My dachshund's namesake
Lately a couple of trouble-making readers have been asking my opinion on the question of free will vs. predestination. For some time now I have struggled mightily to ignore their queries; when finally forced by etiquette to acknowledge them, I suggested, in hopes of distracting them, that they upgrade their cable service, or invest in pets.
“You can watch Chinese soccer matches!” I tried. “And a dachshund can be so much fun! They look like sausages–with free will!”
But, alas, they stayed on topic. “Stop trying to get out of it!” they responded.
“Choke up your opinion on predestination!”
The problem is that I’ve never been too interested in trying to suss out the exact relationship between my free will and the idea of God’s already knowing my whole life. Once I tried to do some reading on the matter, but right away bumped into words like “determinism,” “Calvinism,” and “Arminianism.”
So I ran out and bought a dachshund, which I named Emanuel Swedenborg.
And now determined readers are back at it. So let me solve the whole question of free will vs. predestination, so that I can go back to watching Chinese soccer.
Now then. I am sure I have free will. To prove it, I will now do an imitation of Daffy Duck.
There. I did it. There’s no way God could have predicted I would do that.
Ha! And now I just did an imitation of Daffy Duck imitating Road Runner!
And—ow. I think I hurt my throat.
But the point is: I decided to do that larynx-traumatizer all by myself.
There’s no way that in any Book of Life written before time there’s an entry that says: “5:43 a.m. July 25, 2007. San Diego, California. Dork on couch does imitation of Daffy Duck imitating Road Runner.”
This proves, beyond question, that I have free will.
Except I don’t want to have free will. Which is to say, I don’t want to be able to surprise God. A God so stuck in temporal time that he has to wait to see what will happen next doesn’t sound like a very inspiring, very All-Knowing sort of deity. That sounds like … me watching TV.
So forget that. God knows all. Period. That’s not debatable.
So God did know I was going to wrench my poor little throat box!
And yet, he didn’t stop me. How … kind of him.
Okay, so what do we have here?
I think I have free will—but in actually I don’t, because God, knowing all, is perfectly aware ahead of time of everything that I’ll ever do, say, or think. Moreover, he causes me to do, say, and think everything I do. Because if he’s all-knowing, then he must be all-powerful, since anyone who is all-knowing but not all-powerful is just … a nerd.
Say, you know what I think?
I think I’ll take little Emanuel Swedenborg for a walk.
Okay, fine. I’ll continue. Here is what I really think: When we’re outside of God’s grace—when we’ve chosen to be Independent Types—we have free will, because we’ve then placed ourselves outside of God’s purview. But when we’re with God—when we’ve surrendered ourselves to the reality of God’s presence within us—then we don’t have free will, because then our will is subsumed by the larger will of God.
There. Done. That was easy.
How is it that Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and all those other brainy theologians never thought of that?
Losers.
You know, sometimes I think Preeminent Theologian Types really just keep pretending all of this stuff is so hard, so that they don’t have to go out and get real jobs. Then again, many philosophers and theologians were working before the invention of television. Clearly, keeping themselves amused was more of a challenge for them than it is for, say, me.
Just out: UNFAIR: Why the “Christian” View of Gays Doesn’t Work (softcover edition; Kindle edition; NookBook edition). You’re invited to check out my Facebook page, and my group Unfundamentalist Christians, the motto of which is “Above all, love.”
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There are important questions that never seem to get asked or answered. Why does man have a will in the first place? What exactly is a will? How do we understand the will of man as it pertains to loving God? Is sovereignty about control or the right to rule?
God’s control over His creation doesn’t seem to be the issue here. The issue is about God’s control in light of the fact that God also gave man a will.
Is it at least possible that we are using definitions that are not really accurate? Maybe that would explain why this debate goes on and on. Wrong definitions will never reveal the truth. It will only keep us chasing our tail.
Sovereignty is about the right to rule, in any way that pleases God, over His creation. It pleased God to give man a will. WHY? I believe that the relationship God was after in creating man in the first place, holds the key.
Just thinking out loud.
Here's what I think. God is omniscient, yes but not all-knowing to the point at which everything in our lives is predetermined. If so, what's the point, even for believers? If God knows all, and thereby is in a sense controlling my life, then I do not have free-will and if I don't truly have free-will than how can I be held accountable for my transgressions?
This is why I take issue with the idea of an all-knowing God who knows the outcome yet proceeds anyway, he's a tyrant…a bully on the play ground. Take for example the story of Eden. God creates this tree that humanity is absolutely not to touch under pain of death (yet God knew they would or else God is not all-knowing) then punishes them for doing exactly what God knew they would do, defies logic. A rational and compassionate being would not resort to such irrational and in-compassionate actions.
No. I think that God is omniscient to the point at which God knows each of us so well that God can, with near perfect accuracy, predict the most probable outcome. It's sort of like how your mom always knew when you were lying or your dad could always tell when something was on your mind; they raised you, watched you grow. It's kind of like that for God.
That's just my take on it, anyway
John,
I don’t believe that because God knows what I’ll do that He is making me do it. I believe I have free will so that I can decide whether I’m with God or against Him, whether to believe His word or not. He’s left the “heaven or hell” choice up to each of us, but it’s only by His power we can get there if we choose heaven. (Also, it’s only by His power we can understand the choice we have, which is where faith comes in: we have to decide to be with Him before He lets us understand why.)
Hi John,
It says in the bible God created us with FREEWILL, so why do people need more proof? I am not sure, but do feel that they just don't want God to know them all that well. Jonah had the freewill to flee from God. He was swallowed by a fish. God has the fish spit him out. Jonah goes to Nineveh to warn the people of there impending doom. They change and repent. Wow! God can even change his mind, so did God LIE to Jonah? No, he granted them mercy, based on their freewill. Had they not repented he, I have no doubt would have done exactly what he told Jonah he would do to them. They would have been annihilated. YES! we have freewill, but so does God. He knows our hearts. He loves and protects us. We have the choice to chose him, and with freewill he hopes we will.
wait, you said you don’t care either……damn, I do agree with everything you say!!!
John: See I told you I don’t agree with you on everything….my personal take on this one is “who cares??!!” so ha!! However, found it, as per usual, extremely entertaining and am gonna take it into my Soteriology class (after my college break) where we have been debating this issue for weeks now. Might lighten up the convo and stop people coming to blows hahahaha.
Love your work
I was sitting here on my yacht reading this post with my satellite-connected laptop, trying to figure out which island to buy. I’ll have one of my people call you later, okay? ; – )
The Borg are from Sweden? I had no idea …
To be perfectly honest, I’ve always thought that the whole debate over predestination vs. free will is one of those arguments for people who want to show that they’re smarter than the rest of us … but miss the point.
The point is that God loves us and extends His grace.
Whether predestination means some lack of free will or how it’s possible that our freedom works together with omniscience … well, … doesn’t matter.
(Is that right?)
(Oh, and I've read Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Edwards, and Erasmus. I can testify that at least Edwards and Erasmus had senses of humor. Seriously, you don't write "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and not enjoy the… deliciousness of it. As far as the rest of them — well, they never made me loathe the word "blessings".)
Man, how could such a respectful but funny post inspire so much dreck? And why is it that I am immediately suspicious when someone signs off with "blessings"? Christians have made me fear the word "blessings" — that just ain't right.
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