The Problem of Evil (XXVII)

[Pat Mustard]

If god and free will exist then that god is not omnipotent as it doesn't have power over all things, suffering existing or not.

That doesn't make sense to me.  Does the fact that you have authority over your kids mean that they don't have any free will?

Leaving aside the fact that I've no childers, having authority iver another person doesn't negate their free will. For example, if I were minding my cousins and I said X was verboten and laid out the punishments, they still have a choice, either follow my instructions or go against them and face the risk of being caught and suffering the consequences.

When you remove free will you remove a person's agency and their autonomy of thought, it is more than the simple imposition of rules or the issuing of orders, it is about removing any possible deviaition (even simply in thinking) from the will of the imposer. Ever read the book Ninetern Eighty-Four? I believe Orwell's exchange between Winston and O'Brien and his appendix on Newspeak capture my line of thinking on this matter.