Does Free Will actually exist? Is there a way to tell?

[Godscreated]

Stop deflecting the OP is about man's free will.

GC

It's not deflecting. If you lack the ability to comprehend the relevancy, that's not my problem.

Think about what it means. Give it some thought.

It didn't and still doesn't take much thought, you want to deflect from my answer to the OP's question about man's free will. If there had been relevancy I would have answered, I found none and see none.

GC

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Hey guys. I know I've chosen to post this question, but how do I know if whether or not I have been preprogrammed to post this? It's not like I can go back in time to rethink my decision and choose another option. Does free will actually exist? Are all our actions just a product of time? Is there a way to actually test if whether or not we have free will? Thanks a bunch.

This is probably a stereotypical question (maybe even viewed as dumb by some), however I want to know what your thoughts are on the subject anyway.

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Depends. If you believe in pre-determination, then no, free will doesn't exist.

What one believes is not relevant to the truth, the truth is no matter what one believes.

If you believe in self-determination, then...no, free will doesn't exist.

Really, a person can just believe away the truth, how in anyone's book does that even make sense.

That second one may throw you for a loop, but bear with me. We're not exactly rational creatures. We're KIND of rational, to the extent that, at least, we can rationalize. But we cannot be purely rational. We are slaves to our hormones, the glands that surround our bran and fill our body; the stuff that gives us emotion clouds our judgment and makes us act in ways that are self-contradictory, illogical, harmful...

But at the same time, they also drive us to do the opposite, to act in self-confirming, reasonable, and beneficial ways. The problem is, it's never one or the other; it's always some mix of both.

That would be a good description of the sin nature man chose for himself, but you left out choice, man had choice from the beginning and he still does. The second quoted above couldn't possibly have evolutionary benefits, that kind of confusion would cause man to self destruct, we would have never survived as a species, if evolution was true that is. This is only your way of rationalizing God and free will out of the picture, your way of placing the blame somewhere else.

What we call "self-awareness" is cluttered by our subconscious always directing what we do and how we do it, and worse, we can't really excise that subconscious. We are aware of its existence but we are unaware of its effect on us because...well, it's our subconscious.

What's this, you're saying it is because you say it is, how does that make what you're saying true. How is what you just stated any different than saying and I quote the famous atheist saying, "it's true because the Bible says it's true." Your statement is self defeating through that famous saying.

It's the rear-most part of the brain, the most primitive part of our brain, the same general region that keeps our hearts pumping. You can no more mentally will your heart to stop than you can will your mid-and-rear brain to stop sending chemical impulses to interfere with your frontal lobe's processes.

Well I do not know of anyone who has willed their brain to stop, that would go against our desire to live, self preservation if you will. However, there are those who can slow down the beats per minute and thus being able to control the amount of oxygen (breathing) one needs to sustain life, this is choice over the natural rhythm of the body. Just as we have choice to act upon a situation, that would be why we have laws, right. I'll ask this again, if we can't choose why do we have laws, are we so pitiful we need to live an illusion of choice.

We are slaves to ourselves.

This is our sin nature and God has provided a way for us to free ourselves from it.

GC

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Your description of God falls short....

And so does yours. A god with limitations is not a god. A god with no limitations is illogical and impossible.

You're right no man can possibly describe God completely, He says that in scripture.
I disagree with your conclusion and you need to give some reasons why what you say might be true.
I have reasons, they are stated in scripture, God says He can't lie, of coarse one could take that either way. Those being God's so powerful nothing can cause Him to lie or He's so weak he can only tell the truth, the later being contradictory at the least.
The truth about it, God is completely just and that being who He is, He can't lie, meaning his omnipotent nature prevents lying.

GC

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Jesus christ...now it's ownership? See, I said this to Prof...but it applies to you as well. Is there some point at which you're going to make free will a reality on it's own merits or will it be an endless list of -but what about this other thing?- At some point a person could just say "So what about that other thing?"

Do you no longer own a car because you decide, with your "free will" to leave it on the side of the highway? Or will you get a fine, and a bill, for leaving the car that you still own...on the side of the highway? You don't "freely will" your heart to beat..is it not your heart? You didn't choose your body...is it not your own? Are the thoughts that just pop into your mind, un-chosen...somehow someone else's..or no ones?

You're going to have to go long and hard to find something that truly hinges on free will, in order to make this sidestepping conclusion business work, and if you ever get there I'll just say "So what...guess we'd have to rethink that one." eh?

That's exactly what you're handing out, but this and but that, you have laid down a load of crap and expect us to buy it. Where are your reasons there can be no free will, seems to me plenty has been given and you reject them in favor of your opinion. By the way your rejection of what has been said about free will, well it's a choice and you of your own free will chose to reject what has been stated.

GC