Free will vs Omniscience

Like most children, I got away with as much as I could.

Belief can also be a powerful tool for the ones who are causing the crisis: "Don't think about the Church being made of solid gold while you have nothing to eat; some day, you'll have a solid gold mansion in heaven."

Or worse, an alien overlord playing mind games with believers. Or more likely, just believers playing mind games with themselves. If there was ever anything that He didn't know, He can't be omniscient. I don't see any way to tap-dance around that.

I didn't say it removes free will. I said you can't have both omniscience and free will. By trying to give us free will, you're diminishing God's knowledge and power. No, our free will doesn't depend on God's lack of omniscience. Our free will depends on what God will do to us if we don't do HIS will. It doesn't matter whether He knows beforehand what we're going to do. Whatever we "choose", He does HIS will.That isn't free will for us. Heaven or Hell is not a reasonable choice.

What's so bad about a world without earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, etc.? What's so bad about a world in which a man who is about to do a mass shooting is struck by lightning? I could live with a God who exerted that kind of useful control.

And to you, free will means having compleeeeeeete freedom to choose milk chocolate or dark chocolate or white chocolate - and you ignore the threat that you'll be tortured eternally for choosing vanilla. Why should there be any "preconditions of destiny"?

I predict that he won't. But apologists will continue with their clumsy attempts.

The whole idea of "destiny" is an excuse more than anything else. Of course it's unnecessary. Reality doesn't impose preconditions. It imposes consequences. Then let the consequences fall where they may - but we don't need a God to impose additional arbitrary consequences of His own.

Belief isn't "daring". It should be nothing more than a backup for when there is no evidence. But more often than not, it's just wishful thinking. It makes more sense to put your hope in something real.

God switched Pharaoh's mind back and forth like a TV remote. Sodom and Gomorrah. It definitely can be done. Why bother? If God has ANY power, why wouldn't He use it? Why use a middleman? If He would do ANYTHING useful, just anything at all, that would be nice.

That isn't what I said. I gave the examples of God messing with Pharaoh's head and genociding Sodom and Gomorrah. I said that it would be nice if He did something useful instead.

You have it backwards. God hardened Pharaoh's heart - i.e. He deliberately interfered with Pharaoh's natural conscience. At best, that was counter- productive. At worst, it was downright malicious. That's incoherent.

Of course it does. If He's wrong, you shouldn't be following Him. Nope. I have never chosen to go to Hell and I never will.

It's in the Bible.

If everything I do comes from God, why are you trying to argue with me?