Posted by SLS on February 8, 2005, at 13:21:53
In reply to If god knows everything that is going to happen, posted by alexandra_k on January 11, 2005, at 18:45:57
> all the way into the future, then how do we have freedom to choose what we are going to do next?
This is too long, redundant and a bit covoluted. It's the best I could do on such short notice, though. :-)
I tend to gravitate toward the duality idea. Both free will and fatalism occur at the same time. In this regard it is like light. Light exists as a wave and a stream of particles simultaneously, but we can only ascertain one at any one moment in time. It has a dual nature. The Creator has endowed us with absolute free will and a mind to exercise it. You are going to be able to process feelings and thoughts and act upon them independent of others, even if your behaviors are coerced by others. There is a cause and effect that remains uninterrupted by a special act of divinity (one that lies outside the laws of physics and the cosmology of the Universe as God created it), even though all acts are the result of divinity. Of course God knows in advance how you are going to exercise your free will. Free will and fatalism exist simultaneously. God set matter and energy into motion at the moment the Universe was born. He knows the paths of each entity and the interactions each will have with others as they proceed through existence over time.
To know why we are allowed to exist within such a paradox is to know the Mind of God. However, the duality of existence is, to me, perfection.
You can still choose your path in life as if fatalism were not operating. The billiard balls will still end up being precisely where God wanted them to be from the beginning. Afterall, He set them into motion.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:440798
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20050111/msgs/455010.html