free will.....?

Question

no man really would choose to go to hell.
given the right conditions, everyone would do what was needed to be right with god.
we are humans that act the way we do primarily because of biological and psycological reasons.
That is not to excuse everyone from wrongdoing, its just that we do what we do because genetics and upbring we have experienced.
the closest thing there is to actual culpablilty is to meta-cognate what i have said and use it as an excuse for your immoral actions
To say that god gave us free will is like
an obsessive boyfriend saying: Do as you wish, but if you cheat on me, I'll blow your brains out with my shotgun"

yes/no?

Answer 1

FINALLY!
Someone uses logic in their religious philosophy!

Yes, you are correct. Since God is All-knowing, then freewill can not exist because all is known.

Good job!

To question ones religious philosophy is to practice religion...to not question ones religious philosophy is to have some else dictate ones religious philosophy

Answer 2

Your "boyfriend" analogy is absolutely correct IF the lady involved knows what a shotgun is, cares about what shotguns can do, and, given the choice, would probably help you pull the trigger.

Applied to your Darwinian argument of genetics and upbringing, you would say that mankind is not culpable (he gets his morals from his primitive origins anyway) and therefore God must be the guilty party, if he exists at all.

And I say that Man has only the grace of God to keep him from tearing himself and the planet completely apart, because we do have "primitive origins" of spiritual death and a lack of fellowship with God, through Adam's original sin.

Getting back to your free will question, it should be obvious that if we do have free will, we can "meta-cognate" ourselves into equality with God (and He should forgive us for anything and everything), or we can deny him and fully justify the most reprehensible behaviors from a scientific OR spiritual angle.

Answer 3

Aside from the fact that there is no evidence for hell, all living creatures will act in self-preservation in accordance with the stimuli in their environment, not in accordance with "god."

Take a most basic behavior - eating. When humans are hungry, they will eat what is available, then steal food, and finally kill as needed. If we make food available to all, none (except the deranged) will ever kill for food, and so on. When put under sufficient duress, almost any human will behave like an animal.

Wrongdoing (immoral, or unethical behaviors) are valid only withing the social context, and we do have free will, but it's not god given, it's innate (as you pointed out.) Our morals and ethics are only applicable because we CHOOSE to be members of a civilized society (mainly because it's safer) but as anyone can see, the patina of civilization can fall away in a heartbeat, given the right stimuli.

If anything, our free will is a byproduct or, (more likely) a requirement of our human desire to self-actualize. I don't see the need for god in any of this.

Answer 4

So you are saying you are a ROBOT right? Because that is the gist of saying there is no free will.

There is the good way and the evil way. Both have to exist or there would be no way to differentiate. If only good existed then we would be in heaven already, which we are not because this world is finite. So evil had to be there so we could differentiate. In fact, this world is part of the realm of darkness and it only has goodness because of God's light so it is more of evil was here but goodness descends by the grace of God.

God lovingly wants us to choose the good because he wants to get us out of this dark place, to our real home - the spiritual abode of paradise.

Please read this article as it explains free will and good and evil in a very nice way. It should help alleviate your confusion, inshallah:

http://www.sufism.org/society/articles/GoodAndEvil.htm

Peace.

Answer 5

Close. More like an obsessive boyfriend who knows for certain whether or not his girlfriend is going to cheat on him, saying that.

On the subject of free will, you are correct, and in the ultimate sense, we do not have it at all. Decisions, actions caused by personality. Personality caused by development. Development subject to environment. Simplified version, but you get the idea. I believe the entire universe is basically executing a massive program, in a sense. Started by...who knows? Could have been God, could have been just something that happened. Not you or I or anyone else on Earth is in any place to say.

Answer 6

I agree with your first sentence, although I doubt that hell was literal, seeing as Jesus also said that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
In regards to your second sentence, the Bible says otherwise. That's what Adam and Eve's actions were all about. Isaac and Rebekah had twins - Esau and Jacob. Esau rejected God. Jacob didn't.
In regards to your third sentence, there are other reasons - primarily myth. (2 Timothy 4:3-5) Compare the web page below for its workings.
I agree that genetics and upbringing may play a part. The Bible is not specific as to how sin is passed on, but the theology is that we are all sinners and we couldn't stand before God as righteous people no matter how hard we tried.
As for excusing immoral actions, the Bible says at Romans 2. "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."
The last illustration doesn't work because sex before marriage is a sin in the Bible. If you look at the factors that render consent to a sexual act invalid, if you take them to the nth degree, it applies to any sex outside of marriage, I think.
False imprisonment (compare 1 Timothy 5:22 - "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure." They've done psychology experiments where your reactions can be changed by means of placing a hand on the forearm.)
False information as to identity.
Underage.
Mental illness.
Drugs or intoxication.
False information as to medicine or hygiene.

I know how fantasy works to blind people as to the reality of their actions. This is how corrupt nurses, for example, manage to indecently assault patients, simply by elevating their own ego and not obtaining patient consent before hypnotising and performing invasive procedures on patients. Unlike the obsessive boyfriend, God is incapable of losing his control over his own actions. He is love. The obsessive boyfriend has just as much right as anybody to answers in this life, and quite frankly, there's way too much pressure placed on people to be in relationships in the first place. This comes about by means of appeals to the desires of the flesh. If you use your body's senses to give you the incentive to get through life, then you will make decisions like whether or not to have a boyfriend or cheat etc. based on what your flesh will receive in the way of social approval or disapproval etc. God's way is by Spirit. (Romans 8) It's a different approach so the illustration is not valid, except inasmuch as the relationship between God and the Jews, and Christ and the Christians is characterised as a heterosexual husband-bride type relationship.

Answer 7

Yes all humans has been given a free will or free choice by Allah the only one God.Allah has given us the holy book in line with the development of its era e.g. Torah through Moses prophet,Bible through Jesus prophet and the last holy book Al Qur'an through the last prophet Muhammad pbuh.This holy book should be used as the life guide.We should comply to it because Allah has given us what should be done and what should not be done if we want a happy and safety life here in this earth and in the life after death.If we select the right deeds we will go to heaven and if we select the wrong deeds we will go to hell.
Cheating,gambling,conceiting,killing,lying,eating haram (not allowed) foods and drinks included pork,wine/alcoholic drink,
,narcotic drugs,animal slaughtered not in the name of Allah,
blood,offending,cruelling,humiliating,adultering or fornicating etc in islamic teaching in line with Qur'an are prohibited.God instructs humans to love and help each other,pay praying on time at least 5 times a day,pay islamic taxes at least 2.5% from our wealths and income for the poor,maintain good relationship and respect parents,neighbours,friends,make a fairly treatment,obey laws and regulations etc.If we select the bad deeds or do not obey to the God's instructions and God's prohibitions we will go to hell as its consequencies.We can not do whatever we want or wish if it is contrary to the God's decisions and regulations.If we are cheated by other he/she will get sin.But we should be kept patiently although we are cheated.If we are angry it means we are tempted by satans so we will have sin.We should manage well our lusts or desires..So we have free will/wish but with limitation that is God's regulations as stated in the holy Qur'an...

Answer 8

Here is the best advice on this column!!!!!!!!!! Stop trying to figure it out!!!! Some would say we have free will, others would say we don't just because we don't like the choice, therefore we don't consider it much of one, right?? You must realize that this doesn't have a lot to do With us. This is a WAR between stronger forces in higher places. The WAR between good and evil. When you realize that, then it would make sense that one of the choices would not be pleasant, wouldn't it???? Good vs. evil, happy vs. unpleasant.

Answer 9

You do have to deal with your 'lot.' But you have choices now. Tomorrow you can do a random act of kindness and change your future. Site below tells of a psychology experiment how altruistic acts (helping others) can change or transform your life.

Also there are practices that can improve you. For example China has declared Jet Li a national treasure but he meditates at least an hour a day to improve himself. Or you can fast for self improvement. The page on fasting on site below has quotes by 17 MDs and a rabbi on fasting.

Also you can choose to hang out with criminals tomorrow or hang out with people doing altruistic acts and they will have an effect on you (your environment).

Answer 10

I don't think free will is an excuse.
Isn't that we humans too have brains, the ability to reason? Then we know what's right and what's wrong.
That's why we have the Bible to tell us what to do in order to be with God. And we know by ourselves what's immoral and moral. Beyond this genetics and upbringing varieties, we all have the same ability of resilience, to stand up against sin through faith. Yes, it may be hard due to differences in these things but we can still choose to be on the right track.
I once read that freewill is an evidence that God's understanding is the wisest. God wants us to love Him and true love is not coerced or forced that's why He gave us freewill. He did not program us to do this or that without understanding anything or without any feelings. He did not create us like robots.
But also through this freewill, when our first parent chose to eat the fruit of knowledge did we become separated from God. But God sent down His Son to be our redeemer with the promise of an eternal life with our righteous ways.