The Problem of Free Will, A Theological Problem. Options

[NoSex]

Alright, the purpose of this thread is to discuss the theological Problem of Free Will. So, under common christian theolgy, God is described as being all-knowing (omniscient) and all powerful (omnipotent). Men are also described as having free will. This is at the heart of the reality of theological fatalism. Solving this issue is vital to christian theology as it becomes an inherent contradiction as well as threatening to the christian conception of salvation and damnation.

I hold that God's infallible foreknowledge makes impossible man's free will. If god knows the future, how can we choose our own path?

Discuss.

[racoons > you]

oh i dont know...

if god is omnipotent, he can stop himself being omniscient, and therefore humans can choose their own destiny

[NoSex]

oh i dont know...

if god is omnipotent, he can stop himself being omniscient, and therefore humans can choose their own destiny

But then he would no longer be omniscient, and no longer God. So, unless God has the power (well, he is supposed to be omnipotent?) to make himself not God, then no. That wouldn't exactly work.

Isn't it fun to push the conception of a christian God. The further you dive into it, the more and more incoherent it seems to become. At the end of a discussion, you might find yourself with a simply meaningless web of incompatible properties and verbalistic nonsense.

The question still remains, "How can we have free will, if God has ultimate and absolute foreknowledge?"

[Paradox of Life]

The question still remains, "How can we have free will, if God has ultimate and absolute foreknowledge?"

Wow, I never thought of this and it's a really good point to bring up.

When I think of something to say in response to this question, I just think of destiny. If God has 'ultimate and absolute foreknowledge', I would think he'd see the future as ultimate and absolute, like the big picture. Man has free will to an extent, but ultimately it will end up a certain way. Like all the little battles and accidents and poor decisions made during the Civil War and The Revolutionary War all led up to the United States and its economic and social stability now and that's what was destined for it. And God could foresee that and by destiny, Man achieved this goal. Well, what if everyone decided not to fulfill this goal? That's not possible because one ignorant mind really can't change a million other minds. It's like when you see hundreds of fish swimming down a river by current, you know their destination, but it's their free will to swim that way. And if one decides to swim backwards, uh, oh well.

I hope that's what you're talking about or I'll just have been babbling for nothing.

[*mipadi*]

When I think of something to say in response to this question, I just think of destiny. If God has 'ultimate and absolute foreknowledge', I would think he'd see the future as ultimate and absolute, like the big picture. Man has free will to an extent, but ultimately it will end up a certain way. Like all the little battles and accidents and poor decisions made during the Civil War and The Revolutionary War all led up to the United States and its economic and social stability now and that's what was destined for it.

But what's the cutoff, then? If God can see a hundred years into the future, surely he can see a month, or a week, or a day or an hour or even ten seconds, can't he?