Johnathan Edwards-Free Will

Johnathan Edwards-Free Will

Free Will vs.


To assert that God is omniscient, is not compatible with the traditional Christian view of free-will under compatibilism. Compatibilism can be defined as the belief that free-will and determinism are compatible ideas. Here we must define what it is that we are discussing. To say that one has free will one if you are to move to the libertarian view must be that an agent has in his or her power in any given moment to otherwise that what he or she has or will do. This while it may be seemingly simple is misleading in regards to the concept of free will in regards to free will as defined by Christian doctrine, after all that is the essential purpose. The free will that we must adhere to when talking tradition doctrine is one as, free will is not free in and of itself but rather is guided by our knowledge and understanding and driven by our motives. We then come to issues of the illusion of free will that we have been trying to equate with omniscience, we see that man, in a traditional Christian doctrine is only as free as his nature and that nature is undeniably open for God to see (omniscience), therefore a God existing temporally when he knows the nature of being would know the will of the being. The will not being free but being a slave to its nature To say that man is not responsible at this point or free would be misuse this argument, we are not saying that we are not free to do otherwise, we are, but rather that because every intention of the heart is known to God he knows our every act of will and what every act of will will always be. Therefore we find that both the will of man is free to do otherwise but the omniscience of God is not compromised.

However this topic would be mute if all writers accepted such an approach to free will for, if there is no free will then it does not harm Gods omnipotence in any shape or form. So if we then find ourselves more in a position in line with Augustine and unwilling to totally reject free will we...

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