Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: stuartcr
He knows it in a way similar to the way I know that a careless person is about to be run over by a bus. I didn't push the person in front of the bus, but I knew that it was going to happen. Granted, this is a feeble comparison but all comparisons we humans formulate when talking about God and his attributes are feeble by necessity. Our yard-sticks are too small to contain Him. But let's go to the core of your question. You're saying that if God is omniscient we lack free will, but if we indeed have free will God is not omniscient which - as Sartre implied - would mean that there is no God. A "one-legged" answer would be that freedom of will is only possible when there are multiple outcomes possible from our moral choices, and we don't know which one will take place, but know that choosing wrongly will end in catastrophe, so we choose the good. Therein our freedom of will lies. I said "one-legged" because, as you will point out, God knows which free choice we will make and, therefore, can what God see fail to happen? The thing is that God sees not only all our choices, but the outcome of each one of them, because He is present in every timeline so-to-speak and for lack of a better term. The deeper insight here is that freedom is radically built into the fabric of nature itself, as that the consequences of our actions have "cosmic" significance. All things considered: how exactly our freedom of will squares with the fact of an omniscient God is something that only those who are saved and are admitted to the Beatific Vision will understand, because they will SEE IT. Until then, we can have interesting, mind-blowing conversations, just as I hope this one has been. -Theo
36 posted on 01/25/2012 11:54:42 AM PST by Teófilo (Visit Vivificat! - http://www.vivificat.org - A Catholic Blog of News, Commentary and Opinion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies ]


To: Teófilo

No, it wouldn’t imply that there is no God. It would imply that what we believe about God, may be incorrect.

How is it that you know so much about God and time? Is it because you are saved?


41 posted on 01/25/2012 12:12:11 PM PST by stuartcr ("In this election year of 12, how deep into their closets will we delve?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson