Board index ‹ Free Will

[Wicker]

Does God have free will? And if he does, how does it differ from a human’s free will?

[jimwalton]

Free will isn't really free. It can't possibly be, and that is not what anyone means by free will. Free will doesn't mean we as humans can choose to fly to Saturn on a hot dog if we so choose, or that we are free to turn ourselves in armadillos. That's not what free will means. It means we have the capability to choose what is properly within my capabilities. Teleporting myself to the rings of Saturn is an option in contradiction to my capability, and is therefore impossible and not within the scope of possibilities for me. Free will always has limitations, or parameters.

In the same way, God has free will, but he's not free to sin. He's not free to renege on His promises. He's not free to be evil. These are options in contradiction to his character, which is impossible, and therefore not within the scope of possibilities for Him.

God has freedom to make choices, which can only possibly include what is good. (Otherwise, God is just a self-contradiction.) But choosing among the imponderable number of good possibilities is not only verifiable free will, but the free exercise of it.

Free will is necessary for these to be such things as intelligence and love. Therefore, since God is omniscient and He is love, we have to go with the fact that He necessarily has free will. That will, however, is bound by the constraints of reality and consistency in His character. We read in the Bible that God responds to human response (Jer. 18.1-12)—that requires free will.

[Kill Us]

Does God know all of his future decisions or is he just all knowing in regards the the universe he created?

[jimwalton]

If we subscribe to the idea that God is not bound by time and doesn't exist in the dimension of time, your question is a bit absurd. To God there is no such thing as "future."

[Kill Us]

Then wouldn't the idea of "free to make choices" be just as absurd?

[jimwalton]

Being free to make choices isn't absurd in any situation. Intelligence requires it; the progression of life requires it; interacting in relationships requires it. Because God can see all of time at once doesn't negate the reality of the interaction within it with people who are bound by time. It is impossible for us to conceive of a timeless environment, but the theory of relativity allows us to toy with its possibilities. But timelessness isn't thought to make reality impossible.