(December 29, 2015 at 2:54 am)robvalue Wrote:You mean we should just stick to whatever deterministic processes have led us to believe right? After all, the conclusion "we should just stick to the verifiable science" is predetermined. And if I believe in God, then that was predetermined as well. How do you reconcile the glaring inconsistency: The same naturalistic processes that led me to conclude that God exists have led you to conclude that he doesn't?(December 28, 2015 at 9:14 pm)Evie Wrote: I knew someone who said the words "free" and "will" put together are simply an oxymoron.
Hah! I like it. "Free" is certainly a bad start. The laws of nature reduce my options to virtually nil, out of all the choices I would like to make, before I even get started. Then my past shapes me, probably entirely, and events occur which I am continually reacting to.
I think the concept is a non-starter, and we should just stick to the verifiable science. More and more, it feels like the word "soul", an attempt to make ourselves out to be more than we are.
(December 29, 2015 at 2:54 am)robvalue Wrote: I'd like to address the following flawed argument I've heard so many times:Just the opposite. An agent with free will standing in judgment of an agent without it would be represented by a person having no free will and being punished for his/her choices. It would be as absurd as a person with free will punishing hydrochloric acid when it reacts with sodium hydroxide. The hydrochloric acid is governed by deterministic naturalistic processes and cannot [when in contact with sodium hydroxide] act any other way than to change it's molecular structure into sodium chloride. In the same way, you can't stand in any kind of moral judgment over someone's actions, after all he/she is limited to acting in a predetermined manner when interacting with the environment around him/her.
"If there is no free well, then we shouldn't punish people for their action."
This isn't just incorrect, it's malformed. If there is no free will, then the word "should" becomes meaningless. The above falls into the trap of thinking along the lines of an agent with free will, standing in judgement of an agent without it.
If it could be proven beyond doubt that God exists...
and that He is the one spoken of in the Bible...
would you repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus Christ?