God is in control of everything...and we have free will. How can they both be true?

 

What does this mean? Free will -- Full message

 

Today is the future you were thinking about 10 years ago

What about the Sutherland Springs church shooting?

Where Is God In Our Troubled And Chaotic World?

Sometimes the world appears to be so troubled and chaotic it may seem like God has turned His back and is no longer there.

God has created human beings with free will and there will be people who will exercise free will in ways that are terrible, foolish, dangerous, tragic, inhumane and, yes, evil. If God were to intervene and stop a person from exercising his/her free will, then it would no longer be free will.

But God has not turned His back.

Our understanding is limited. I realize remarks like this can sound like trite cop outs when tragedies occur but it is true. We only see in a partial way. I do not write this to excuse or minimize the atrocious things which happen in our world. They anger me and they break my heart.

I only mean to suggest that as we try to analyze and think about the events in our world—as we try to make sense of what surely seems to be senseless—we are doing so with limitations in our knowledge and understanding.

When I am frustrated by the pain, turmoil and hate in our world and I think, “Where are you, God?” it helps me—at least a little bit—to remember God understands what it means to be the recipient of pain, turmoil and hate in a very personal way. He is not a deity who stands removed from the difficult realities of life. He is, the Bible reminds us, a God with wounds.

Life can definitely be perplexing and perhaps we will not always be able to see it, but He does care.

We Choose How We Respond

For the most part, we choose how we respond to what happens in life. In other words, we are not forced by the circumstances of life to think, speak and behave in certain ways. Rather, we choose our response.

I realize there are some really bad circumstances which can happen sometimes. And I understand that when incredibly difficult circumstances occur this is not inconsequential. The circumstances of our lives matter. I have great empathy for this reality. However, it is still true that, in general, we choose our response.

This can be a difficult idea to wrestle with because it takes away some of our excuses. If we admit we have chosen our response then we cannot claim circumstances dictated that we respond in negative, hurtful, unwise and unhealthy ways. We must accept responsibility.

With God’s help we can choose—even in difficult circumstances—to respond to life with love, respect, grace, joy, patience and kindness. I want to make these kinds of positive choices.

We Can Know God Exists, If We Are Willing

Jesus spoke of people who closed their eyes to the truth. He spoke of people who closed their hearts to understanding. He was quoting from the book of Isaiah when He made these remarks. He was talking about people who… well, He put it this way: “[T]hey look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.” Matt. 13:13

The evidence for God can be there right in front of us. It can be available for us to see and yet we can choose not to see it. (Let’s be honest, sometimes people are living in such a way that a Holy God can be downright uncomfortable.)

In order to see God as He reveals himself in our world we have to be willing to see God. There is a measure of choice involved on our part. God gives us enough evidence that we can see him and know He exists. In fact, we can have assurance that He exists…if we are willing.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
 Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
 They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

Is Free Will Real Or Is It An Illusion?

A materialistic worldview rejects God and posits that matter is all that exists. This is an increasingly common and influential worldview in our culture, particularly in academia. On this view the universe is basically a large machine which is simply working according to the laws of physics. Materialism is a deterministic view of reality.

One of the implications of a materialistic worldview for you and me is we do not have free will. The scientists and philosophers who hold this view and write about the subject understand this implication and suggest that what we believe to be free will is actually an illusion. We “think” we are exercising real choices in the course of our lives but guess what? We are not.

It is interesting, however, that some of the scientists and philosophers who hold this view will admit free will is an illusion we need to maintain.

For example, Marvin Minsky of MIT states, “No matter that the physical world provides no room for freedom of will; that concept is essential to our models of the mental realm.” He goes on to say, “We’re virtually forced to maintain that belief [free will], even though we know it’s false.”

There are a number of problems with the view that we do not have free will. It runs counter to common sense, for instance. Also, it does not adequately explain our human experience. Notice that Minsky, who holds a materialistic worldview, openly admits we, nevertheless, need to maintain the belief in free will even though we know it is false. Isn’t that a strange position for a scientist to hold?

There are other problems with the denial of free will, for example, if we do not have free will then we have no true basis for the concept of moral accountability. After all, we are just machines working according to the purely materialistic, pre-determined laws of the natural world. We shouldn’t hold a machine accountable for doing what it has been programmed to do, should we?

Christian theologian and philosopher Nancy Pearcey writes, “It is ironic that people who reject Christianity—who think that without God they can finally be free—end up with philosophies [like materialism] that deny human freedom.”

*NOTE: These thoughts were prompted after I read Part Two of Nancy Pearcey’s excellent book, “Finding Truth.” Nancy is a brilliant and insightful author who writes about substantive issues in an accessible way that even regular guys like me can understand.

Why God Is Necessary For Great Imagination and Creativity

Without God imagination and creativity do not really exist.

Here’s what I mean…

Many thinkers and philosophers agree that if naturalism/materialism is true then determinism is true.  Another way of thinking of this is that if God does not exist then everything—this would be everything in the literal sense—is following the course of a completely mindless, materialistic process that is already determined and, therefore, free will does not exist.

In order for imagination and creativity to flourish genuine free thinking (an aspect of free will) must be possible.

I think this is why something like truly beautiful music connects me to God, because the imagination required to create the great music has God as its ultimate source.

Accepting God's Ways

When we accept God’s ways, one of the things we are doing is acknowledging that there are certain things that we can’t change.  It’s not that there’s a sense of hopelessness or futility, to the contrary life with God is the ultimate life of hope.  But accepting God’s ways means we recognize that our ability to bring about our will in this world has limitations.

An Argument For Something "Spiritual"

Consciousness and Free Will cannot be explained by purely material means.  “Consciousness and free will have no natural explanation and seem to function beyond the bounds of physical law.” – Dinesh D’Souza.  These 2 significant aspects of human nature operate in a way that transcends the physical, giving us a strong argument for something…oh, let’s call it something “spiritual”.

Real Love Must Be Freely Chosen

God is the Almighty Creator, that means He could create us in such a way that we would be automatically programmed to love Him with no choice in the matter.  But love that is not freely chosen is not authentic love.  God doesn’t want to be loved by robots, He wants to be loved by you and me…people.  So, God gives us free will.  We choose to love Him.  Thanks for making that choice!

Choosing To Love God

In order for love to be meaningful, the one who loves must choose to do so willingly. If someone is coerced into loving, the love he gives is not authentic.  So, God gives us free will.  God loves us FIRST…true love is always INITIATED by God.  But God allows us to choose to respond in love to Him, or to ignore Him.  I encourage you to acknowledge God’s love for you and to CHOOSE to love Him.