Free Will Is A Female Dog
You've heard it said "Free will is a female dog" ( well...ya know ..the name for a female dog)
So why does God allow it?
I have been thinking a lot about free will lately; about how God allows certain things to happen in the universe. The opposite of free will would be a bunch of lemmings or robots walking around in a trance following God's orders without question. He didn't want that. He wanted a person to be able to freely choose Him of their own accord.
The concept of free will is a radical one. If you really think about it. God allows us to make our own choices without coercion. God even goes as far as to allow us to make decisions that are against his will. God treats us as adults and will never interfere with our freedom.
How can this be? This freedom seems too laid back, too lassiez faire. Where does discipline fall into place with this freedom? Where does right and wrong, truth and falsehood fit into this freedom? The answer is simple...through natural law, or more simply put, consequences.
God doesn't interfere with our freedom and he doesn't interfere with natural law. God will not prevent a consequence from occurring. Say for example a person decides to murder someone. God will not interfere with the choice to kill, but despite this freedom the person will still have to deal with the consequences of lifetime imprisonment. We as humans can make our choices but we can't control the consequences of our choices. All of our choices are bound by consequences.
I ask this question. Who is affected by a law...the person or the law itself?
The answer is simple. The person. A person might not believe in the law of gravity because it prevents him/her from flying. But if that person decides to jump he/she will fall irrespective of their belief in gravity. how about this... Sex often results in pregnancy. So the person has the freedom to decide to have sex, but they can still get pregnant.
What about miracles, those times when God does intervene? That's fine. Miracles don't happen all the time that's why they are called miracles. Just imagine how the universe would function if God intervened all of the time and defied natural law. Life would be unsustainable, the universe would be far too chaotic. God created natural law to provide order to the world. God does the same for the moral life also.
One of the greatest tragedies of our age is its denial of consequences. The birth control pill is a classic example of this since it takes away the natural consequence of pregnancy. However, there are also other, less dramatic examples such as living beyond one's means, excessive video game playing, pampering one's children, drug use etc.
The great news is that the flip side can also happen . Say a person chooses to actually study for an exam. That person will do better. If a person decides to live within their means, chances are , they will have financial stability.
As a Christian the more one chooses Christ the more his/her choices are aligned with His. Once a person makes better choices, their life becomes better. Once their life becomes better, the life of their neighbors becomes better. Once the life of their neighbor becomes better the world becomes better. This is the positive, ripple effect of good decisions leading to positive consequences.
So why does God allow it?
I have been thinking a lot about free will lately; about how God allows certain things to happen in the universe. The opposite of free will would be a bunch of lemmings or robots walking around in a trance following God's orders without question. He didn't want that. He wanted a person to be able to freely choose Him of their own accord.
The concept of free will is a radical one. If you really think about it. God allows us to make our own choices without coercion. God even goes as far as to allow us to make decisions that are against his will. God treats us as adults and will never interfere with our freedom.
How can this be? This freedom seems too laid back, too lassiez faire. Where does discipline fall into place with this freedom? Where does right and wrong, truth and falsehood fit into this freedom? The answer is simple...through natural law, or more simply put, consequences.
God doesn't interfere with our freedom and he doesn't interfere with natural law. God will not prevent a consequence from occurring. Say for example a person decides to murder someone. God will not interfere with the choice to kill, but despite this freedom the person will still have to deal with the consequences of lifetime imprisonment. We as humans can make our choices but we can't control the consequences of our choices. All of our choices are bound by consequences.
I ask this question. Who is affected by a law...the person or the law itself?
The answer is simple. The person. A person might not believe in the law of gravity because it prevents him/her from flying. But if that person decides to jump he/she will fall irrespective of their belief in gravity. how about this... Sex often results in pregnancy. So the person has the freedom to decide to have sex, but they can still get pregnant.
What about miracles, those times when God does intervene? That's fine. Miracles don't happen all the time that's why they are called miracles. Just imagine how the universe would function if God intervened all of the time and defied natural law. Life would be unsustainable, the universe would be far too chaotic. God created natural law to provide order to the world. God does the same for the moral life also.
One of the greatest tragedies of our age is its denial of consequences. The birth control pill is a classic example of this since it takes away the natural consequence of pregnancy. However, there are also other, less dramatic examples such as living beyond one's means, excessive video game playing, pampering one's children, drug use etc.
The great news is that the flip side can also happen . Say a person chooses to actually study for an exam. That person will do better. If a person decides to live within their means, chances are , they will have financial stability.
As a Christian the more one chooses Christ the more his/her choices are aligned with His. Once a person makes better choices, their life becomes better. Once their life becomes better, the life of their neighbors becomes better. Once the life of their neighbor becomes better the world becomes better. This is the positive, ripple effect of good decisions leading to positive consequences.
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