Saturday 12 May 2007

Random quote

God: You can't mess with free will.
Bruce: Can I ask why?
God: Yes you can, that's the beauty of it!

Bruce Almighty

8 comments:

  1. Where is "Free Will" in the Bible?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Genesis 3 is the first manifestation. The rest of the Bible continues along the lines of free will. Cain's murder of Abel, worldwide disobedience leading to the punishment by the flood, the Tower of Babel, and that's just the first few chapters of Genesis. There are so many instances where the Children of Israel exercised their free will in straying from God's path for them in the Old Testament. One of my favorites was right after Moses first received the Ten Commandments and returned and found them worshipping a golden calf. I could continue on. It should not be necessary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. filmowl, I think duckman has adequately answered that. By free will do you mean the words or concept? If you mean concept it is there a plenty. You being a Calvinist may lead you dispute my interpretation of some passages though the straightforward interpretation of many implies free will. Try

    And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Duckman and Bethyada, you are both begging the question. Choices made by people in the Bible do not prove that the choices were made independent of God.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So, filmowl, it seems that your question is actually not "Where is 'Free Will' in the Bible" but "Does free will exist?" That one is tougher.

    I think that we can agree that if free will exists, the Bible certainly deals with it in detail.

    I'll have to think about that one and get back to you. In the meantime, you might check out this webpage:

    http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/

    And I am sure that there are many others that are of comparable quality.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Though I did read this in my bible this morning:

    I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. (Philemon 1:12-14)

    ReplyDelete
  7. If there is no free will then we are God's puppets.

    If we are God's puppets how can there be a final judgement?

    If there is a final judgement and no free will, how can God be called Just?

    If there is a hell and there is no free will then God is the ultimate evil.

    ReplyDelete

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