I know how she feels.
Posted on 07/02/2010 6:56:08 PM PDT by Desdemona
Cosmology is as much science as it is religion. None of the fancy physics you mention is combined into anything more than a theory, two incompatible theories to be more precise, and a few more emerging from the same pot.
So you say, but there are lexicons and there are lexicons
“Free Will” is a philosophical term of art for a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. “ (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
“You forgot to add—freely. Free, as in without restriction, influence, interference, retstaints, or burdens, etc. Name one situation in real life that meets this definition. It doesn't exist. Our choices are always forced by something and therefore never truly free.”
I forgot nothing. You're arguing degrees of freely making decisions not the ability as such. Since the term “without” is a relative term it will always allow for degrees of “freely” while you're asking me to cite an absolute.
A non-starter.
“Our choices are always forced by something and therefore never truly free.”
An opinion that an absolute situation exists, “always”,
“never”? Influence is not force and truly free is a matter of degree, a relative term.
“What motivated God to create the world? Lack of satisfaction? God lacking anything is a contradiction in terms or just plain anthropomorphism. That which is perfect lacks nothing”
Again defining the terms to support a particular opinion.
Lack can be defined as absence of something without reference to necessity. At some point in time Adam did not exist, humans were absent and God chose to create them. He wasn't imperfect without them or more perfect with them.
“That which is perfect lacks nothing.”
Your philosophical statement not supported by what “lack” means.
“He should have thought of that before he made Adam. That shows lack of omniscience.”
How ever did God function without your advice, I wonder.
“In every day language, that means not forced or influenced.”
Maybe you should become more familiar with “every day” language since we all tend to speak in relative terms about what is free, what is influence, etc. in decision making.
“But since everything ends us being according to God's will, his will determines our decisions or else he would be playing dice.”
A confusion of outcome and process. He can accomplish His will despite anyones decision as Pharaoh learned.
“In that case there is no God's plan, and God is forced to second-guess man. Christians believe there was exactly 0% chance that Judas would exercise his free will and decide not to betray Jesus.”
Really? Where do you find that? Scripture? Catechisms? Apocrypha? Gnostic writings? A poll? Where?
“Paul doesn't think he had much of a choice either, having been set aside in his mother's womb and struck form his horse on the way to Damascus. God didn't ask him to choose even if the last thing Paul wanted to do was join the people he persecuted.”
All Jewish males were set aside from their mothers womb as was Paul, particularly if Paul were a firstborn son.
And Paul had made a choice, ignorantly thinking he was doing God's will. When given instructions he chose to follow them unlike Pharaoh. But no, Paul didn't have a choice of what nation he was born into or falling from a horse or the loss of eyesight or going bald either.
When it was explained to Paul that those he persecuted actually WERE God's people Paul chose to embrace them.
Forced to change his mind? Yep, but nevertheless he did the changing.
“If God decides the consequences of our choices, then the consequences God preordained by necessity force our choices, even if we are not aware of it, hence the “free will” is only something humans experience on their level as an illusion.”
If that were true it seems manifestly unjust to impose any punishment upon anyone for their actions. If they have no free will, they are simply responding to what forces them to decide a certain way and hence bear no responsibility.
Then all actions are morally neutral and we have no reason to condemn Judas since.
“He did what God made sure he would do.” ,
The logical consequence of your assertions is nonsense.
So, then how do you explain when Protestants want to do things that are not pleasing to God? "Partial salvation?" :)
(" E = MC2 " comes to mind...) '-)
I don't think Paul wanted to convert.
The unregenerated will WANT to sin and the regenerated will WANT to repent
Sure they do. They are told that this leads to salvation. Take out the salvation and see how many repent. :)
!DOH!
Thanks for the reminder.
LOL.
I needed that grin.
You need to read more cutting-edge science then just cherry-picked semi-banal cosmological theories.
Then pursue the "futile" and stop complaining.
Granted, my "kitchen" is very hot. But I'm used to it. How about you?
I don't mind. To the contrary, the hotter the better. :)
I know how she feels.
LOL.
I know that feeling . . . though it tends to be a rare phenomenon w me.
The propaganda says freedom. The reality ended with such things as the elimination of the gold standard and the creation of eminent domain.
'-)
Only when the energy is at rest. Einstein's equation is:
and has been corrected any number of times. Was he a genius? Sure. Was he right? No, but he helped us along the way to understanding the relationship between energy and matter.
Gunpowder with tongue firmly in cheek would be Gumpower.
No, they don't. The regenerated will try hard to obey God's lasw and will succeed much of the time, all due to the free gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, while the unregenerated will not even want to obey God's laws.
>
lolol
Unfortunately, we seem to be moving in that direction, Mark, from the left as well as from the right. The mentality is the same, just a different label. Anything that doesn't fit the official truth will be declared unfit, undesirable, even inimical, and eliminated one way or another. Only the official truth will be allowed.
Actually there are two judgments. There is the separation of the wheat from the tares and then there is the judgment of works. Christians pass do not enter into the first judgment but have passed from death to life.
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