I am opening this thread to continue a discussion that was concluded a few days ago with the closing of a thread. But I will keep (or will try to keep) the thread on topic and “honest”. What is being discussed is not the "problem of evil", but the existence and extent of free will and determinism, and whether or not they are compatible.
It seems that we have three choices when it comes to Determinism, Free Will, and Compatibilism.
I am a Compatibilist. I believe that God is both Creator and Sustainer. Our wills are bound, so to speak, by our nature. Our nature is influenced by many factors (our psychology, worldview, cultural norms, ideologies, and our experiences, to name a few). I believe that God is a God of means. God is sovereign, to include a sovereignty that extends to those factors that will contribute to our nature and influence our decisions.
I believe that all events are determined by God (theological determinism), that events are normally necessitated by the laws of nature(casual determinism) as a means through which God works in both sustaining creation and working all things in accordance to his will. But I believe that within this system of determined outcomes, men possess free will in that their choices are not made by compulsion. Men choose freely. I do not view determinism and free will to be contradictory.
To clarify a couple of misconceptions from another thread - Compatiblism is not "neo-Calvinism", or "neo" anything. It is not about reconciling God to the existence of evil. It is about the existence of free will, or the capability of men to make free choices, when the outcome is determined by an outside factor (God, nature, desire, norms, etc.).
It seems that we have three choices when it comes to Determinism, Free Will, and Compatibilism.
- Our choices are predetermined, there is no such thing as free will.
- Our choices are free from all determination and constraint. Their outcome is not predetermined.
- The outcome of our choices are predetermined and we choose freely.
I am a Compatibilist. I believe that God is both Creator and Sustainer. Our wills are bound, so to speak, by our nature. Our nature is influenced by many factors (our psychology, worldview, cultural norms, ideologies, and our experiences, to name a few). I believe that God is a God of means. God is sovereign, to include a sovereignty that extends to those factors that will contribute to our nature and influence our decisions.
I believe that all events are determined by God (theological determinism), that events are normally necessitated by the laws of nature(casual determinism) as a means through which God works in both sustaining creation and working all things in accordance to his will. But I believe that within this system of determined outcomes, men possess free will in that their choices are not made by compulsion. Men choose freely. I do not view determinism and free will to be contradictory.
To clarify a couple of misconceptions from another thread - Compatiblism is not "neo-Calvinism", or "neo" anything. It is not about reconciling God to the existence of evil. It is about the existence of free will, or the capability of men to make free choices, when the outcome is determined by an outside factor (God, nature, desire, norms, etc.).