This topic should be so easy to understand, but the illusion of "free-will" is so strong that most people deny that God is actually, factually in control of everything. Or at least that He set everything in operation to perfectly play out exactly how He planned it.
Think about it. You can either believe in free-will, or you can believe that prophecy has been and will be fulfilled. It is one or the other. IF we have free-will, then it is possible to stop events that were prophesied from occurring. If you have not heard of the "butterfly-effect" it is the theory that says that if you change even the smallest thing about a past situation, the entire outcome of an event can and will occur differently. Take for instance our diet, if we feel hungry and crave an egg, and then we eat the egg only to find out it was rotten, we end up sick and possibly hospitalized. That is only ONE event. Now imagine our entire diet. Everything we eat affects our bodies. Eventually poor diet can lead to all kinds of things and eventually our death. If we changed one thing about our diet it would change our lifespan. Since God knows exactly how long each of us are going to live (because He Himself numbered those day) then our cravings are going to be in accord with what He wills, and if we "decide" that we are going to get fit and start eating right? Well, where do you think that motivation came from? If you haven't seen the movie, "The Butterfly Effect", then you should watch it. It is similar to the Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future story in which Scrooge is shown what life would be like if he didn't change.
If you don't think that even the tiniest little thing isn't controlled by God picture this: God has a plan He has set out to accomplish. There are specific results He wishes to achieve. Now if anything at all happens differently than He intends the outcome will not be the same. Imagine you are traveling in a straight line. You need to get from Springfield, MO to Faith, NC. If you set the co-ordinates to go only in a straight line to NC you had better get them dead on precise. If you are off by 1°, you will not end up in Faith, NC. Heck you may not even be in North Carolina at all!
Simply put. Either prophecy will be fulfilled, or we have free-will.
Great job presenting so simply our not having free will . I've found explaining that we do not possess free will one of the most challenging aspects in explaining my faith. I plan to use your explanation.....can't think of an easier concept to lay it out.
ReplyDeleteKeep blogging Chris.