Will Humans Have Freewill in Heaven?

[Randy Carson]

Why would they?

Because if they are still people after resurrection, they will still behave like people.

If heaven is without sin: either:  (1) people are changed upon entering heaven so that they lack the capacity or the will to sin (a violation of free will and rather Stepford Wife like--ick); or (2) heaven itself must be designed in such a way as to prevent sin (a violation of free will rather Big Brother Like--ick); or (3) everything is so wonderful that no one will want to sin (really, really hard to imagine and calls into question why this world was ever created); or (4) god changes the rules so that nothing is a sin any longer (making the idea of morality completely arbitrary).

In the first two possibilities free will is the ultimate thing god must not deprive people of on earth and the thing he must deprive people of in heaven.  Very puzzling that.  In the third we have to wonder why this world was created at all since a much better one is possible (if it is indeed possible).   In the fourth, morality is completely arbitrary calling into question any need for hell let alone Jesus' sacrifice.

What this puzzle says to me is that heaven is one more deeply flawed idea of christianity, right up there with the remission of sins by the sacrifice of a third party, and punishment for the sins of one's remote ancestors.

As Jimmy Akin opines here, there are two options:

1. We are no longer able to choose sin. This still allows for free will in that we may choose between different "goods".
2. Your (3). While choosing "bads" might still be possible, who would want to do so?

Akin's 2/Your 3 does not call into question why this world was created. God created us to know and love Him, and it is here in this life that we are given an opportunity to make a free commitment--or not. Akin draws this analogy:

"While there are many situations in this life in which we freely make commitments to each other, a particularly striking one is the case of a marriage.
We would not value the love of a robot. Stepford wives are just creepy. And we would not want to impose marriage on someone against their will. That would involve the abomination of rape, among other things.

"We want our mates to freely choose us. This is true even in societies that have arranged marriages. There must be a fundamental, free consent on the part of both spouses or the marriage will not be valid. (Not from the Catholic Church's point of view, anyway.) But marriage isn't a momentary choice that involves no commitment. It's a life-long commitment. What we value, then, is a free choice that leads to a permanent commitment."

God values it, too.

I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read Akin's article in its entirety.