It's logically impossible.
We are told that God knows the precise time of every human's death, so therefore he must know the future.
But if God knows the future then human free will is impossible, for under that assumption it would NEVER be possible for any human to act in ANY manner other than the manner already foreknown to God.
If a human COULD act differently than God already knew the human would act, then God would not be perfectly omniscient.
So which is it, Christians? Do humans have free will, or is your God omniscient?
2007-10-20 07:42:46 · 31 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
How does perfect omniscience take away free will? Oh I don't know, because if the omniscience is PERFECT then there is NO ROOM FOR ERROR.
In other words, if God is perfect and omniscient AND knows the future, then humans DO NOT have ANY choice between actions they will take.
They HAVE to take the one God already KNOWS they will take, or otherwise he is NOT PERFECTLY OMNISCIENT!
2007-10-20 07:49:46 · update #1
LOL! If God is PERFECT and NEVER WRONG, then you CANNOT be free to take any other action other than the one God ALREADY KNOWS you're going to take!
2007-10-20 07:51:40 · update #2
Do you get it? If God knows you're going to do "X", and he's perfect and never wrong, then "not X" is NOT an option for you!
The ONLY option for you is "X"! So where is the "freedom"?
2007-10-20 08:01:10 · update #3
Julia, the difference is that God is supposedly PERFECT, and obviously you are NOT.
Therefore, while it's possible you COULD be wrong and your son would choose to pick the apple, if God is perfect then he is NEVER wrong and therefore no human could EVER deviate from the actions God already knew they were going to take.
Sorry if you can't grasp the obvious logical contradiction there, but there is one.
2007-10-20 08:13:38 · update #4
Good imaginary Lord, is the mass of humanity really as daft as you all are?
For "free will" to exist, that necessarily implies there must be at least 2 choices of which the actor is free to choose.
However, if an omniscient God who is PERFECT and knows the future exists, then it follows that he knows every "X" action every human will take before he or she takes it.
The human SUPPOSEDLY has a "choice" between "X" and "not X". However, since God already KNOWS the human will choose "X" and God is PERFECT and NEVER WRONG, then "not X" is NOT AN OPTION FOR THE HUMAN.
The ONLY option for the human is "X" if the perfect, omniscient God already knows he will choose "X".
If you can't grasp that, you just don't get logic. Or the meaning of "perfection", perhaps.
2007-10-20 08:21:21 · update #5
Whether logical, or illogical the only way human beings are able to survive includes the presumption of free will.
2007-10-20 07:47:31 · answer #1 · answered by Jack P 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Humans have free will because even though GOD knows all, we are given a choice to follow the will of GOD for our life or do what you want. GOD already knows the choices you will make whether they be the one HE wants for you, or if it is of your own "free will". The bible says that you can not serve two masters you will love one and hate the other. So therefore you can "choose" GOD or free will. and also yes GOD is omniscient.
2007-10-20 08:00:34 · answer #2 · answered by kezzle.1love 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people say that this whole idea of "free will" vs. a pre-ordained future is a set-up as you do in the way you state the question. And that's certainly a valid way to see the Catch-22.
But imagine it this way: God has a huge (infinite) bank of video monitors with which he checks on humans (Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, Jews, whatever). THese monitors reflect what's going to happen seconds (minutes? hours? days? whatever) before it actually happens. In that fashion, God knows what the future is going to be. But humans have free will to act as they wish. God just knows which way they are going to act because God can see it before it happens. A human could change its mind about an action, and God would see the change occur on the screen before it happens. God doesn't control it, God just has knowledge of it.
The other way of looking at it is that humans have free will, but God knows which way that free will is going to be exercised.
On the other hand, your question is a corrollory to the question of "if God can do anything, can God move an immovable object?"
2007-10-20 07:55:25 · answer #3 · answered by Thunderpuppy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
all-knowing is not equal to all-controlling.
I could know everything about your every move from video cameras and reports throughout the day and have no interaction with you whatsoever and be completely separate from you. the question then becomes about you - how are you going to act knowing that someone is watching you? will you change your behaviour with this knowledge?
In that sense, true Christians don't really have free will because they want to live the way God wants them to live, in the sense that their options are limited. They give their own wills over to God in thankfulness for what they believe Christ has done for them.
Non-Christians will do what they want because they either don't believe in God or don't believe He has any authority over their lives so they feel they can do whatever they want.
obviously our free will is limited by certain laws of physics and other variables, but the question, boils down to choice and whether you want to believe in a God who is all-knowing or not. He wouldn't be much of a God if He wasn't all-knowing but still He gives us free will to choose His ways... or not.
I hope you find the answers you're looking for.
2007-10-21 13:41:06 · answer #4 · answered by Gruntled Employee 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God knows all the possibilities. He has ever since he created the earth. He knew that Adam and Eve might sin, he can see what would have happened if... if I'd had majored in something else in college, if my parents hadn't had me, if I'd have turned to drugs, if I'd have married an ex boyfriend. He sees ALL of it for me, for you, for everyone! I picture it like a long time line, like 5 miles long (for your imagination) with a million different branches that break off the first line, and a million that break of the first of a million line and this goes on forever. Then I can see God looking on my time line and knowing as I make my choices where I'll likely end up. And then I zoom out and can see everyone's time line on a vast table and God seeing all at once, watching, hoping and urging us to follow his way to our ultimate destiny.
God knows when you will die based on all your choices, we eliminate options as we make our choices (free will). He is Omniscient, and we have free will.
2007-10-20 07:54:28 · answer #5 · answered by Christian in Kuwait 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I'm not a Christian, but your question makes no sense. Going by what you wrote, I can offer my two year old son a candy bar or a green bean, and because i *KNOW* that he will pick the candy bar, apparently that means that he has no free will to choose.
Knowing what someone will do doesn't mean that they didn't have the FREE WILL to CHOOSE their decision, it just means that you know what they will pick.
I never understand why people get so bent out of shape over this. Knowing what someone will do is NOT making their choice for them. It's just knowing what they will CHOOSE of their own free will.
2007-10-20 07:55:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are confused.
Humans have free will, and God is omniscient.
God can do all things except one......create love freely given. Understand what I mean by that. Had He created us to love Him, such love would have been artificial.....and not real love. We would have been programmed to love Him.
God only wants to be loved and loved freely.....it is the one thing that we can give Him that He does not have already.
Now, because God can see the future does not mean that He controls it completely....oh sure, He could if He wants to...but that is not the point. He gives us free will and watches us progress along the way. He has told us what to do to obtain Heaven.....He will help us IF He is asked via prayer.....but He lets us decide our fate. God does not cast us into Hell.....we do if we do not live the Gospels.
Yes, He can see where we will end up.....Heaven or Hell.....but we make the choice.
2007-10-20 07:53:09 · answer #7 · answered by The Cub 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God knows, in general, what will happen. He knows the future, but what he wants us all to have free will about is our faith and the little decisions we make every day. He knows what's in store for you in your life, but He can't make you believe in Him or help that homeless dude on the street. I think we still get to make decisions that lie in His plan for our life.
It would be pointless to God if he could make us be perfect people and have faith in Him. He wants us to make the choice to follow Him and do do the right thing, because that's what means a lot to Him.
2007-10-20 07:48:25 · answer #8 · answered by Amy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God knows everything does not means God controls our action. We are responsible for what we do. God told us already which is the right way or wrong way by his several messengers. We have to choose the right path. So we have to be careful. We have to think and use our brain to find right way to God.
http://www.islamtomorrow.com
http://www.peacetv.tv
2007-10-20 08:33:30 · answer #9 · answered by peace 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it does make sense... just let me finish typing...
ok...God has written a plan... He knows the future because He created it... He has made plans for every person in the world... but because of Adam and Eve in garden CHOOSING to eat the fruit after being tempted by satan, the plan was disrupted... everytime someone makes a choice, it can potential advance or disrupt the plan, BUT no matter what people do, God's plan will unfold. All the hinderances are caused by Satan because of the same reason he got kicked out of heaven... he wishes to be God.... but he is NOT God and he will NEVER BE God, so he takes his vengance on God's beloved children- the people of the Earth, and God cannot control people, that is why we have free will- He just hopes we use it to chose Him and stay righteous and pure throughout our lives...
2007-10-20 07:45:50 · answer #10 · answered by justagirl 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋