posted on Aug, 31 2010 @ 02:14 AM
I do not claim to know how the free-will argument is debated from a secular standpoint, but from a Christian standpoint, I've read books and listened
to the Calvinist's arguments -- and I still don't buy it. What I mean is, I don't buy the proposition that we have NO free will.
I don't like the term "free will" anyway because the Calvinists that I have talked to use it to mean: "can do ANYTHING" -- which is obviously
false.
I agree with them...
I cannot breathe under water unaided, even if I want to.
I cannot spread my arms and fly.
I cannot comprehend the speed of light.
But what I don't agree with is that because there are things that I cannot do, that this proves that I have no free will. Their error is that they
misunderstand what free will really means.
And so I like the term, "freedom of the will". We can't do EVERYTHING, but we DO have moral freedoms. From a Christian POV, it's not so much about
choosing what color socks to put on or when to cut your hair -- rather it's about being moral agents. That we, as created in the likeness of God,
have the innate ability to make ethical and moral decisions -- and that is the true "freedom of the will" that we have been given.
Who cares if someone can prove that you put on red socks this morning because you saw a TV commercial that subconsciously influenced your decision.
That's not what the Christian doctrine is about (again, I'm arguing from the Christian POV). The Christian doctrine is about CHOOSING to feed the
hungry. CHOOSING to not curse those who curse you. CHOOSING to put away the sword and not cast the stone.
"Free will" is the ability to know the right thing, and do the right thing, -- even if it is not convenient or self-beneficial.
Anyone trying to convince you that you are nothing more than a robot is just selling snake oil.
And while it may be comforting to convince yourself that you had no real control over your bad behavior last night -- you need to man-up to the fact
that, in reality, in truth, you DID really have control. Don't fool yourself and use the "no-free-will" argument as a way to justify bad behavior.
In the very end, such foolish thinking will be exposed.
We ARE accountable for what we do in the area of morals and ethics.
The choice really is yours, and no one else's.