Does god have free will?

Does God have free will? It is not so much that God cannot contradict His own nature as it is that God WILL not contradict His own nature. I agree with you that we should not treat the Bible like a god, itself. As a Christian, I am not for everyone just describing their idea of God as a free for all relative construct, however. We are limited in our ability or motivation to conceive of God how He is vs how WE want Him to be. In Genesis, the reason that God "fretted" about humans becoming deified is because they were not ready for that level of responsibility. In Biblegodland, (as Mike would put it! ) responsibility is not gained through mere human achievment and education. Responsibility is earned through obedience, submission to authority, and relational accountability. A& E failed this test by disobedience, and gained a sort of "knowledge" without the wisdom and experience needed to back it up. Well, a typical "fundie" response would be that God cannot do SOME things such as lie or cease to be omnipotant. One fundie preacher stated that God can never lie because if He called Red Blue, Red would become Blue! I respect the fact that the members of this forum are unafraid to use their intellects and critical thinking skills when discussing the nature of God. (Either as a reality or as a concept) Well, it may go something like this:
God never needs to rest. God never needs to "kick back" because He is having omnipotant fun all of the time by just being God. God never goes contrary to His nature NOT because He can't, but because Why would He want to? His nature is the best state of being, for Him. Maybe the Devil was allowed to exist just as an example of a wannabe deified nature expressed...since God Himself would never do the things that the Devil does in fact do or attempt to do. Yet if we negate the Bible as anything inspired, we have no absolute standard with which to define God. We are left with a world of fallible relativistic opinions. In fact, if we took a worldwide vote as to the best characteristics of God, could we say that the God that people want is the God who Is, or who should be? Does human nature want a God? Or do we seek to be co-creators and co-definers of reality with this god concept in our own minds? And it is a good thing for us that God is consistant! As to that lying spirit thing--If I did not take care of my physical self and let my immune system run down, a virus could be allowed to be placed in my body.(metaphorically) The virus is not good. The virus is not Holy. The virus was allowed to take root, so to speak...because of my rebellion towards good health. By the same token, the lying spirit was allowed to be placed upon the man because of his rebellious characteristics towards holiness. Maybe its kinda like saying that you have free will to date the gender of your nature as long as you only choose guys. You could choose girls. God could choose to be evil. Theoretically. Right? And if you chose to date a girl, you would be resisting your natural temptations, right? Again, we are all thankful for that! Believers, that is. Ball is in your court, Lam. I hope that I am helping answer your topic according to the theistic angle. If not, forgive me pleeeease.

Whats up, BC? (Baby Christian) I have been a Believer for 11 years. When I first got saved, I was ecstatic, arrogant, and naive. I knew that the Bible was more than a book--it was a Living Word to me...but I really found that I did not have the right spirit when I attempted to argue or discuss(convince) others who were non-believers. Now, eleven years later, I can defend the reasons WHY I am a Believer much better than before, but I have discovered that there is no surefire way to prove God to anyone, no matter how many scriptures you have memorized. It is ironic that Christians have what I consider to be a strong Faith, a reasonable Faith, and above all, a personal Faith. We know God. We know that we know that we know. And yet, we have notoriously poor communication/debating skills. If I can give you any advice, B.C. it is this: If you really care about forming a relationship with other members of this forum, be prepared to face rejection of every thought and idea that you propose to them. Be prepared to read the ideas that they put forth, even if you do not agree with them. Above all, be prepared to either hang around and form online dialogue exchanges which almost NEVER prove a point or a belief, yet which allow an interaction between you and us...the rest of us here in the forum.
I am a bit off topic here...must be that darned free will that I have! oh well, if the Holy Spirit lives in you, He is not so concerned with you changing other peoples minds as He is with you interacting with them and allowing Him to influence them. Hope this helps. By the way, I checked out the webpage in your profile...is that your page, asciikerr? http://www.truth-seeker.org Let us know.This message has been edited by Phatboy, 10-12-2004 09:58 AM

I have an odd way of looking at it. Adam and Eve were not so much kicked out of the Garden as the Garden was kicked out of them. That is when they really knew what Free Will was, when they did not live in Daddys Paradise any longer. What a limitless opportunity! We still have not found anything better than what Daddy wanted us to have all along, however.

Nah...just the previews.

Hey, bb...welcome to EvC.. who taught you about God?That is my first question.
2) Where is God right now?
3) Do we have to go to church?

We learn "about God" from our parents and society. Yes...*sigh* you said it first!This message has been edited by Phatboy, 09-26-2005 06:56 AM

bb meet me in the chatroom

Whereas we can't/won't do that in religion....What is the origin of "religion"?1) What one has been taught? (As Schraff suggests) or..2) What has been imparted from God to us. As I have maintained.(although religion and spirituality are not the same thing)And yet...the origin of 1 and 2 could be two different sources.1 could be human wisdom, whereas 2 could be God Himself!Here is the final conundrum:If well meaning Christians throughout the ages have maintained that they know God and then attempt to be the spokesmen for God, they could fall into the trap of becoming gods themselves...."knowing right from wrong....legislating morality....and attributing it all to divine impartation! This message has been edited by Phatboy, 09-29-2005 10:25 AM