And this is precisely my point.
How can we have true free will if everything is predetermined?
Is free will Biblical?
I do not know the answers to these questions.
How can we have true free will if everything is predetermined?
Is free will Biblical?
I do not know the answers to these questions.
1) No world at all
2) A world where there is no such thing as good or evil
3) A world where people would only choose good
4) A world where people could choose between good and evil.
Out of all of these possibilities, only in a world with option of good and evil can love exist. In the bible we are told the story of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There have been many questions about this. Why would God put it there? Well, by putting the tree there, and telling Adam not to eat of it, God gave humankind the choice to follow God's command, which is good, or to not follow his commands, evil. By giving man this choice, love is now possible. For where love is forced, there is no love. But where love is chosen, there is love. Now how can we have free will if everything is predetermined. I mentioned this same issue in another post i did before. I think we often confuse God's omniscience for predetermination. Just because God knows all, does not mean that we do not have free will. I often use this example to think of it. if I offered my sister a pigeon or a bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant, i know she is going to pick the sandwich. I did not force to do it, but I knew her well enough to know what she would pick before she did it. This is how God works. He knows us so intimately. He formed us in seclusion, numbered the hairs on our heads, and thinks about us endlessly. Isn't that beautiful. That God would expose to evil because it was a necessity for us to have the choice to love him and have a relationship with him!! It is to me!