Free Will?

Daddy Asked

Q:Is free choice impossible? It would seem that if God existed, the answer is yes.

1. John Doe bought a Ford Truck on March 4, 1995.

2. Since God is all knowing, 30 years prior to point one, God believed that John Doe would buy a Ford Truck on March 4, 1995.

3. If God is to believe something, it must be true. Otherwise, God is believing a lie and is not truly omniscient.

4. It is not possible to erase the fact that at some past time, someone held a belief. That is, if God held the belief 30 years ago that John Doe would buy a Ford Truck on March 4, 1995, there is nothing anyone can do to change the fact that he had that belief (they cannot get rid of or change the belief).

5. If John Doe was able to NOT buy a Ford Truck on March 4, 1995, God would hold a false belief, thus making him not fully ominscient and not God. John Doe cannot change the fact that God held a true belief or erase the fact that God had a true belief 30 years prior to the day he bought the Ford truck (point 4 explains this).

6. Therefore, if God existed 30 years prior to March 4, 1995, it was not within John Doe's power to refrain from buying a Ford Truck on March 4, 1995.

As you can see in this example, if God exists and is all knowing, we either have no chance of making a free choice, or we can actually make a choice that God didn't make and thus make him not be God. It seems the more reasonable idea is that we have no chance of making free choices.

Some will say "Oh, God works in ways we can't understand, so if he does something that appears to be wrong, it is actually right but we simply cannot see it". I disagree though, I think that if God does something, we should be able to see that it is right or correct. So anyways, let's hear your thoughts and no bible quotes please, I want REAL, logical answers.

 

Insane Preacher answered:

A: you know in biblical days God struck down people that questioned him." We will ignore this obvious threat concealed in the love of christ.... an omnimax being would know everything before it happens yes, I would not call what man has "free will". Although I will go as far and state man has the illusion of free will. Since we are finite mortal beings, there is no way we can know it all. But if god knows that you will kill a person on the 3rd of july 2002, you are not getting out of it. You will kill that person, you will see it as a set of choices that leads you to that decision, but to god, it is a fact. Period.

Now if you wish to argue there is such an animal as free will, then you cannot have an omnimax god, also to say god knows what we shall do, but leaves that choice to us..... does nothing but support the illusion of free will. Nothing more.

Daddy, I think you will be disappointed in the answers you get here. But that is just me, and I could be wrong, since I am just a finite mortal being, that does not understand the supernatural heyzeus of the christians.

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