Do we have free will?

Question

How do you put "God's all knowing" together with men with free will, are they conflicting each others or total separate things?

I welcome Christians' answers

So far, no one can tie them together. ..

Answer 1

Yes we do have free will, however it's bondage to sin. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, had wholly lost all ability of will to do any spiritual good accompanying salvation.

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 2

God knows everything (he knew us before we were born) he knows what we are capable of and he knows where our life will take us based on the decisions we make. Of course he already knows what decisions we will make.
The "free will part" is that he doesn't control us to make those decisions. Free will is beneficial to us in that it can spiritually strengthen us through lessons learned.
It's like when you know that your toddler will get shocked if they stick their finger into the wall socket. We stop our babies from hurting themselves because we "know" what is about to happen to them. God knows what is going to happen to us based on every scenario of every decision we make -- he lets us make those decisions ourselves although he does offer guidance through the Holy Spirit and prayer. Also, he does from time to time stop us (like a parent) from doing the wrong thing if we are too much under Satan's bad advice.
This is not a linear concept. The two do not conflict with each other because God is always in control. Are they separate things -- You ask? I think God restrains himself and lets us make a lot of bad decisions for ourselves as well as good ones. I think He also jumps in when He knows it is necessary -- which may conflict with our thoughts on the matter at hand.
I hope this helps

Answer 3

In Islam, one of God's names is "knower of all worlds." Islamic theologians have an interesting way of tying free will and predestination together. It appears to us human beings that we have free will, yet God knows every choice that we could have made. God is the author of the movie of your life and He knows the end, but at every moment, it appears to you that you can choose. Christianity does not tie predestination and free will together.

Answer 4

I think the idea is that you have free will, but what with God being omniscient, he knows in advance what you're going to choose.

*shrug* Or at least that's the most convincing answer I ever heard from a Christian.

Answer 5

If there's a god then he gave us all things. Including free will. We have the option to follow his teachings and love him or we can choose not to and burn in hell. Free will is one of the more defining characteristics of being human.

I'm not saying I believe in god I'm just answering the question.

Answer 6

...No, men do not have a free will. Ephesians 2 tells us "we are dead in sins and trespasses", we are spiritual corpses, and we are unable to respond to God.
...We are just like Lazarus in the grave. God calls us from the dead as it were to become His children, and He makes us alive in Christ Jesus.
...Scripture makes it clear that He chose us in Christ before the world began and that God is calling out a people for Himself. (see Romans 9-11 and Ephesians 1-2).

Answer 7

Yes... if you like you can read my POV on the subject you may at: http://www.mikevanauken.pages.web.com/mikesinternetoutreach/id94.html

it is not that long a read and just my take... some what different than some of my brothers and sisters in The Faith... but not that far off... IMO

Answer 8

Sociologically speaking, there is very little free-will being practiced today.

Almost every aspect of one's life is the result of the society in which they live, and not their own personal choices.

Answer 9

I guess the only other explanation is that you were destined to ask this question and that I answered it with this observation.

A better question would be,

If indeed God created "everything", does that include chaos and randomness?

Answer 10

Love that is not free is not real. Man has a free will, which means he is free to accept or reject God. A man can live his life the way he wants to. He can rebel against God, or he can choose to follow Christ. And speaking sociologically, Man is now exercising his free will with abandonment, in his final rebellion against God.