Does God have free will?
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My mistake. Thanks for the correction.
1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,
be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. ...
Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like
a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. ...
1 Timothy 6:16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has
seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. ...
Habakkuk 1:12 LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy LORD, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal.
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How did God bequeath to us physical material bodies when he himself is immaterial?
Perhaps free will is not some magically bestowed special ability, but rather arises out of our limitations by virtue of the things that God has not bequeathed to us. Namely our inability to know the future and our existence bound in time.
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Look, I'm not opposed to either view of God being in time or outside of time, so we could go back and forth with scriptures all day. I'm just maintaining the view that scripture isn't 100% clear on the issue. If you hold the timeless view of God, as most seem to, I'm fine with that. Let's talk about how it relates to free will.
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Interesting question. It's going a little of topic but I'll answer anyway.
I have great difficulty with your view of God constantly controlling every particle in the universe at every moment in time, as this leads to some rather strange conclusions. Our thoughts arise from electrical impulses (electrons) between neurons in our brain. If God was continually controlling every electron then the implication is that God is controlling every single thought we ever have. This would totally negate human free will and make our existence rather pointless.
So where the Bible says 'in him all things hold together', I view it as God upholding the laws of nature that govern the universe rather than him controlling each interaction governed by those laws. Of course God can control any and every particle at any time he wishes to serve his purpose. For example, he does so when he parts the red sea, but has no need to control every atom in the breeze blowing in my garden as the laws of nature do the job sufficiently without intervention.
So I guess in essence I see no necessary limitation to his power, he can do as he wills and non can stop him. But I also see him as a minimalist when it comes to intervening, meaning he leaves the laws of nature doing their job for the most part, only intervening in the most economical way to achieve his will.
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This would suggest that He made the earth, and the stars are there so we can see better at night. The nearly infinite Cosmos doesn't seem like the most economical way to create humans.
I'm going to take Jesus's word that we are his children and the plants and animals are our food and not God's main goal. Otherwise eating people would be fine.
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The wages of Sin is Death. So Adam deserved immediate death. Instead, God gave the gift of "time" which slowly causes degradation and death. Inside this gift, which delays our immediate death, is the "free will" to focus on the intent of God rather than on accumulating power and control over creation. We have the "free will" to change our course from permanent death, to living with God instead. Should we choose that, we get to continue. According to scripture, our destiny is known to God already. So that's a continuous conundrum that can't be explained.
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The scriptures say that the laws of nature are God's will.
So there's that.
Matthew 21:19
Mark 4:39
Job 38:11
Psalm 33:7
Psalm 104:9
Psalm 65:7
Psalm 89:9
Psalm 107:29
He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Matthew 8:26
Matthew 14:32
Psalm 148:8
Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
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SkyWriting said: ↑
Time causes degradation and decay
Entropy: The Ultimate and Most Pervasive Law of Nature
What exactly is the heat death of the universe and where can I find out..
Time causes degradation and decay
Entropy: The Ultimate and Most Pervasive Law of Nature
What exactly is the heat death of the universe and where can I find out..
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There was time before the fall, no? So would Adam still be subject to degradation and death had he made better choices?
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Things wrong with Aristotle...
- Causation: Perhaps the big bang had no preceding cause. Perhaps the randomness of quantum mechanics and the weak force don't either.
- Mind/intellect: He talks about these without mentioning what they are. Are they aspects of matter? In a distinct spiritual realm apart from the physical material realm (this is my view). Are they merely brain structure and function?
- Forms: A chair (for example) has form and matter. If the form is not the matter, what is it? Similar question as for mind.
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That's a good point.
The advancement of time causes degradation and decay.
As the amount of time passed goes toward zero, so does decay.
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The same goes for murder and the entire rest of the Cosmos then.
If the big bang has no cause, then the result of the big bang would
need no reason to continue to exist either. Nor would causation be
required for any results that followed.
Unless you have a reason why "no causation" would suddenly stop?
(Ill give you time to answer in the hope that you are still there.)
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