Is freewill simply the right to make bad decisions?

Question

Imagine that you have a person who is always good. Always makes decisions in the interest of "good". Does he have freewill? Is someone who is morally perfect more than a benevolent robot? Obviously this pertains to Jesus but it is a broader wuestion than just him. Could Jesus have sinned if he wanted to? If not then did he have freewill? If so then he DID have the capacity for evil.

Answer 1

I'm continually amazed by the christian notion that "free will" is something "granted" to humans by an outside agent. And with the mental gymnastics they have to do to fit the concept of "free will" into their dogma...

In religious terms, free will cannot exist -- it's that simple. *If* there is an all-knowing and all-seeing god, then he already knows everything that will ever happen, and nobody can ever make a choice that he didn't already know they'd make. Since the outcome of everything is already known, there cannot possibly be any such thing as free will...for free will to exist in that case, a person would have to be able to make a choice whose outcome "god" didn't know...since that's not possible with an all-knowing god, there cannot be free will according to christian religion.

However, since the facts clearly illustrate that there is no such thing as an all-knowing "god" (or any other kind of god), reality is pretty simple: you make choices, and you reap the consequences of your choices. That's it. Pretty simple, huh? No destiny, no pre-ordination, no mythical "god" directing things, imposing his "will," or already knowing how things are going to turn out -- just choices and consequences. Oh, and things over which you have no control, otherwise known as "sh*t happens." Welcome to life :)

Peace.

Answer 2

Free will is not a right, it's an inherent trait of our nature. Simply by virtue of being human, we possess free will. Since Jesus was human, yes, he possessed free will, meaning he could have done evil had he chosen to do so. Otherwise, there would have been no point in Satan trying to tempt him in the desert.

The fact that someone is morally perfect does not make him a robot necessarily. It just means that he was not tainted by original sin and has the capacity or was given the grace to avoid actual sin throughout his life. We know of only two such persons: Jesus Christ and his mother Mary.

Answer 3

The question is freewill not action. You are referring to actions. Freewill is the right to determine what is - GOOD - Fundies have to have some one else tell them what is right or wrong where some one with freewill can determine that on their own. Now many of the fundies here would say that i am evil because of what I do, should you ever find out what I do, but that is free will. I have decided that what I am doing is right and good. But you have to have someone else tell you what is right and good, hence the lack of freewill. And who are you to tell me that what I am doing is not good or right.

Answer 4

Freewill is the freedom to make decisions of your choice. Therefore, these decisions can have a positive or negative influence on society. They can be good or evil according to God, and good or bad according to man. Different people set different standards on what they believe is good and evil, so this will differentiate.

Everyone has a choice, to act on behalf of what is evil or what is righteous, even Jesus had this choice.

Answer 5

Free will is the right to make ANY decision. If a person who is good always chooses good he is exercising his free will in a positive way. Any mortal has the capacity be evil.

I don't know that any of us are morally perfect. Jesus was morally perfect and he did exercise his free will in choosing to be perfect. He could have chosen evil, but then he wouldn't have been perfect.

Answer 6

Free will is what God gave man to make all the decisions he/she would need to make for as long as man is on earth. People think God is to blame for many things, but it is not God's doing. God is up there somewhere shaking his head wondering why his children use their freewill so haphazardly. God doesn't care how you use this gift, and if you chose to use it for evil, then don't ever expect to see the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why God gave freewill to man.

Answer 7

I'll tell you this much. I'm not worried about Jesus Christ. If he had the capacity to be evil and He really wanted to be, free will would have nothing to do with it. Just because we follow the rules and treat each other the way we would like to be treated doesnt mean we're brainwashed. I'll give you this. You atheists must sit up all night thinking of ways to challange our beliefs. If that make you happy-go for it. Everything atheists say make me that much more of a believer. Thank you for your trouble.

Answer 8

freewill just means you have an option to begin with
if you are moral you will try to choose what has a value
if you are not, if you are confused, you will choose something without value
of course, that means that in the long run you are not so free anymore (example: if you choose drugs, you will be a slave to drugs in a very short time, therefore not free at all)

Answer 9

He had freewill. He choose to do the things that he felt where the best. Where as if you didnt have freewill you dont choose you simply obey.

Freewill entails the right to fail, but it also has the right to flourish in it to.

Answer 10

No, it's the right to make out own decisions.

Even if a person is good within himself, he still has the right to do good all the time or some of the time or none of the time. If a person is "always good" that is because he chooses to be, not because of any innate force that compels him to be good.

Same with somebody who is bad. He chooses.

(Unless he's mentally ill or mentally handicapped.)