How Does Our All Knowing God Give Us Free Will?
I often ponder the concept of free will. God says we have free will, but do we really if He’s all knowing? If He already knows what’s going to happen, what decisions we’re going to make, what the outcomes will be, how do we have free will? How is our life about choices? So, aren’t we more like God’s pawns? One can say yes because we were put on Earth to please and serve God.
I’m an educator, a scholar of many subjects . . . an academic. I was taught to ask questions. Even the hard ones. The cornerstone of Christianity is faith. God didn’t intend for us to know everything and He doesn’t reveal everything to us. So does that mean we are not supposed to question God, to ask Him questions? Does faith take it to that extreme? Just believe. Don’t ask questions because there aren’t answers to everything. Just believe because God said so?
So again, I ask. How do we have free will if God is all knowing? This is a paradox. The answer is because God says so in his Word. Everything about this premise is based on faith because that means you also have to take the Bible as the word of God.
I’m going to have to study this topic to find the answers that I seek . . . pray for me.
I really believe God wants us to ask the honest questions you’re talking about. I’m afraid the answers sometimes run contrary to the traditions we’ve been taught though. Questions can get you in trouble with some people, but we need to seek the answers, and pass them around.
Thanks for your response. How do you handle the contradictions that you find? I like your screen name. That’s just how I feel. It’s a mystery . . . What do we do with topics that are unexplainable?
I was talking to my mother about this topic. She made a good point: the whole garden of Eden fiasco was the result of man’s curiosity and look where it got us . . . hmmm . . . God instructed Adam and Eve not to touch the tree and they did. God didn’t feel it was necessary for them to know why; to just follow His instructions . . . can too much curiosity be detrimental to us?
I believe that if you ask enough honest questions, many “contradictions” are automatically resolved. I think that’s because the partial answers to individual questions come together, and form a clearer picture. Faith plays a huge role in this, because if you believe there are answers, you will look for them. It’s like the Lord said, “Seek and ye shall find.”
I’ve tried to caution others about the endless quest for knowledge without the guidance of God. Some have thought that I’m against knowledge and education because of that. My problems with grammar are thought to be evidence of that. Actually, I respect the work of scientists and educators a great deal. I think we’re still learning why God warned us about the tree of knowledge, but we haven’t learned the full lesson yet. Curiosity with faith in God is great, but disastrous without it.
I’ve tried to write something about these things. “Freewill and God’s Will,” “the Tree of Knowledge,” “the Warning,” and “the Kingdom,” in my March archives, and “the Man of Sorrows,” in April, relate some of my views. Thanks for your post.
Thanks, I will definitely read.