Posted by Guamo at 10:33am Oct 15 '09So, nobody seemed to want to comment on my last post. Its okay, I know what you guys really think (jk :P ). But I did actually want your thoughts on part of it. So I'm going to repost just that part here in hopes of getting a discussion going. If nobody responds to this one either, well I'll take the hint and move on! So here are my thoughts on free will and God's part in human affairs.
Many people believe that God takes a direct hand in the events of the world and of our own lives. This is reflected by people praying to God for help with various aspects of their lives, or more negatively, by blaming God for all the evils of the world. However, I think it makes more sense, both theologically and logically, that God instead gives us free will. At first this seems like a no brainer. However, when examined, having free will actually means a lot of things that go against the normally accepted Christian views. For instance, all the pain, suffering, and miscellaneous evils present in the world are not because God let them be there. No, instead it is because mankind decided to do things that led to pain, suffering, and evil.
This also means that if you really want to get that job you just interviewed for, or pass that test coming up soon, or any of a multitude of other things, praying to God will not help you! Our performance or the outcomes of these events are based solely upon both our own level of preparation, and the disposition of the interviewer, test giver, etc. However, asking for strength or wisdom may actually increase your strength or wisdom, if for no other reason than you feel more confident, ie the placebo effect.
This brings up the classic question: "If there is a God, why did He let X event happen?"Â I believe it is important to realize, He didn't let X happen, X happened because of some physical cause, whether human or nature derived. Another question commonly heard is: "Where is your God now?"Â usually following some traumatic event in the life of the follower. I don't think that God is testing that follower, or that the follower is being punished. Instead, things just happen.
Well what is the reason behind this reigning of free will and non-intervention on the part of God? I believe it is because He wished to see what we would act like when left to our own devices. Whether this is due to simply curiosity or some cosmic test is unknowable to us mortals. I like to use abortion as an example for this idea. I believe that for this reason, Christians should support abortion rights, contrary to what most Christians actually believe. After all, who is the more moral person, someone who follows a rule because they have to, or someone who does so of their own volition? This is not meant to argue that abortion is immoral however. Once again, it is up to only the person in question to decide if it is against their morals or not.
Many people believe that God takes a direct hand in the events of the world and of our own lives. This is reflected by people praying to God for help with various aspects of their lives, or more negatively, by blaming God for all the evils of the world. However, I think it makes more sense, both theologically and logically, that God instead gives us free will. At first this seems like a no brainer. However, when examined, having free will actually means a lot of things that go against the normally accepted Christian views. For instance, all the pain, suffering, and miscellaneous evils present in the world are not because God let them be there. No, instead it is because mankind decided to do things that led to pain, suffering, and evil.
This also means that if you really want to get that job you just interviewed for, or pass that test coming up soon, or any of a multitude of other things, praying to God will not help you! Our performance or the outcomes of these events are based solely upon both our own level of preparation, and the disposition of the interviewer, test giver, etc. However, asking for strength or wisdom may actually increase your strength or wisdom, if for no other reason than you feel more confident, ie the placebo effect.
This brings up the classic question: "If there is a God, why did He let X event happen?"Â I believe it is important to realize, He didn't let X happen, X happened because of some physical cause, whether human or nature derived. Another question commonly heard is: "Where is your God now?"Â usually following some traumatic event in the life of the follower. I don't think that God is testing that follower, or that the follower is being punished. Instead, things just happen.
Well what is the reason behind this reigning of free will and non-intervention on the part of God? I believe it is because He wished to see what we would act like when left to our own devices. Whether this is due to simply curiosity or some cosmic test is unknowable to us mortals. I like to use abortion as an example for this idea. I believe that for this reason, Christians should support abortion rights, contrary to what most Christians actually believe. After all, who is the more moral person, someone who follows a rule because they have to, or someone who does so of their own volition? This is not meant to argue that abortion is immoral however. Once again, it is up to only the person in question to decide if it is against their morals or not.