RE: The free will argument demonstrates that christians don't understand free will.
May 2, 2014 at 9:16 am
(This post was last modified: May 2, 2014 at 9:25 am by RobbyPants.)
(May 1, 2014 at 3:09 pm)Lek Wrote: I feel you're all over-thinking and adding to the issue of free will. I don't see what's so hard about it. Whether evil exists or not, God gave us the freedom to make our own decisions. We can make whatever choices we please. What's so hard to understand about that?
It's unnecessary, unless you feel God is somehow beholden to the system of heaven and hell as opposed to having created heaven and hell. You're stripping out all the bad parts of the issue so that only the good remain and then acting confused at why people have a problem with it.
(May 1, 2014 at 4:09 pm)fr0d0 Wrote:(May 1, 2014 at 3:09 pm)RobbyPants Wrote: ...yet he doesn't do that here on earth.
He's capable of wiping away our tears, and yet, he doesn't.
Yes he does
No he doesn't.
Here, I'll even put in a little more effort than you did: people suffer here on earth in ways that they don't suffer in heaven, or people remember their suffering in ways they're not supposed to in heaven. If you're saying that what we have here is what we get in heaven... then I'm not sure why Christians get so exited about heaven.
(May 1, 2014 at 4:09 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Your nature does not determine your choices; but rather, your choices define your nature.
Anecdotally, I can tell you you're wrong. Any time I see money sitting out in the open with no one watching it, I don't steal it. Now yes, the fact that I didn't steal it means I'm not a thief (at least at that moment); however, I can assure you that I never feel tempted to steal money. It's not like I have some tiny angel and demon arguing on my shoulders, or something. It's literally against my nature to steal that money, so I don't steal it. So, my nature is definitely determining my choice, there.
Also, less anecdotally, studies in neuroscience show that we make decisions before we're consciously aware of them. Whether this is our nature determining our choices or us simply making them faster than we realize, there's something happening there beyond conscious, cognitive decision-making.
