alright it's about the concept of free will. I here many Christians say we have it, but where is it in the Bible. If it claims we have free will i have a problem because....
Christians claim that God gave us free will and that he cannot control our actions. However, they also claim that he is omniscient and knows of everything that we are going to do before we do it. If he knows everything we are going to do, than our actions are predetermined. If our actions are predetermined, and our actions are what determine whether we are saved or not, than whether we go to hell or heaven is actually determined before we are born. If long before we even existed, our fate of whether we are saved or damned is decided, than there is not much we can do about it. Thus, there is no such thing as free will. People can decide to believe one or the other, but not both. They contradict each other.
so enlighten me if you will....
So if we have no free will whats the point in living
2007-12-24 14:59:13 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
its not like you can surprise God...make a funny face or snap your finger he knew you were going to do it...right?
2007-12-24 15:12:10 · update #1
You're too smart to be religious. The faithful are not supposed to ask intelligent questions.
2007-12-24 15:05:40 · answer #1 · answered by phil8656 7 · 5⤊ 5⤋
In my humble opinion in the bible you will find where it says that you were knitted in your mothers womb, in another place it says that before you were born your destiny had been determined. NOW what I believe it means here is GOD's Destiny for you was determined, which by the way was all good. Now remember that this is Satan's time to rule the world, so Satan will do all kinds of things to get us to stop believing in God, like making a new born baby deformed or some other horrible thing. As human beings God gave us free will so that we can choose the paths that will bring us to HIS destiny for us or we can choose other paths along the way. These other paths will always lead back to Him but it is up to use to choose to stay on the path. The Free will is so that we can CHOOSE to love him or not...Nobody wants to be loved because someone tells us we must. The interesting thing about the Bible is that it tells us how to live on the right path, but so many of us don't discover this until we are older and have made many wrong turns, and have suffered the natural consequences of these. I hoe this helps.
There is a book at the library and the bookstore called the "Screw Tape Letters" by C.S. Lewis and it is very short and easy read...and it talks all about this free will and God's chosen destiny...It is a great little book that really clarifies things!! I hope you check it out!
2007-12-25 14:16:13 · answer #2 · answered by Meeshmai 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, we have free will. Why? Because it is no smarter for God to micro-manage humanity than it is for a boss to micro-manage an employee.
The way I see it, God is love and can only do what love can do. Can God know everything? No. Can God do everything? No. God can only affect the world through people who can love. That's where free will comes in. Either you choose to act toward others in a loving way, or you choose not to. It's up to you.
2007-12-24 23:19:02 · answer #3 · answered by Chantal G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think what is really destroying your faith is that you believe in eternal damnation. There is no such thing. Any Bible which teaches so has been mistranslated. I'll leave you with links which will elaborate on this better.
As far as free will goes, if you read Romans 9, you will find it is not what we think it is. God IS in control of all things but it is because of this that he can give us free choices, KNOWING what we will do ahead of time so that nothing surprises Him. All things are part of His plan. I believe God's ultimate plan is the salvation of all people.
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/Hell_is_Leaving_the_Bible_Forever.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/PowerOfLifeAndDeathInAGreekFourLetterWord.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Absolute-Assurance-in-Jesus-Christ.html
2007-12-24 23:11:40 · answer #4 · answered by out of the grey 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The first scripture that comes to my mind (there are others) is Joshua 21:15
Take good heed therefore unto yourselves
that ye love the Lord, your God
CHOOSE this day whom ye will serve.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
"Freewill" is a simple idea that 'theologians' and debaters enjoy complicating. I do not intend to insult your intelligence, merely to show you how simple it really is..........
I offer my young child a choice of a bowl of ice cream or a bowl of rocks for dinner. I know the consequences of either choice, I also am pretty darn confident of which he will choose.......but still he has a choice which will trigger my next action.
I can replace the bowl of rocks with food and be a provider, or I can bring out the 'pepto bismol" and be a comforter. Either way, the child had a choice and I had a plan (or will) for him based upon his choice.
2007-12-24 23:17:59 · answer #5 · answered by †LifeOnLoan† 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
My thing is if God is truly omniscient and truly loves us, he had to know we would choose wrongly before he created us. So why even go into it with Satan knowing you would lose so much of your creations.
How can you love someone and create them knowing they'll be damned in the name of free will.
Why not stop the devil and ban him before all of this? This description of God seems arrogant and selfish. Therefore something is wrong about what we know about God.
Christians tap dance against these kind of questions and Muslims don't appear to have the answer either.
2007-12-24 23:13:31 · answer #6 · answered by honesthustler 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Predestination and free will can't coexist. If God is all knowing, your fate on Judgment Day is already decided. Free will would only be an illusion.
If you truly have free will, then God is not all knowing or there is no God. How could God not be all knowing? He doesn't exist.
2007-12-24 23:25:01 · answer #7 · answered by Beavis Christ AM 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You seriously need to rethink this.
To foreknow something is not to predetermine a thing.
God is all knowing and does know everything this does not mean everything is predetermined. We are subject to time God is not subject to any such law.
If I watch a movie a second time would you say I caused it to have the same ending because I knew the ending?
You can make any choice you so choose the fact that God is all knowing has no effect on your option to choose the truth or believe a lie.
2007-12-24 23:03:27 · answer #8 · answered by djmantx 7 · 2⤊ 4⤋
Free will the Bible talks about is free will to choose who you will serve,when God kicked satan out of heaven 1/3 rd of the angels followed him,since God did not want to kill 1/3rd of his children we were given free will to decide who we will follow,otherwise are souls would have stayed in heaven and there wouldnt be a problem.God loves all of his children he may not love what they are doing but he loves all of them.Josea chapter 6 verse 6 all souls belong to God.God bless
2007-12-24 23:11:12 · answer #9 · answered by wanna know 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
God is Sovereign, but he chooses to allow us to make our own choices. He is the ultimate gentleman, he will not force us to do or choose something we don't want. It pleased the creator to make us in his image, and give the ability to follow His ways or not, a choice entirely up to us. The example I give is children... Parents teach and love them and hope for the child's best. That child may not want to even associate with their parents when they grow up. The parents can't force them to love them back or even make good decisions. We are God's children and he feels the same about us. He will not force us to love him. He gave us the freedom of choice hoping we choose to love him back. Our children aren't programmed robots and neither are the children of men. That is why it is written to inspire and remind us about those of great faith who please God. They choose to believe and have faith that moves mountains (problems) that get in the way of them and God.
2007-12-24 23:28:22 · answer #10 · answered by f1mudvayne29 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well also look beyond god just knowing what your going to do. If he gave you free will then why would he demand that the only way you can use it is by living your life in the manner he says. It's crazy logic and should be destroying your faith.
2007-12-24 23:05:13 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋