true free will can only exist if there is no fear of consequences for one's actions. it's not a quote. it's just my observation. free will should never be confused with having a choice. if i hold a gun to your head and tell you to trip the next person who walks by or else i will shoot you, most likely you'll trip the person to spare your own life. is it a choice you would have made had the gun not been put your head? so how can anyone claim we have free will if they believe we are going to hell if we don't choose to accept jesus or any other deity as our savior? we may have a choice, but we definitely don't have free will.
2007-11-29 08:26:47 · 28 answers · asked by just curious (A.A.A.A.) 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
eleventy, i would say the exact opposite. we would have to be completely unaware of any consequences. rewards and punishments should play no role in doing what you want to do if you truly have free will.
2007-11-29 08:31:47 · update #1
Yes I agree. Many struggle with the concept of free will because they prefer control over freedom.
2007-11-29 08:47:19 · answer #1 · answered by Tamara S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course you have free will. Because the gun is too your head doesn't mean you don't have the free will to do or don't do the tripping. Choice and free will are about the same , don't you think.?
If you don't want to accept Jesus, you don't have to. If you do want to accept Him then you can. It's your free will/choice. I'm really not trying to be smart or anything like that ,Your decision alone. but I just can't see the big difference.If I offered you $10,000 to step in front of a bus, it's up to you IF you want to. It's your free will /choice. If there was a good looking guy standing across the street, it's your free will / choice to go across the street to meet him. Do I make any sense? I sure hope so.
2007-11-29 16:46:41 · answer #2 · answered by HappyCamper 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every choice you make has consequences - or effects.
If you are physically forced to make a choice, as in your example with a gun - your own life takes precedence first - most people would do almost anything to save their own life.
In the case about hell - you're going to hell if you don't accept Jesus, etc --- of course --- that is a ploy by Christianity to force people into accepting Jesus.
Same as "Only if you believe in Jesus Christ - will you be saved"" nonsense. The whole sentence phrasing says it is a threat, and it is nothing else but that. Facts don't even come into it.
Religion says - If you don't do this, you're going to hell...
Therefore all they are, is after power and control over you.
And that is all they do.
You can't be a spiritual organisation, etc if you approve of the above threats. This applies to all religions, institutions etc.
2007-11-29 16:46:59 · answer #3 · answered by TruthBox 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I disagree, because many people commit crimes knowing there are consequences to their actions, but they also know they have to get caught first. Free will is the ability to choose what actions you take. I do find your concept interesting though, even though I don't agree. No matter what circumstance you face you always have the free will to choose how you are going to deal with it, even if putting a bullet in your head is your choice. Right on straight! ;-)
2007-11-29 16:35:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, you have the free will to believe whatever you want, like there's no such thing as hell and that you're going to become a god when you die, or something like that. If you really truly believe that your only choices are God or hell, you believe in the Bible, right? And if you believe the Bible is true, then you're seeking salvation by Jesus, right?
The choice has already been made, Neo. You just have to understand it.
2007-11-29 16:35:15 · answer #5 · answered by eventhorizen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think for free will to exist, we must be completely aware of the consequences of our actions.
[edit] I completely understand your point. For a choice to be free, we must not have knowledge or biases or outside influences.
What I meant was -- for the "free will" that Christians describe to exist, where we make a choice and are held accountable for that choice, without total knowledge, this punishment/reward system would be unfair.
2007-11-29 16:29:40 · answer #6 · answered by Eleventy 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Free will and choice are still the same thing regardless of what examples you give....
Accepting Jesus is about SO MUCH MORE than going to Heaven or Hell. Only people who dont know HIM think that "going to heaven" is the only benefit of choosing Him
2007-11-29 16:37:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
EVERY CHOICE HAS A CONSEQUENCE, BUT IF WE ACCEPT WHAT THAT CONSEQUENCE WILL BE THEN WE HAVE EFFECTIVELY PRACTICED FREE WILL. YES THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHOICE AND FREE WILL. IF I CHOOSE TO GO BUY A HAMBURGER THEN THAT'S MY CHOICE. IF I DECIDE TO SACRIFICE MYSELF SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE THEN THAT IS EXERCISING MY FREE WILL. DO YOU SE THE DIFFERENCE. TRUTHFULLY I'M NOT SURE THAT I REALLY DO, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY TOLD ME WHEN I WAS A CHILD. MAYBE THAT'S WHY I ENDED UP PAGAN.
2007-11-29 16:37:51 · answer #8 · answered by ghostwolf 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Disagree. Every choice has consequences. Without consequences, there would be no choice. For example, you can choose to have the ice cream or not have the ice cream. There are consequences for both, including that fact that in one case you get ice cream. Some consequences are merely more dire than others. You appear to be arbitrarily redefining "free will".
2007-11-29 16:31:04 · answer #9 · answered by Nightwind 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Free Will is the choices you make and the consequences that goes along with them.
2007-11-29 16:32:07 · answer #10 · answered by preacher 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋