If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?

Question

This was originally part of this question However, it's really a separate line of logic (and therefore a different question, imo). If others prefer, I can remerge this into the original.

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God is omniscient. He truly, literally knows everything. God knows whether or not I will sin. God can (and does) direct certain people to prevent them from choosing one way or another.

Exodus 4:21 (NIV)

The LORD said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

Clearly, this is an instance where God stepped in and prevent Pharaoh from making the decision.

Since he controls decisions and knows what decisions I will make, do I truly have free will? Or do I only have free will in the inconsequential things (which isn't really free will, after all)?

Answer 1

As each plague struck, Pharaoh was more than willing to let the Israelites to relieve the plague. But as each curse was lifted, his pride took hold and his heart was hardened out of stubbornness, not because of God deactivating his free moral agency.

God knew the type of man Pharaoh was, and what his reaction to the plagues (and the lifting of each plague) would be. Pharaoh's heart was hardened because of his reaction to God's signs and wonders (i.e. "God hardened Pharaoh's heart").

Here are a few quotes from the Exodus story that illustrate why Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

Exodus 8:15 (KJV) But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Exodus 8:31-32 (KJV) And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Exodus 9:6-7 (KJV) And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Answer 2

A simple answer given by the Orthodox seems to be that God foreknows, but that simply means he knows what we are going to choose before we choose it. This does not mean that he makes the choices.

As an example of this approach we have a few quotes:

St. Methodius of Olympus ca.260-martyred 311 a.d.

Now those who decide that man is not possessed of free-will, and affirm that he is governed by the unavoidable necessities of fate . . . are guilty of impiety toward God Himself, making Him out to be the cause and author of human evils.

St. Maximus ca. 580-662 a.d.

After quite some time, three men of high rank, Theodosius, Bishop of Caesarea in Bithynia, and the patricians Paul and Theodosius, were sent by Constans and Patriarch Peter to win over the saint. They were joined by the Bishop of Bizye, and alternately flattered and threatened Maximus, testing his faith and posing various questions. They began by introducing themselves, then requested Maximus to sit down. Bishop Theodosius asked, "How are you faring, my lord Abba Maximus?"

"Exactly as God knew I would before the ages," replied the saint. "He foreordained the circumstances of my life, which is guarded by providence."

"How can that be?" objected Theodosius. "Did God foreknow and actually foreordain our deeds from eternity?"

The saint said, "He foreknew our thoughts, words, and deeds, which nevertheless remain within our power to control; and He foreordained what befalls us. The latter is not subject to our control, but to the divine will."

"Explain more exactly what is in our power, and what is not," requested Bishop Theodosius.

"My lord, you know all this," answered Saint Maximus. "You only ask to try your servant."

The Bishop admitted, "Truly, I do not know. I wish to understand what we can control and what we cannot, and how God foresaw one and foreordained the other."

The venerable Maximus explained, "We do not directly control whether blessings will be showered upon us or chastisements will befall us, but our good and evil deeds most certainly depend on our will. It is not ours to choose whether we are in health or sickness, but we make determinations likely to lead to one or the other. Similarly, we cannot simply decide that we shall attain the kingdom of heaven or be plunged into the fire of Gehenna, but we can will to keep the commandments or transgress them."

(The Life of Our Holy Monastic Father Maximus the Confessor and Martyr)

St. John Damascene ca. 676-749 a.d.

We ought to understand that while God knows all things beforehand, yet He does not predetermine all things. For He knows beforehand those things that are in our power, but He does not predetermine them. For it is not His will that there should be wickedness nor does He choose to compel virtue. So that predetermination is the work of the divine command based on fore-knowledge. But on the other hand God predetermines those things which are not within our power in accordance with His prescience. For already God in His prescience has prejudged all things in accordance with His goodness and justice.

Bear in mind, too, that virtue is a gift from God implanted in our nature, and that He Himself is the source and cause of all good, and without His co-operation and help we cannot will or do any good thing, But we have it in our power either to abide in virtue and follow God, Who calls us into ways of virtue, or to stray from paths of virtue, which is to dwell in wickedness, and to follow the devil who summons but cannot compel us. For wickedness is nothing else than the withdrawal of goodness, just as darkness is nothing else than the withdrawal of light While then we abide in the natural state we abide in virtue, but when we deviate from the natural state, that is from virtue, we come into an unnatural state and dwell in wickedness.

(Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II, Chap XXX)

Answer 3

God being omniscient typically is understood to mean that God knows the future, and so He knows what people will do and any choice we make is therefore, in some fashion, "predetermined". I think this is more a misunderstanding of what it means when we say that God is all-knowing.

It is true to say that God is omniscient (Psalms 147:4-5). However, we also are given free will, and God gave us the ability to make choices. These don't necessarily contradict. Firstly, we understand that God exists outside time (as we know that God is eternal and created the universe, and therefore created time). That means He doesn't operate on our timeline. You may think of this in light that the fabric of the universe itself is composed of spacetime, and space and time are intertwined--you cannot have one without the other. God, existing outside of that, is not confined to the bounds of time.

You can look at our timeline as if it was a path on a map. There is a clear starting point and path leading up to where we are right now (our history), but the future is less certain. There are clear paths on which we may take, and God can see all the possible choices and outcomes at the same time. He also knows our hearts, so He knows what path we may be inclined to take at the moment, but He doesn't necessarily know our ultimate choice. This is what is meant by God being all-knowing. He doesn't know what our future will be, but He knows all possibilities of what it may be, which includes the path we will ultimately choose to take.

In regards to Pharaoh, that is a tricky passage but God isn't affecting his free will. Pharaoh chose to refuse them from leaving, but because Pharaoh had sinned against God, God removed his protection from him. This is similar to what is stated in the New Testament, when it is said that when we sin, we are no longer under the auspices of God's protection. God is said to have hardened Pharaoh's heart, just as our hearts become hardened when we sin (Romans 1:28). He did not make Pharaoh sin.

This ultimately was to God's plan, though, as God works all things to good.. Through the signs that God performed through Moses, the Jewish people came to believe and it formed much of the foundation for the Jewish faith for years to come there and after (the Passover, of the 10th sign, and Moses' handing down of God's Law to the people of Israel). In some ways it foreshadowed Christ's coming, as well (Jesus being the sacrificial lamb, as stated by St. Augustine in 435).

You would remember that Pharaoh eventually decided to let them leave. That shows that Pharaoh still had his free will. And later he eventually gave pursuit. But the term "God hardened his heart" is more a statement on what happens when we sin, instead of a description of God bypassing our free will. God is allowing us to harden our hearts, but it is not a direct action.

Answer 4

From a purely practical standpoint, ie removing all theological considerations for a moment, we have free will. I can decide to get up and have a glass of water right now. I can flex and relax the muscles in my fingers to make a fist or open my hand. Perceptually I am controlling my body, my thoughts, and making decisions. When I interact with other people, I perceive an ability to formulate my responses independently of their interaction with me.

Whether I have complete free will, limited free will, or all my actions are predetermined, I cannot perceive anything beyond this immediate moment, and I cannot perceive active outside interference with my free will, and therefore the only logical way to act is as if I have free will. The many verses in Scripture instructing us to behave, choose, and think certain ways seems to back this up - for example:

Jos 24:15 NIV But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Pro 1:10 NIV My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.

And yes, I am aware of other passages which support predestination and would seem to contra-indicate free will. My only point is regardless of the flow of time and causality from God's perspective, we don't have this eternal or future perspective available to us and must practice making the best choices assuming that we do have free will.

Answer 5

Think of it this way. You are thinking that God's will is some kind of fate, and it may be or may be not. But just because God knows what you are going to do, it does not mean that God controls you.

There is a difference in being omniscient and being able to control your actions. God does not interfere with our will unless it is necessary. Why? Because He wanted to give us free will.

Answer 6

Free-will and choice are concepts that only make sense to us because we are bound to linear time and we travel time from past to future. There is nothing preventing a supernatural entity from seeing our whole life at once, including all our choices, and being all-knowing while preserving our free will.

Of course though, this only shows how mysterious and unknowable is the concept of God--but then again this should not be a problem for people approaching God through Faith (which absolutely does not depend on understanding an unknowable God).

Answer 7

Much of the Old Testament does not apply to our life. For instance, we are not likely to be asked to set our son on fire.

We do have complete free will. But that does not mean its for us to use. I prefer to believe that it is intended for us to give it up. We can see evidence of it in the Bible and throughout society regardless of what time period. The will of people leads them down the wrong path every time. We are cursed with the burden of selfishness. We cannot overcome the temptations of this life by our own will. So without God, we are willfully cursed. But by surrendering our will and following His, our life becomes something completely different. Some have said that our will mixes with God's. NOT. We have been told that we cannot serve two masters. It means that our will must be God's and only God's.

Think about the virtues that comes from carrying God's will. Humility, compassion for others, empathy, modesty, and self sacrifice. Jesus displayed all these things. And He exercised them through self deprivation and constant striving for God's approval. He was a faithful servant in every way. And He told us to do the same. The virtues do not come any other way. For us to be unwilling to sacrifice this life is the same as following our own will.

Now with those things said, you might wonder, then how can millions of people today even know God at all since they seem to be led by their own will? They don't know God. That is my answer. They are deceived into following a false doctrine. Popular religion is false. The churches carry it. Therefore, one must follow God's knowledge as it is written. You cannot attend church one day a week and learn all there is to know. YOu have to devote yourself to learning and understanding God's will. it must become you overall goal in life. It cannot be a hobby. There is too much to know.

Answer 8

I've heard two great statements from prominent Christian philosophers on this matter. And, I think they accurately represent and explain the core Christian free-will beliefs quite nicely.

The first is from Professor Peter Kreeft, and I'll paraphrase it because I can't recall which lecture it came from (so, link pending ...). But in effect, everyone who writes any sort of fictional (and sometimes nonfictional) literature can adequately understand the basic concept of free will. You start with a story, and that story has characters. The author writes the characters, but he also allows the characters to be who they are, to make their own choices. They're predestined in some respect and they're placed into the the story by the author. But, a good author doesn't contort them or bend them to achieve his end. He let's them make their own decisions. He lets them develop "on their own" whilst still knowing and zeroing in on the story's ultimate end.

And the second statement, which fits very well with Kreeft's idea, is from C. S. Lewis.

The love of God lights up the fires of hell.

I don't have the full context, but when C.S. Lewis wrote this, I think his intention was to primarily note how the knowledge of, but absence of God's love is what primarily "burns" us in hell. However, it's also notable and implied here that God sustains us in everything we do. As we make wrong choices, if God cannot change our minds (because He doesn't infringe on our free will), He essentially enables us.

In other words, if Pharaoh's is going to choose a hardened heart, God, by His very nature and role, hardens Pharaoh's heart.

God's call and command is to love. But, in keeping with free will and His own love for our being, God ultimately enables and fuels every decision we make, for better or worse. He doesn't eliminate characters from the story when the characters turn evil. It would destroy the story. It would ruin the ending, which is ultimately good. Rather, He maintains the integrity of the story, of which He knows the ultimate end is good, and He writes (hardens the heart of) the character as he or she is.

Answer 9

In a comment to sidran32's answer you say:

Therefore, he would be able to manipulate every aspect of it so that our choices are not our own.

Yes, I believe he would be able to do that if he wanted to, but he won't.

Just as you would let your dog run into an electric fence so that it would learn to not try to attack the neighbor dogs through the regular fence, he won't control our lives to prevent us from making mistakes and, through them, learning.

On the other hand, regarding him blessing our lives when we're in a time of need:

If you heard your dog yipping and it had gotten caught on the fence and is continually getting shocked; you'd go help it.

He loves us and will help/comfort those who call on him in his own time.