if god knows the future then how can we have free will?

Answer 1

Foreknowledge does not mean predestined. We have a free will choice. Predestined means predetermined you would have no choice. foreknowledge means God knows all things..your choices still belong to you.

Answer 2

You are absolutely right, and I applaud you for your question. If we choose against Him, and He knew this from the beginning, why would He then create us EXCEPT for the purpose of eternal punishment? It seems the atheists are the only ones really answering your question, because the only answer the Arminians are going to have, is a mystery or an outright denial of the dichotomy.

The Calvinist answer is the only other side of this coin that makes any sense, and that is the answer of man being totally depraved and worthy of only hell, not heaven. And salvation is a pulling us from our march toward our own damnation and setting us straight.

So, you get your choice. It's a mystery, we're totally depraved and deserving of hell, or God doesn't exist at all. Take your pick.

Answer 3

My thought is that He created us. He knows us so well that he knows what decisions we'll make even though we still make them.

A couple examples-
If you have a relative or friend that you know very well, and you give him two options, you most likely know which one he'll pick, even though he does the picking.

If you've seen a movie before and are watching it again with someone who hasn't seen it. If you tell them what will happen next, did you make it happen? Did you take away the actors or director's free will?

Answer 4

Hi Max,

It is true. God knows the future because He WAS, He IS and He ALWAYS will be. But we still have the ability to make our own decisions. He does not force us to do anything. He just simply knows the decisions that we are going to make.

Answer 5

Since God is omniscient, He knew/knows enough to be able to create us with free will!

In this life we cannot know the perfect mind of God; however we can study His Word, the Bible, to try to become as much like Him as possible!

Answer 6

I believe that when God created, the whole of creation, from beginning to end fell into place. He gave us a time line to measure our lives within it and free will to choose what we do with our lives. God knows the results of our free will and His repsonse to us, because all time exists with Him at the centre.

Answer 7

God is the first, or primary, cause of everything that happens. Man is the secondary cause. Your will is free insofar as it is within the secret will of God. You are responsible for the choices you make, not God. Your choices receive real consequences.

Answer 8

Since we don't know the future we make our decisions only based on us. God is just not surprised.

Answer 9

Knowing what will happen does not necessitate that you had anything to do with the way or fact that it did. I can "know the future" of children with less experience than me but they still have free will to do what they want. My experience allows me to foresee certain instances, especially ones that I had been apart of myself. Hope that helps.

Answer 10

Did God make you choose to go against his will the last time you did?

Answer 11

that one i wonder about also.is God tryin to be funny? i don't think so, but the best thing to do is do good and learn more about God. we spend time tryin to get around wi th the opposite sex ,spend time at partyin(if you do that sort of thing),basically spend our free time on God knows what.the besr thing to do is relax and live the good live ,love and respect people(if your the proud sort -please ,don't be-it'll be easier for all of us),respect life ,maybe even go to church once a month(reasearch your churches)-they all can't be that bad.