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Topic subjectFree will vs predestination, God's omniscience...
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=5388&mesg_id=5388
5388, Free will vs predestination, God's omniscience...
Posted by McDeezNuts, Tue Apr-01-03 06:18 AM
First, this may not belong in Activist, but I sure as hell didn't want to put it in General (for obvious reasons) and it fits nowhere else...

Anyway, so I was just musing about predestination vs. free will, and the belief (that some people have) that God is omniscient.

Disclaimer - this discussion will be of little or no interest to people who do not believe in some sort of divine being, so don't waste the time and space in here discussing God's existence... For the sake of this discussion, we are operating under the assumption that there IS a divine being, named God for convenience sake. Okay, there are three main statements, and then three questions about them.

A- God is omniscient
B- God knows the future before it happens
C- We have free will

I'm curious which of these you believe, and more importantly, which of the following statements are true?

1 - if A, then B?
2 - if B, then not C?
3 - if C, then not B, then not A?

Let me explain these questions in terms for those unfamiliar with philosophic logic:

1 - Does omniscience necessarily mean God knows the future?
2 - If God knows the future, can we possibly have free will? If He knows what will happen, aren't our choices already set?
3 - If we have free will and God doesn't know our choices (and therefore the future), can he be considered omniscient?

What do you think? Personally I believe in free will (although I do think there is evidence of divine intervention on earth) but I wonder if/how God can be all-knowing and all-powerful when we have free will? Somehow I want it both ways...