The Problem of Evil, Christians, and Inconsistency

[Mudhammam]

I have a lot of admiration for the skillful writing and clear thinking of the author of this thread, but I am flabbergasted at his blithe acceptance of the fact of free will.

I find no more evidence of the existence of free will in humans than I find for the presence of a god in this universe. And the fact that free will is a foundational aspect of religious dogma raises my eyebrows another notch.

Can someone help me understand this apparently contradictory set of attitudes among self-proclaimed skeptics?

Thank you for the compliment. I'll try to clarify my view as I see no contradiction in the use of the words "free will."

When I talk about free will, as I've stated previously, I don't believe that it's sensible in terms of meaning that I have in any way chosen what my will at any given moment will be; however, once a state of mind has arisen, I do believe I am free to weigh the various potential consequences of alternative, hypothetical acts, and proceed freely on whatever particular will the present compels within me. At the present moment, I feel compelled to make more coffee, yet I also feel lazily restricted by the thought of waiting for the water to boil and preparing the French press. I could also drive a quarter mile to Dunkin Donuts and buy one, which sounds a bit more pleasant for various reasons, but I'm also tight on cash until payday and don't know if I want to spend money on coffee when I can make some at home. My girlfriend is waking up now and her imminent entry into the room might also alter the course of my action. On top of all this I am typing this message to you. Even if there are thousands, or millions, of unforeseen physical factors in my brain and environment which this situation can be reduced to, it doesn't make sense to me to speak of whatever outcome may ultimately prevail as somehow, in retrospect, forced upon me (obviously, it's forced in the sense that one outcome must eventually win out, but as to which one, that involves a great deal of my choice). If we speak of this event, whatever it may result in, as an example of physical coercion of some sort, then when something actually does intervene to force my hand, I don't see what you would want to call that--super-coercion? I'm about as free as I can possibly imagine by the definition of the word in this circumstance to act on my will, not choose the various states that my will be, and in that sense, I see no contradiction in the term "free will."