Is the free will given to you by God the choice to follow the instruction of a church and the choice to reject it and do what you want?
2007-10-19 21:52:53 · 15 answers · asked by cbgrisle 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
thank you indigo for being about the only person to actually understand what i'm getting at. i'm sure everyone else feels very smart still, but it went right over your head (with few exceptions)
2007-10-19 22:10:43 · update #1
wow jenx, you failed to understand again. i think it's time to stop trying
2007-10-19 22:11:49 · update #2
No. That is not a free choice, it's an ultimatum.
2007-10-19 22:04:09 · answer #1 · answered by Daisy Indigo 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Free will given by God? What a lovely gift. Free will to move away from Him any way we please, never toward Him. We lost that with Adam, and have only a limited capability for fellowship due to our continued sin nature.
Choice to follow instruction of a church? Well, if God reveals Himself in the Word and Sacraments, then isn't the choice made to worship Him, and participation in signs and seals of His presence with us, itself an empowerment of the Holy Spirit?
2007-10-20 14:32:50 · answer #2 · answered by ccrider 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course with free will you can accept or reject the church's instruction, among other things. Otherwise it wouldn't be called "free will". You can also accept/reject God's love and His commands. But obviously there are consequences to any decision.
2007-10-20 06:30:53 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you dumbed this down too much because your point was lost. Your other question was fine. The answers didn't make much sense, but that does not surprise me. As much as Christians talk about the concept of free will they obviously haven't given it much thought.
Coerced behavior, ie the threat of eternal torture is not free will.
2007-10-20 05:03:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
free will I think everyone is born with free will, if you didnt have free will, then God would be a dictator. It is when you use your free will to hurt others, it isnt pleasing to God. So you will should always be subject to the will of God. Otherwise how would you apply free will, when in a rage or eaten up with jealousy?
2007-10-20 04:59:22 · answer #5 · answered by sientje8 s 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I was taught man was created in God's image. So if we are supposed to have His/Her characteristics, then he/she is one skeptical s.o.b. Besides religion was initially used to explain things that were unexplainable and to set down laws so folks would stop acting like animals. Doesn't seem to have worked though, does it?
2007-10-20 05:02:18 · answer #6 · answered by Laoshu Laoshi 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Your free will is to recognize and love God or deny Him. The original temptation of man included the words "you will be as gods".
2007-10-20 05:02:50 · answer #7 · answered by sympleesymple 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes .I know it is Jesus who I follow .And what the Holy Spirit tells me to do.God told me to leave a church once.
2007-10-20 05:00:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
duh...free will isn't about choosing "a" or "b". it's about having unlimited possibilities and levels of possibilities.
i, using my God-given free will, reject your limited choices.
did i dumb that down enough for you?
2007-10-20 05:05:35 · answer #9 · answered by chieko 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Free will is given by god.
Everything else by man.
Either you rebel or you follow - it depends on whether you yet have free will or whether you have abdicated it.
2007-10-20 05:02:17 · answer #10 · answered by mahen 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋