David is begging for it, so ...
We talk about "free will" like there is an expensive version. Okay, no. We talk about it as if we do or don't have the ability to make choices. That is, do humans make choices on their own, or are they forced somehow? There is a growing number of atheists who argue that free will is a myth. All our choices are chemical reactions in the brain or something. Actually choosing freely is a lie. In the world of philosophy, there is a debate about just what "free will" is. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy lists a variety of possibilities, from "the freedom to do otherwise" to "Libertarian free will" with "theological wrinkles" throughout. Libertarian free will means our choices are free from the determination or constraints of human nature and free from any predetermination by God. They reject God's foreknowledge because if God knows in advance what we will choose, our choice isn't free, is it? Compatibilism argues that it's possible to have both "determinism" where something outside of ourselves determines the choices and "free will" where we make uncoerced choices. And there's that "determinism." That, of course, is the view that ... no ... you don't have free will. God makes all your choices for you.
There are nuances and shades and variations, but ... what does the Bible say? How do we determine which is true? Don't count on philosophy or atheism or "feels right to me" for a suitable confirmation. Do we find anything in God's Word? I think we do. We know, for instance, that "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" (Psa 139:16). Just one example of proof of God's omniscience, so "Libertarian free will" is out. This is the difference between "free will" and "autonomy." Autonomy requires "I have no controls, no master." It just ain't so. I mean, obviously I can't wish for wings and flap my way to the Moon. There are controls and limitations. My will is not The Ruler. Autonomy doesn't exist. There are, then, limitations to human free will and our ability to choose. Scripture, however, calls on us to make choices and holds us responsible for them. If all our choices were coerced by God, we couldn't be held responsible. Paul writes, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts ..." (Rom 6:12). How can that be if we have no choice in the matter? In fact, every command of Scripture implies we have a choice to make. Despite the well-meaning but totally confused hyper-Calvinists who argue that God's sovereignty precludes human free will, Scripture affirms that we can and do make choices and are held responsible for them ... even when they are "determined" (Luke 22:22). When Joseph's brothers set out to kill him, then sold him into slavery, their intent was evil and they bore the responsibility, even though God's intent was for good. God intended their evil actions that they made of their own free will to produce a good outcome (Gen 50:20).
I came up with an illustration. Imagine you wake up in a dark room. You've been kidnapped! Then you notice one ray of light ... coming from under a door. Saved! You creep over to the door, not sure if it will open or if someone is there guarding it. You push ... and it opens. You look out and see a long alley with cars at the end passing by. You step out, ready to run ... but then you think, "What if someone is down there, waiting?" You hesitate. "Do I go back in or do I run for it?" You set your jaw and run for it. And you escape. Your choice was the right one. What you didn't know was that the door closed behind you and locked. If you had decided to go back, you couldn't have. But you never knew that. So the question is, was that a free will choice, or not? I would argue it was. You were not coerced. You made your own choice. I see the reality of humans making choices without coercion as "free will" and the certainty that God knows all things, and I see them as compatible. Biblically. But, hey, that's just me.
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For more musings on free will, see this listing from my prior entries.
6 comments:
The are those that deem God's decree as in opposition to our will. But as you pointed out (and in many other places in Scripture) God does decree all that comes to pass, but we are also responsible for our actions. If God limits His Sovereignty to our Free Will, how could He accomplish all that He has promised? The confluence of events and choices that led to the fulfillment of prophecy about Jesus and His death were not simply predicted, but ordained. But everyone in that story is responsible for their choices. How these two realities work, I'm not clear on, but I am clear that they are what God has proclaimed about Himself and us.
You describe exactly the concept of Compatibilism.
Stan, You gave us a helpful introduction to some common points of view about man’s free will (another one I thought of, which you left out, was “the devil made me do it!”). Several of the viewpoints were quickly dismissed by me as unreasonable options (and I instantly concluded that the illustration in your final paragraph involved a free will choice--i.e. a decision made based on the perceived realities and the facts at hand).
R.C. Sproul’s book, What Is Reformed Theology? Understanding the Basics (which I have mentioned a few times in recent months), contains a section on Free Will, as it relates to the doctrine of Humanity’s Radical Corruption (or “Total Depravity”). In it is the quote from Jonathan Edwards that you’ve written about before--that “we always choose according to the inclination that is strongest at the moment.” Edwards defined the will as “the mind choosing.” In a narrow sense, our choices are determined, but when the cause is internal rather than external--i.e. self-determination and not outside coercion--free will is at play.
A good example of “we always choose according to the inclination that is strongest at the moment” would be the general area of temptation. If I think specifically of making choices for food to consume (i.e. dieting), there is for many people constant struggle between, say, wanting to eat the piece of chocolate cake but not wanting to have had eaten it (or craving a drink but regretting imbibing afterwards). It’s often described as a case of “mind over matter” or “will power” (or “won’t power” :). I will admit that even as a strong-minded person, I have not mastered the psychology of choice--not in matters of physical health & fitness nor regarding full obedience to God (apparently, I am strong-minded but weak-willed!). However, in all the struggles of this life, we are still responsible for our choices--i.e. whether we succumb or prevail--since God has promised us victory in temptation if we seek it (1 Cor. 10:13).
This moves my thoughts to an issue I personally find very thorny: the responsibility of sin-inclined man before a holy God. When considering the weightier theological issue of reconciling God’s sovereignty in election with human choice and free will, once again I found Sproul’s book helpful in understanding the compatibility therein. A necessary step in that understanding is dismissing the idea that “if God knows in advance what we will choose, our choice isn't free”; this assertion has always struck me as irrational and entirely false, since God’s foreknowledge does not necessarily imply any action out of it. And since I know that in man’s natural, fallen state, he will not seek after God nor wish to please him and also that man will obey his strongest desire, I can understand clearly that it requires God’s intervention for us to come to a saving faith in Him. This is why I have embraced “the Spirit’s Effective Call” doctrine of grace; I see no way for me to choose God on my own, if I believe what the Bible teaches.
In closing, I felt compelled :) to offer two interesting quotes I found about free will:
“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” (Attributed to Jawaharlal Nehru)
“We must believe in free will; we have no choice.” (Attributed to Isaac Bashevis Singer)
As my opponents online would say, "I'm not describing your fancy word, I'm describing the Bible." ;)
Well, if you don't have any thoughts on it, Lorna ... シ Kidding. Very comprehensive. Thanks.
The whole "foreknowledge denies free will" argument never made sense to me. Just because He knows what will happen, doesn't mean He caused it. I was sitting at a stop light. Two cars in front of me, I saw the car start his turn on green. He was clearly maneuvering to make a u-turn, but had to swing wide due to the narrow road. The car behind him started to go, and I knew for a fact that they were going to collide, and they did. By their logic, I caused that accident by foreknowing it was going to happen. It's just silly on the face of it. Predestination does become trickier because it involves an action, but foreknowledge is passive.
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