version of, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" But that's the kind of results you get from self-contained belief systems (i.e. religions). There are contradictions aplenty.
2007-06-11 15:52:43 · answer #4 · answered by Seeker 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God knows that every individual has the ability to (free will) believe in Him and lead a Christian life. I think that God doesn't necessarily know from the very start who is going to hell or heaven. He lays many paths in one's lifetime that either stray from Him or lead towards Him, and we have the free will to choose how we live our lives. Religion and faith don't just come naturally as soon as we're born. Everyone has to make the effort to believe or not believe. That is our free will.
2007-06-11 15:45:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Do you agree that God is all powerful, as well as all knowing?
The Bible is full of individuals who exercised their free will over God's will.
Mankind as well as the Angelic Realm was created with two abilities.
(1) With the ability to act independently of God's Will
(2) With the ability to have spontaneous fellowship with him.
With God being all powerful. This means he also possess the ability to "dwell" in the present and not the future.
God dwells in the "Now" the "Present" and not the future!
All through the Bible we read of individuals who exercised their free will over God's will. But, it was also after the damage was done because of disobeying God's Will for them. That God intervenes and through their repentance, God forgives, and straightens up the mess! Even through some of the damage was unrepairable.
In all of these, God could have stepped in at anytime. But he didnt! God did not and does not create robots!
2007-06-11 15:55:50 · answer #6 · answered by n_007pen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't believe in free will, then why are you asking why Christians talk about free will? Should you believe that they are compelled to do so by their brain chemistry?
And knowledge doesn't invalidate free will. God knowing what you will do in the future doesn't make you less free in your actions. If that were the case, then me knowing what you did in the past would make you less free as well. Knowledge is knowledge regardless of where it exists in time.
God transcends time and space, as do all spiritual things. Time and space is the domain of our bodies, not our minds. To begin to understand things that pertain to God, it is necessary to first stop immersing one's self in the things that belong to time and space.
But most of all, when contemplating those things, it is necessary to remove our thoughts from the spacial and temporal.
2007-06-11 15:49:38 · answer #7 · answered by Erik M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a Christian, but yes, we all have free will. That means you are free to do whatever you want with your life, make your own decisions, and be responsible for them. However, if you refuse yourself to grow spiritually, you will have another chance by being born again.
Before being born, we choose our parents and siblings, therefore they are pre-determined. Spouse, children and some friends are pre-determined too, because they lived with us in the past life, and we have issues to resolve with those people. However, how you deal with them is your free will.
Sex, drugs, travels, career, suicide are free will too. Only people that you have to relate, people that you love and hate, those are pre-determined to be in your life.
Peace!
2007-06-11 16:10:57 · answer #8 · answered by Janet Reincarnated 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will is following through on choices made. We can change our minds and our choices at any time. We can choose to follow through or not.
God does not want to send anyone to hell...that is why His Son made the supreme sacrifice in order to save our souls. We have another chance, and can choose what we are going to do with our lives and what we will do with our second chance.
2007-06-11 15:46:39 · answer #9 · answered by bin there dun that 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your child stands on a slippery floor, you know that they are going to fall. You didn't make them fall.
God has given man free will to have a relationship with him, or choose not to. He does not want you to go to hell, just like you didn't want your child to fall. But sometimes even if you tell your child what the consequences of their actions are ...they choose not to listen...so they fall. Having the insight to know what is going to happen does not mean that you caused it.
2007-06-11 15:48:09 · answer #10 · answered by amanda 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋