Totality of Supreme Being
Omniscient, omnibenevolent, and omnipresent........so if God is all these things does humanity really have to choose their future or is it predetermined? If it is predetermined then does God already forgive you if you are sorry. If this is then the case God must have been bored a long time cuz we must look like and act like an ant farm!
No predestination, you decide the future. If there was predestination then we will not be living beings, we would be like machines or computer programs. We will not be guilty for our wrong doings too, is an apple guilty for falling into the ground. Our wrong doings would be already set before we do that, so it will be not really us who made that happen.
I never really saw the logic in the whole thing. God knows everything, they say, what is, was and will be... so why the charade of free will. If true God knows who has been naughty or nice, and knows who will be and knows how they will end up, which makes the whole mortal life aspect a bit superfluous, as really if all that is true this just just like a play, God knows the script, some are written as villains, some as heroes and many as just ordinary people. One says but they choose their role, but still that doesn't change the fact in the long run their lives are already planned and God knows exactly how it will turn out.
And Biblically it seems odd. God creates Adam and Eve, free of sin. Then puts down the tree and tells them not to eat (though he knows they will), they eat, get knowledge of right and wrong, God gets mad and effectively banishes them, I would have thought it would be hard to be annoyed when you KNOW what is going to happen, especially because it's your fault, you put the tree there, your two humans are weak willed and the snake/Satan, which you also created, is going to insure they are tempted. And it is questionable about how much God wanted free will then. He didn't want them to eat from the tree that would give them knowledge of their choice, but at the same time he didn't stop them (and for that matter why did Adam bother hiding from God?)
Same with the story of Noah. If God knows all then he knew humanity would get to that stage, yet in term's of thematics and atmosphere God seems to act surprised, and annoyed and angry and disappointed by it all. Why? He/she/it knew it was going to end up like that and despite the infinite option available to one who is all powerful chose to drown them all.
Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
Same with the story of Noah. If God knows all then he knew humanity would get to that stage, yet in term's of thematics and atmosphere God seems to act surprised, and annoyed and angry and disappointed by it all. Why? He/she/it knew it was going to end up like that and despite the infinite option available to one who is all powerful chose to drown them all.
No it says God was grieved that he had made man and his heart was filled with pain.
He grieved as the moment came to pass. i.e. wickedness of the earth.
The same can be said about Adam and Eve.
What about in our lives? I know my parents are going to die someday... Should I not act surprised and grieve when it happens just because I knew it was going to happen eventually?
Echu its a good point you make that yes you understand your parents will pass on. My point is neither you nor I know when were how what they were doing that day......so if our Creator just knows these things we are merely acting out a play that they have already seen the ending to.
Free Will is a misconconception because if there is already an ending then the actions in between are predetermined.