Actually the Arminians have set up a straw man They say Calvinists do not believe in free will.
Actually strongly believes in true free will
The free will of Adam was lost in the fall. Adam (and us though him) lost one set of choice options.
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Jer 4:22 For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Why? It is because a spiritually dead man cannot freely choose spiritual life. He needs spiritual CPR
NO We need a whole heart transplant
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
THEN the free will that God gave to Adam is restored.
Dave go and read Genesis 3 (the account of the fall) See what happened to the relationship between God the father and Adam after the fall
God was seeking Adam.Adam was not seeking God
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.
That Dave is the natural response of man to God since the fall
Man tries to make his own solution and covering, He does not seek out God
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
They thought they could save themselves.they had the solution they liked.
But it was not Gods solution, not one of their choice. They were now totally dependant on their "free will " , their dominion was gone. They hide and covered they did not seek and find .
THAT is the condition of carnal unregenerate man.
He can make choices. But he will never choose God. He will make insufficient choices that do not please God nor cover their nakedness
Unregenerate man will choose the lesser of two evils. BUT until he has that heart transplant he will never choose Gods solution
It doesn't wash with my intellect nor my spirit; nor my understanding of Scripture.