How can we have free will if God is all-knowing!? If God knows what is going to happen to us, then it is unchangeable, so we do not have free will!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
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Position:Home>Philosophy> How can we have free will if God is all-knowing?Question: How can we have free will if God is all-knowing!? How can we have free will if God is all-knowing!? If God knows what is going to happen to us, then it is unchangeable, so we do not have free will!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: You can't!. If God has foreknowlegde of your choices and actions this means there is only one possible outcome and no metaphysial escapology attempts can wriggle out of that one!. Temple: Your scenario is flawed, you as an observer only see events, there is no telling what might happen!. One driver may swerve at the last moment or another car might come inbetween them!. Whatever happens, you are not omniscient and in the sense God is supposed to be!. Being omniscient means the ability to see what WILL happen without exception, not what is very likely to happen!. All attempts to rationalise this are based on Leibniz' 'inclining without necessitating' idea and this falls prey to the same basic objection: paths set in stone are not choices!. The only way out is for God to be able to see every possibility and for no choice to be the correct choice, but this can't happen in God's world because the aim is to choose God!. This makes me wonder why God would create people, instill within them free-will and then punish them for making the 'wrong' choice!. Anyone insisting otherwise is confused!.Www@QuestionHome@Com How can we have free will if the manyworlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is the correct theory!? Oh and what does it mean either way, lets say that you can prove that you do not have freewill, is that supposed to mean that I should not hold you accountable if you commit a crime!? What are you trying to get at!? I mean you have to assume one way or the other so take your pick and skip this part and move on to what it means!. Because I mean really I do not see the point of asking the same old questions again and agian and that is basicaly what I see here!. I guess it is easier then come up with a sound reasonably valid answer though but even that is an old song and dance!. So either way you are just going down a well traveled path, I mean there is huge amounts of texts that deal with this subject and reach conclusions, so really what is the point of asking!? I dont get it!?Www@QuestionHome@Com Well, when you say 'unchangeable', you may be conflating two senses of the word 'change'!. Now, if there is one path down which we are (pre)determined to go down, I can't change the future in the sense that the future will happen as determined, and no other future is possible!. However, I CAN change the future in the sense that I might choose today to donate money to a charity!. While I was always going to do this, I have still changed the future, in the sense that, had I not donated, some children would have died, but now that I have donated, those children won't die!. This second meaning of change is perhaps closer to the meaning of 'affect'; I have affected the future!. The question is, if I can change the future in the second sense, do I have free will!? Just because something is predetermined doesn't mean I don't have a choice!. So perhaps free will and determinism are compatible!. However, if you go down this path, then you are in very serious danger of losing the free will theodicy!. EDIT: In response to Temple's car driving thought-experiment - the drivers may have free will, but insofar as your knowledge of what is about to happen, they have no free will!. They do not have the freedom to avoid the crash!. If they did, you wouldn't know that they would crash!. Any free will they have outside of what you know will happen is irrelevant, because God is apparrently omniscient, so the thought experiment doesn't work!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I couldn't explain the answer to you in any rational way!. My answer would be as good as any other's!. Honestly, let's look at what we are working with here!. If God is all-knowing, then God knows that we will do horrible things to each other and does not intervene, God knows that we will accomplish much just to see it destroyed, and God knows that its followers are willing to sacrifice certain things to please it!. Now, if we have free-will, we don't have to do any of that!. If a God knew all of this, it locks us into this sort of mentality that everything that happens is meant to happen that way!. We may not always be able to control the outcome of a situation, but we can always control what we contribute to the outcome, and we can always control our response to the outcome!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Ever play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe !? If you and I play, and you go first, I know you have 1 of 9 moves, and can base my move on yours, then you have 1 of 7, so forth!. So, while God is all knowing, that means God knows the outcomes of ALL our choices, day in and day out, and the effects those choices will have all everyone around us, and so forth!.God knows all the possible outcomes, and those, and those, and those, so we still have free will, but God knows what will we will choose!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Imagine that you are standing on the sixth floor of an office building looking out your corner window!. There is an intersection!. You see that two cars are about to crash!. You are all knowing!. The two car drivers have free will!. You see what is going to happen!. Your knowledge doesn't change anything!. They crash!. You may or may not get excited, disturbed or bothered!. You might try to intervene!. You may just walk back over to your desk and sit down!. Think about it!. You are not confused about God!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I don't agree with Christianity on this basis!. I don't think a man or a woman, or a child, has to go into a building to worship God!. I think God can be worshiped everywhere: I think God can be worshiped before a waterfall, or in a cave!. In a forest, in a city, a car, ontop of a building, in a tree!. This is why I'm Shintoist!. I see God in everything, living and not living, that is natural!. In every tree, I see a God!. In every stone, animal, blade of grass, leaf, bird, I see a God!. But free will is the decision to make your own mind up in your own decisions!. God would see all of these decisions, if you want to believe in one single almighty God, and know which you picked long before you ever chose it!. He would see every path you took in your life, and He would know which one you strode before ever you sat foot to it!. He would know the manner of your death and how you lived your life!.!.!. He would know everything, is what I'm getting at!. And what you willed yourself to do would be included in what He knew!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Well the answer to this question of your lies in the question itself!.!.!!!!!!!! God is all- knowing!.!.!. he knows what is going to happen to us!.!.!. and he knows this because he is the one who writes what we are going to do and what is going to happen to us!.!.!. so if you think "I have a free will" , remember that this thought is created by God and you are saying this statement because God wants you to say this!. I hope that you will be satisfied by my answer!.Www@QuestionHome@Com He is all knowing but he gives us free will to do what we please!. God knows what will happen to us if we do not obey his word, we have the free will to determine whether or not we want to abide!.Www@QuestionHome@Com this will answer every thing http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=jCX0JJ16d!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |