Questions tagged [free-will]
The ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints
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In open theism, if God knows every possible future, wouldn't this result in the same thing as Molinism?
Open theism posits that God possesses comprehensive knowledge of every possible future but is unaware of which particular future will be actualized due to human free will. Wouldn't this result in the ...
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Does the Christian God know His own future and is He unable to change that future?
If the Christian God is omniscient, He knows everything, and if He is omnipotent, He is all powerful. But these two statements seem to be contradictory. So if a Christian believes that his/her God ...
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Determining General vs. Effectual Call from Bible verses using the same word "call"
I'm really trying to study the topic of election versus free will. A common theme supporting election is the difference between a general call and an effectual call. But there seems to be no ...
Amanda
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Is belief in God a matter of choice, a bestowed gift, or a result of reasoned consideration of evidence?
It’s possible that I may be proposing a false trichotomy, but when considering belief in God, I identify at least three distinct possibilities:
Belief as a Choice: Belief in God might be a decision ...
user61679
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What is an overview of the positions regarding the relationship between God's foreknowledge and its impact on Free will?
The relationship between God's foreknowledge (or omniscience) and the free will of humans seems to be a complicated topic where multiple positions exist.
Regardless of my position (which you can read ...
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How do non-Open-Theists reason a basis for "Free will"?
The underlying issue/debate that I am having is the reconciliation of God's omniscience (the foreknowledge part in particular) with free will (or lack of it, resulting in Fatalism).
In short: If God ...
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In the Catholic view, why did the Devil and his angels rebel? [duplicate]
As stated above. I know the out-of-pocket answer is "pride", but I'm curious.
The angels all had full knowledge of the choice and the resultant consequences, yet a third rebelled.
Was it ...
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What is the difference between the various perspectives on God's sovereignty/omniscience and man's free will?
I've been studying the topic of Open Theism in comparison to other perspectives on God's sovereignty, omniscience, and man's free will.
As I understand it, on a scale spanning from full on ...
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Why do bad things happen to the innocent?
OK, so to start, I searched this topic on the exchange and found no answers that were satisfying. I am not questioning God, I just have a hard time coming to terms with why bad things happen to the ...
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How do "skeptic's prayer" advocates address the objection that the prayer is unnecessary because belief is a decision?
In my prior question, Is there scriptural support for the "skeptic's prayer" as a legitimate plea that God might be open to answering?, several responses concurred that this form of ...
user61679
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Is it possible for an unbeliever who is steadfastly unconvinced or skeptical to genuinely embrace a saving faith in Christ?
I often find it helpful to illustrate my point with extreme cases. Let's examine some well-known examples of unbelievers: Graham Oppy, a distinguished atheist philosopher specializing in philosophy of ...
user61679
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Is faith a skill that can be developed over time? [closed]
Is faith a skill that can be developed and made stronger through effort, following a method? If such a method exists, can it be tested, and by any human being? In other words, if the most skeptical ...
user61679
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Why make an effort to get saved if my life is pre destined by God?
The Bible does state vey many times that God already knows our earthly and eternal destinies. Jesus chose Judas Iscariot because he knew his destiny was to betray him. Jesus knew Paul would try to ...
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What scriptural examples exist of people converting to righteousness from overt wickedness on account of a miraculous occurrence (e.g. Paul)?
A brief bit of context (feel free to edit it out if it's not appropriate for the site, but I think it'll help clarify exactly what I'm trying to achieve with this question): I am currently studying ...
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Is there a theological link between the views of Cassian and Pelagius and Arminianism?
During the fifth century, John Cassian claimed that the initial steps to salvation were in the power of each individual, unaided by grace. He reacted against Augustine’s view of the irresistible ...
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Does the free will rebuttal to the problem of evil still work for those who believe in old earth/evolution?
When asked "If there is an omnipotent and good God, why is there suffering in the world?", the most common response Christians give is something along the lines of "Suffering is a ...
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How does Christianity define "character"?
Recently I've been partaking in multiple discussions regarding the concept of free will on this site (for the curious, see here, here, here, here), mainly because of its relevance in the context of ...
user61679
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Latter-day Saint understanding of James 1:13-15, God's omnibenevolence and God's free will?
In my previous question How do proponents of the “free-will defense” against the problem of evil explain that God can be free and immune to moral evil at the same time?, I presented the following ...
user61679
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Are there any other agreed-upon definitions of "free will" within mainstream Christianity?
I've frequently engaged in discussions about Christianity that have revolved around free will, particularly with regards to predestination (and recently as of writing this question, sinlessness) and ...
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What is the basis for the belief "It is possible to have free-will and be incapable of sinning, but it is not possible to be created in that state"?
Some Christians believe that "It is possible to have free-will and at the same time be incapable of sinning, but it is not possible to be created in that state".
For example, in my recently ...
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How do Christians that believe in creatio ex nihilo answer the question of why human beings are not created with a perfect character from the outset?
This question is a spin-off of the previous discussion How do proponents of the “free-will defense” against the problem of evil explain that God can be free and immune to moral evil at the same time?.
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How do proponents of the “free-will defense” against the problem of evil explain that God can be free and immune to moral evil at the same time?
The free-will defense is an argument commonly attributed to Alvin Plantinga, who developed it as a response to the logical problem of evil. However, in developing this argument Plantinga unwittingly ...
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Is there a name for the belief that some individuals would always freely reject salvation no matter the world in which they are created?
When God created the world, He had to accept the fact that some of His creatures would sin and ultimately fail to repent and be saved (I'm assuming that universalism is false, to be clear). For ...
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Why does God punish us for our will?
This is a huge question. Do let me know if its immensity makes it off-topic for this site. I will start out my question with a quote from Schopenhauer:
A man can do what he wills, but not will what ...
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Is praying futile given that God respects our Free Will and is omniscient?
If God respects our free will and doesn't interfere in our decisions, why should we pray for things (petition)?
For example, if I pray for my daily bread, God cannot force me to go to the store, buy ...
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Is the will of God always fulfilled?
Is the will of God always fulfilled?
In Mark 14:36 it reads
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take
away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou
wilt.
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When scripture says, God "knows all things", does that include every action and decision every human will choose to make in the future?
I've often heard of the concept of Omniscience which is based on scripture that states God knows all things.
Isaiah 46:10
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not ...
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Does Predestination apply to all people or just the major characters God needed for His plans for us to unfold?
Certainly verses like Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5 are about God and important figures agreeing that God created THEM as individuals with a soul and spirit before they were born (or even before He ...
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What is the biblical basis for Semi-Pelagianism?
Broadly speaking, Semi-Pelagianism is the idea that while we are born sinners, we are capable of seeking God without a supernatural "override" of our nature, such as that of Calvinism's ...
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Are there Christian groups or denominations that believe that direct doxastic voluntarism is true (i.e. that atheists can choose to believe in God)?
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxastic_voluntarism:
Doxastic voluntarism is a philosophical view that people elect their own beliefs.[1] That is, that subjects have a certain amount of control ...
user50422
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What is the Biblical Basis for saying that people determine for themselves whether they will be saved or not?
In trying to understand what the bible says on the topic of who decides whether we go to heaven, I was reading this page on What determines whether you'll go to heaven or hell. I found it to be a bit ...
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Arminianism's Human's Free Will in light of Proverbs 16:4 & Proverbs 16:33 (since said verses strongly suggest support for Calvinism's predestination)
Proverbs 16:4
The Lord has made everything for [c]its own purpose,
Even the wicked for the day of evil.
16:4 Hebrew OT: Westminster Leningrad Codex כֹּ֤ל פָּעַ֣ל יְ֭הוָה
לַֽמַּעֲנֵ֑הוּ וְגַם־רָ֝שָׁ֗ע ...
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How can God be loving and just whilest creating people for His wrath? I cannot wrap my head around Calvinism!
I just recently left a church that I attended for nearly a decade that is rooted in Calvinist beliefs. I am really struggling with their conception of the Lord and their understanding of the scripture....
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What was the Early Church's (ante-Nicene period) view of the interplay between free will (or lack thereof) and salvation?
Did the Early Church (ante-Nicene period) believe in libertarian free will?
Did the Early Church (ante-Nicene period) believe in determinism?
Did the Early Church (ante-Nicene period) believe that ...
user50422
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According to Arminians, why do they find Calvinism distasteful or inaccurate? [duplicate]
R.C. Sproul, a Reformed thinker said in his book “Chosen by God” that: “Jimmy Swaggart has made it clear that he considers the Reformed view a demonic heresy.” (Page 7)
Obviously, disagreements can ...
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Soteriology: How does God save free moral agents?
Gen. 3:1-7 shows that sin was a choice. How does the freedom of choice intersect with saving faith and the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin? This question is for all who believe the Bible ...
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What is the Biblical basis for Synergism?
From Wikipedia:
In Christian theology, synergism is the position of those who hold that salvation involves some form of cooperation between divine grace and human freedom. Synergism is upheld by the ...
user50422
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What is the Biblical basis for Conditional Election?
From Wikipedia:
In Christian theology, conditional election is the belief that God chooses for eternal salvation those whom he foresees will have faith in Christ. This belief emphasizes the ...
user50422
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According to Reformed Calvinists, are all of a person's volitional states causally determined by prior causes in time?
From the Wikipedia article on Determinism:
Determinism is the philosophical view that all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history ...
user50422
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What is the biblical basis for NOT believing that everyone has a fair chance to be saved?
In my previous question If everyone has a fair chance to be saved, then how is this reconciled with Romans 10:11-17 & John 6:44?, I laid out two conditions for scoping purposes:
This question is ...
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If everyone has a fair chance to be saved, then how is this reconciled with Romans 10:11-17 & John 6:44?
This question is scoped to Christians who believe that:
humans have libertarian free will (or at least are given temporarily some form of genuine freedom of the will through divine grace in specific ...
user50422
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According to Roman Catholicism, Mary loved God of her own free will. Does her love mean less to God because grace protected her from sin?
The Immaculate Conception shows that God could, in theory, protect each person from the contracting the taint of original sin. An argument as to why God allows His children to contract original sin is ...
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From a Roman Catholic view, after God creates a soul, does He let the soul to choose if they want to enter a body? Can a soul refuse to be embodied?
The Catholic Catechism says this:
366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does ...
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Could God allow all people to be born without the stain of original sin, as He did with Mary? [duplicate]
God was able to prevent Mary from being born with the stain original sin. If God can do this with one person, He can do this with everyone. This suggests that God forces everyone but Mary, against ...
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According to the Catholic Church, Does God create each new individual with original sin?
According to the Catholic Catechism, every spiritual soul is directly created by God. At the moment the individual is created by God, does it have original sin? Or is original sin added later?
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Why did God create people who would reject him? [closed]
God created people with free will, and some of these people will freely choose salvation, while some others will freely choose to reject salvation.
God could have chosen to create only the subset of ...
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Romans 9 from an Arminian Perspective
Arminians, how do you interpret Romans 9 from an Arminian perspective? Specifically, verses 13-23.
Specifically, the traditional Calvinistic understanding of Romans 9 is that it teaches predestination ...
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According to believers in libertarian free will, do all human beings have a genuine chance to freely choose to live a perfect sinless life?
Premise of this question: first of all, I'm basing this question on my common sense understanding that moral responsibility and judgement presuppose that human beings have the capacity to make free ...
user50422
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How do Open Theists respond to Bible verses claiming God knows the future?
These questions pretty clearly show that God knows the future:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:...
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Why did Jesus raise people from the dead, when they would have been in heaven?
The way I understand it from the bible is that you can live well you entire life, but if you lose your faith and then you die you won't go to heaven. So I'm sure that Satan would love the ability to ...
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