Does God's foreknowledge take away from free will?

by Christ Alone 317 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  PSacramento

  Ah, so God is guessing. He doesn't have actualy foreknowledge.

  As we exchangined before, some view it as limited foreknowledge,( God knows what He chooses to know) some view it as middle knowledge and I think that it may be more liek knowing ALL possible outcomes.

  Got it, He isn't really God then. He's just a good guess. If he is guessing there is some percent chance he will be wrong sometime. God is fallible.

  I guess you can see it that way, I mean, if by knowing everything that it possible to know at any give time isn't all knowing, then I am not sure what it is but I guess since God has NOT predestined or preordained a choice BEFORE it is made, it is conceivable that God can make a mistake.

  Again, according to how I view it since God knows every possible outcome then any choice made is a choice the God knows.

  Does God knowing all possible outcomes make God fallible?

  Falliable means that God can make a mistake, that God can "fail" at something and I am not sure how that equals a God that knows all possible outcomes of any choice.
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  PSacramento

  So.... we're agreed? God is fallible and therefore doesn't meet the burden of the title God?

  That would depend on your definition of God of course, if we go with the old "greatest possible being that can be conceived" then IF you can conceive God "changing His Mind" ( as the OT writers did) or regretting something He did ( as the writer of Genesis did) then He would still be God.

  Just because we can't understand how God works( or one of His attributes), doesn't make Him any less God and, in fact, one could argue that IF we COULD understand everything about God then God wouldn't be God.
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  sizemik

  one could argue that IF we COULD understand everything about God then God wouldn't be God. . . . PSac

  Yes . . . the concept of God is wholly reliant on the mysterious . . . the unexplained/unexplainable. That's why the concept embraces new understanding and contantly corrects itself. It must always be in harmony with contemporary understanding, but continue to be explained by the inexplicable . . . maintaining it's residency in the house of mystery.
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  EntirelyPossible

  Falliable means that God can make a mistake, that God can "fail" at something and I am not sure how that equals a God that knows all possible outcomes of any choice.

  Right, so God either knows the outcome (no free will) or he is just a good guesser (but could be wrong) or he chooses not to (not what he does according to you) or he just knows all of the possible outcomes.

  So, just knowing all the possible outcomes isn't fireknowledge in any real sense. I know all of the possible outcomes if I throw dice. My flight attendant knows all the possible outcomes when she offers me lunch. Big deal.
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  EntirelyPossible

  Did god know you were going to bump this thread?
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  *lost*

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  Heisenberg

  This is a fascinating thread.
  

  If God can peer into the future and foretell events (and the Bible says he can), it is clear that whatever happens is going to happen. You cannot change it.

  For those that continue to believe in God, do you believe that humans have free will? If yes, please justify. If your answer is no, then how can humans be held accountable for their actions and be judged by God?