Predestination & free will?

Question

How does the concept of predestination tie in with the concept of free will? If God has everything planned and knows exactly who will achieve salvation and who will not, doesn't that make humans very passive and resigned beings?

Answer 1

But he doesn't now -- does he?

You yourself indicate that you know this by knowing that we are supposed to have free will.

It is true that God has a plan. So does the president, so does your banker -- but you still have free will.

That God has plans that affect everyone does not take away their free will. At this moment, the Good News are being preached world wide -- you can choose to listen to it or to ignore it -- that is your choice.

If you want to see what the scriptures say, look at this link:
http://bythebible.page.tl/Predestination-Debunked.htm

Answer 2

predestination, and free will are polar opposites when it comes to a real moral argument. Free will means we have a choice in every action we take, and are therefore accountable for it. If on the other hand ,you believe in predestination, then no matter how evil an action is it can not be judged as bad or good because it was meant to happen and therefore has no moral value. If you believe in predestination, Hitler's slaughtering of millions of jews should not be seen as an evil act because he was meant to do it it was not his choice, it was predetermined by god. if that is acceptable to you then believe in predetermination. without free will there is no such thing as right and wrong. it is meant to be.

Answer 3

We have the free will, however its bondage to our sins.

Man, by his fall into a state of sin, had wholly lost all ability of will to do any spiritual good accompanying salvation.

Yet the Bible also teaches that God has predestined all things before the foundation of the world. And, His eternal decree is not conditioned by any act of human will.

However, God's predestination does not preclude human responsibility. On contrary, our actions show forth what God has predestined before the foundation of the world.

Though man has free will to choose good or evil, man always chooses what God has predestined.

Judah Iscariot exercised his free will by betraying Jesus to the cross; nevertheless, Judah by his (free will) action fulfilled what God had predestined before the foundation of world; “Jesus the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of world.”

Answer 4

Oh Boy...This is one'a those questions that can make your head explode!....It also begs the question, "If God is so "loving"..then why does he/she allow so much suffering? If God already knew the atrocities that, say, Hitler would impose on the world...then why did he let it happen?
My answer is simple...God gave us the world and everything in it...but he allows us to do with it what we will.
Just as any parent gives their children guidelines to live by...and hopes that they grow up to be Nobel Prize winners....some grow up to be Charles Manson. That doesn't mean that the parent stops loving their children...but we can only intervene so much.
How can one truly know happiness without experiencing tragedy? How can there be joy without knowing sorrow?
Everything must have a balance for the universe to work...therefore without free will we would simply be puppets in God's "master plan."
Every parent has a "master plan" for their children...but few children follow it. We can only strive to be a good people and treat each other with compassion...and hope that will be good enough!
Good Luck.

Answer 5

omg i have the exact same question. world history 2. but idnt know the answer sry.. =(
r u takin stuff like lutheranism and calvinism.
sry wish i cud help
if it was on a test and i had to put down an answer id say something like: since God has everything planned and knows who will achieve salvation humans have the free will to do what they like cause a person who recieves salvation can sin as they please.
But dnt put that down i just b.s (ed)
i H8 the hell out of history
theres no point in learning it

Answer 6

IT DOESN'T MATTER

whether or not we have free will or not, as long as we THINK we have it, it makes no difference. if we don't know that we're going to choose option b over option a no matter what, then the choice is just as difficult anyway. i think that god knows what i'm going to choose, but since i don't, it's a difficult choice for me. and i never ask god for the answer, i just ask god to help me make the best choice.

we're not passive because we think we have free will, regardless of whether or not we have it. we think we have it, so we might as well have it, it makes no difference.

Answer 7

Exactly! That's why there is no "predestination". God may know what we ultimately end up CHOOSING, but it's not like we don't have that choice to begin with.

Answer 8

Good question. Yet another contradiction to religion. If god knew what our "free will choices" were when he created us. Then why didn't he just Not create the bad ones? Wouldn't that have shown some compassion for the good ones? Try asking your question in the religion and spirituality category.

Answer 9

This is the argument that Thomas Aquinas uses to explain why there is apparent free will. His argument is that while there are many paths to choose, they all lead to god. Similar to the old phrase that all roads lead to Rome. In that case, all roads at the time did lead to Rome.

Even this doesn't explain why a god would not let his creations know s/he actually exists.

Answer 10

God doesn't live within the confines of space and time like we do. The past, present, and future are all "now" to God. My finite mind can only understand things within the framework of space and time, but that doesn't mean that everything has to actually be that way. I think it's great that God is larger than my power to comprehend in detail.