Free Will?

Question

This question is simply meant to cause deep, possibly philosophical thinking. If one believes in God, and that God is all powerful and all knowing, then surely there can be no true free will. It is said that God gave man free will, but if God is all knowing, then that would mean he/she has all the knowledge of every choices outcome that every individual makes. Therefore, if the outcome is already known, then the choice is predetermined, and free will is non-existent. Thoughts?

Answer 1

This is an interesting question. The theoretical evidence for such free will, or such a multi-verse, or such a finite God is as lacking as for the opposite philosophies. Even the practical evidence may vary from person to person. It is conceivable that some may find better results, for their lives, from a determinate than from a libertarian philosophy. But where the evidence is indecisive, our vital and moral interests should make the choice.

If there be any life that it is really better that we should lead, and if there be nay idea which, if believed in, would help us to lead that life, then it would be really better for us to believe in that idea, unless indeed, belief in it incidentally clashed with other greater vital benefits.

Now the persistence of the belief in God is the best proof of its almost universal vital and moral value.

Tjanks to your question and have a great day!

Answer 2

If... How boring it would be to be this all knowing and omnipotent being that knows all of the future and the past. If the stage is set and the actors already know their lines and there is no variance, then again how boring. Place yourself, if you will, in the situation as the grand director of the Cosmos. Without the actors having the ability to pick and choose, guide and misguide or soar and fall, then what a dismal scenario is our existence. The stage may have been set originally, but the deity is a benign one that does not interact nor know future events for mortals. The physical Cosmos and its ultimate demise or resurrection after that demise may be set with the physical laws of nature, and thus that part is known to the deity. But the swatting of each gnat or the dropping of every pigeon is something that is of such unimportance in the grand scheme that it is absurd to think that it matters. We as human beings seem to have such a proclivity for self-aggrandizement.

Answer 3

Free will doesn't exist in its most literal form.

A human being cannot possibly be a "true individual", one so unique that he or she has no spiritual or religious influences. It IS impossible to pass through 2-3 days, even just 1 day, without every person in the world hearing of something religious; to most, it's ingrained in their lives, a vital part of it. Even if you are an athiest, you still get influenced by the teachings of the Bible, or the Quaran (sp) or whichever other religious text. It's everywhere in society. Think about this: if an athiest, or even a God fearing man, had "true" free will, both can just go on a murdering rampage and kill a bunch of people without any second thought or remorse. But of course, that doesn't happen.

Answer 4

The teaching that God is omniscient is in conflict with God's own inspired teachings.

The scriptures belows clearly counter-indicate omniscience. If God already knows everything, even the future, then there is no reason to try anyone so as to "know all that was in his heart."

See this link for a deeper discussion:
http://bythebible.page.tl/Predestination-Debunked.htm

^^^^^^^^^^^
2 Chronicles 32:31
God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. (NJB)

God left him,—to prove him, to take note of all that was in his heart. (Rotherham)
Revelation 2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of YOU into prison that YOU may be fully put to the test, and that YOU may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life. (NW)

Job 34:36 Would that Job might be tested to the uttermost . . . (Rotherham)

Ecclesiastes 9:11
because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. (NW)
for time and chance happen with them all. (YLT)

Answer 5

My thoughts are these: You remind me much of myself. When I was taking a Humanities class. The subject of God was brought up one day (and many days thereafter) in a seminar we were having. And, of course, the hard core Christians of the class brought up free will to defend thier case. Their case being that they were not sheep being led by the sole cause of what God wanted them for. Then I brought this up, and they were speechless. I used pretty much the same words as well..how strange that is...Good show, my friend. ^.^

Answer 6

but maybe if ur decision isnt known but the possible outcome is then ur still free to make ur own choices its just God knows what will happen if you do. thats how i c it ne way

Answer 7

boy u really thought this out. i believe we still choose our own destinies but the outcomes have been weighed, you still chose your path but God as you know already knows what the outcome is but we don't know so therefore i believe we still have free will.

Answer 8

Thinking ourselves in loops, are we? As one who thought deeply on that until those thoughts were no longer deep, here has been my conclusion.

If you knew that I was going to write this answer, but did not tell me, or give me this knowledge, did you cause me to write this to you? Thus, fore-knowledge of an event does not equal cause, that is the action was a product of free will.

Even if you knew that I was going to write this answer, and even wrote your question so that I could give you this answer you already knew I would right, have you still caused me to write it? There for even the influencing our environment does not prevent me from writing this from my own choice rather then destiny.

That is fore-knowledge, or things happening as they are going to happen does not limit free will because they are not the cause of them happening. Just because my writing this answer was destined to happen, does not mean that the destiny caused me to write, but rather my choice to respond to your question.

Which goes into the whole debate of cause and affect (fate) verses free will but I have already written on that.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070924180807AAIKYWG

Answer 9

for an answer i pose this question,does the fact that god knew what your choice would be influence your choice? i believe that i make my choices of my own free will, even if the choice is to subjugate my will to that of another. to be honest ,humans have worshiped too many gods, over tens of thousands of years, for me to believe in one god.

Answer 10

You said it yourself. God has knowledge of all possible choices, that doesn't mean He chooses a way for us. We choose one out of many possible ways. When we do that, that opens up a variety of other possible choices, and so on.
God doesn't do that, we do.
Look at animals - pure instinct, no free will. Can't escape his environment, consciously knows little outside his world, can't build anything outside of his environment, can't choose to be anything but himself - a dog, a deer, a lion.
Humans are different - we've changed our environment, we go beyond our environment, we are ruled not just by instinct but by justice, fairness and goodness, if we are lucky. When would we ever strive for something, work hard to something we want, if we always think it's up to our 'fate' or 'destiny'?? We wouldn't. It would get tough and we would give up. Choosing to believe in Free Will is choosing to be who we want to be and do what we want to do.