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Is God's Omniscience Incompatible With Our Free Will?

No.

But if God knows what we're going to do, then doesn't that mean it's impossible for us to otherwise?

No.  The people who say this are confusing "knowing" with "controlling".  What God foreknows depends on what we will ultimately do.  What we will ultimately do does not depend on what God foreknows.

Let's say that you need to choose between "A" and "B" tomorrow.  God knows you will choose "A".  Doesn't that mean it's impossible that you will choose "B"?

No.  I could choose "B".  In which case, God knows that I will choose "B".  What God knows depends on what we will choose, not the other way around.

But I said that God knows you will choose "A"!

The only way that God knows I will choose "A" is if we're assuming that I will choose "A", that, for whatever reason, it's impossible that I will choose "B".  Okay, so if it's impossible that I will choose "B", then, yes, I will not choose "B".  But that's true whether an omniscient God exists or not.  So your question here is *assuming* that I don't have free will.  It's not something which is proven by the test, but an assumption on which the test is based.

Okay.  But let's suppose that we put this to a test.  You are about to choose between "A" and "B".  God tells you, in advance, which one you will choose.  Would you then be capable of choosing otherwise?

Yes.

A-ha!  If you did, then God would be wrong.  In which case, He is not omniscient!

No, because God, being omniscient, would have known that I would choose otherwise.  God knows that if He tells me I will choose "A", then I will choose "B" God knows that if He tells me I will choose "B", then I will choose "A".  There is nothing here that God doesn't know.

Sure there is.  God doesn't know what you will choose!

But there is no "what I will choose".  What I ultimately choose is dependent upon what God does.  He is capable of changing my actions based on what He decides to tell me.  God also has free will, you see.

Let's get back to the test.  What would happen?

I believe that God would simply refuse to take part in the test.

Let's say that God is honor-bound to go through with the test, to tell you what you will choose.  And then let's say that you are honor-bound to choose the opposite of what He predicts.  What would the result be?

One possible option is that God would cause me to mishear Him.  Like, let's say He says "you will choose A".  He would cause me to hear "you will choose B".  Then, using my free will, and honor-bound to choose the opposite, I will choose A.  Exactly as He predicted!  I would still have free will, and God would still have predicted correctly.

But isn't that cheating?

Yes.  No one says God can't cheat.

Okay, I'm saying it.  What if we did this test, and God couldn't cheat.  What would the results be?

Say that God predicts I will choose "A".  So I choose "B".  In that case, God predicts I will choose "B".  So I choose "A".  In other words, God would predict both "A" and "B", and I would choose both "A" and "B".

But you're only allowed to choose one, and God can only predict one.

Yes, and therefore this would cause a parallel dimension to open up, one in which God predicted "A" and one in which God predicted "B".

And He'd be wrong in both dimensions, right?

Nope.  He'd be right in both dimensions, since right after He told me the two predictions, I would switch between the two dimensions.  In other words, in one dimension, I'd hear God say "you will choose A", and then, just before I choose "B", I would switch over to the dimension in which God predicted "B".  And His prediction would be right in that dimension.  And in the other dimension, in which God predicted "B", I'd switch over to the dimension in which God predicted "A".  I'd have free will in both dimensions, and God would have predicted correctly in both dimensions.  Anyone in either dimension watching this test would see me choose exactly as God predicted.

So you're saying that God would create a parallel dimension in order to make the test work?

It would be the logical result of the test that you described, and would work exactly the same, I believe, if we used a time-traveler instead of God.  A time-traveler who, after hearing my choice, went back in time to tell me my choice before I predicted it, would cause the exact same thing to happen.

 

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Hey, this is for Confused-cious. Look into some of the meanings of Hell, death, lake of fire, etc. at they pertain to the Bible. It will probably end up with you having more questions than when you started, but that's not always a bad thing. This reason I say this is that I do not agree with the whole "choose Jesus or you burn in hell for eternity". It does not sit with the Gospels and I feel that it is an attitude created in the Dark Ages. I am not 100% certain in my interpretations of some parts of the Bible, but they do come with research and not hollow opinion. I feel that their are a couple of possibilities as to how the afterlife can be viewed as described in the Bible. It is possible that the afterlife for non-believers is a place "without God" rather than burning in hell for eternity. I just can't see God torturing people. It doesn't make any sense. Now a place without God could mean that they simply do not exist or that they literally exist in a place where God does not influence or intervene in their lives. Either way, they get what they want and/or expect. God's punishment is just (as said in the Bible) so eternal torture makes no sense. Jesus says that "it will be easier to fit a camel through a needle's eye than to get into heaven" (am I right?) and he may mean that some Christians don't make it as well. Wait, what you talkin' bout Willis? Well, the Bible also says that Jesus will reign as king of Earth. I somewhat believe that Jesus will be the king of Earth and people will live in paradise much like the garden of Eden. That was God's original intention so why would he not see it through. I think those that make it to heaven are only the most truly righteous (think Job, Enoch, etc.) and Jesus will be (much like he is in prayer) our mediator to God in heaven. Like I said, I may be wrong, but much of Revelations appears to me it could be interpreted this way. Basically, what I am saying is that I think what happens after we die is much more complicated than "You go to heaven, you go to hell, enjoy your stay". That sort of thought allows us to "judge" who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, but we aren't supposed to do that. I think in the end God will have a plan for how to handle it all without eternally torturing 90% of all who have ever lived. His judgement will be just, so think about that for a second. If you think its wrong to torture people eternally and to not give people a second chance, don't you think God probably has the same sense of mercy. People need to put a little more merit in God's love rather than focusing on wrath.Posted by berniecooke on Jun 25, 2012

My answer is that even the life of a non-believer has value. The value of one's life isn't exclusively about whether they go to Heaven or hell. We all affect the world while we're here. I have many non-Christian friends, and never wish that they hadn't been born, even though I'm sure many, if not all, of them will probably not become saved. And on top of that, many non-believers end up having children who will be believers. Without them, those believers would never have been born. Had God not created my mother, who isn't a Christian, I wouldn't be here myself. Though that's not to say that my mother's only value to this world is as a progenitor of a Christian.Posted by KingDavid8 on May 18, 2012

Does God know we are going to hell?

Hi David, I have been asking this question for long time and nobody has quite given me a sound answer. My confusion was/is: If God is omniscient then He knows, before He even created me, where I was going -- Heaven or Hell. For those that have already died, we Christians believe, that some will go to heaven (saved) and some will go to hell (non-believers). My question to this is: If God knew before these people (latter) were even created that they are going to die not believing His son, then why bother create them. Two answers i have received that are different from the common "you have free will to choose what you want....etc..etc.." (which is really a misunderstanding of the question), was 1st from a Catholic priest. The priest said: Yes God knows who is going to heaven or hell, and the road to hell is paved by skulls of priests and other sinners alike. I then asked, so what's our purpose in this life, for which he answered "to glorify God". Another answer was from a website of some "apologetics" group which said that "yes, God foreknew who is going to hell or heaven and he has the right to create you even if you are going to hell because He is THE CREATOR. Just like the potter has the right to do whatever he wants of the clay". I might not have stated it verbatim from their website but it more or less conveys their message. Though these answers seemed biblically sound but it still left me confused and more questions even arose. One of them is, why then priests and ministers still preach when it's already been determined. And isn't it contradictory to why Jesus came. David, i'm hoping you can enlighten my confused mind. I've been gradually eaten from the inside by these unanswered questions. I read your conversations with the athiest and man was it so refreshing. You are gifted in the knowledge and wisdom. I read it almost everyday because it feeds my dying faith in our Lord Jesus. I do firmly believe that there is a supernatural intelligent creator of the universe. Thank you so much for what you do.Posted by Confused-cious on Apr 20, 2012