How free are we?

Originally posted on September 10, 2006 – by Andre Piet

On his weblog, Wim Hoogendijk has written a thoughtful piece on the question of free will. That is, on the issue of whether everything is predestined and predetermined (determinism). As we’ve come to expect from Wim, he doesn’t push things to extremes or condemn others. By comparing the pros and cons of two opposing views, he offers insight into the issue.

I would like to add a few comments to his reflection.

A strong point of determinism is that it places God at the center. After all, He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the One who sees the end from the beginning. He is almighty. Another strong point is that it gives God the ultimate responsibility for His own creation. He ensures that it will all turn out well.

Calling this a “strong point” of determinism seems rather euphemistic to me. Isn’t placing GOD at the center the ultimate standard by which any teaching is to be measured? Is not any opposing teaching (which does not place God at the center) already condemned from the outset?

But there are also dangers associated with a system of absolute determinism. For example: the abolition of man. The very essence of being human. Self-awareness, the crown of creation—nearly divine, creative, and inventive—is completely stifled.

This argument I don’t understand. What does human self-awareness take away from the fact that God determines everything? That man, as a creative being, resembles God is certainly true. But even so, man can create nothing unless God has already created it beforehand as an option.

Another objection is that determinism leads to a form of pantheism. Pantheists are those who believe that everything that exists is a part of the Godhead.

This argument, too, I don’t really understand. The fact that God had the entire script of history laid out in advance makes the world precisely what it is – namely, creation, not Creator.

Another alleged danger of determinism is fatalism.

OK, that is a real danger. But does that mean the teaching is therefore untrue? Every biblical doctrine comes with dangers. The teaching, for example, that we are not under law but under grace, is also “dangerous.” Some conclude from that that we may as well go on sinning freely (Rom. 6:1). Should we then discard the biblical teaching altogether?

It doesn’t matter what you do or say or think—you’re nothing more than a complex puppet, completely fooled by the puppeteer into believing you can come up with something on your own.

God does not fool us into thinking we can come up with something on our own. We fool ourselves. Whoever acknowledges God knows that we are, have, and can do NOTHING of ourselves.

With a lofty term, this is called Arminianism (…). In that view, there is also room for just punishment and judgment. But with determinism, this becomes questionable. After all, how can you justly punish someone for something you yourself brought about?

Where have I heard that before? In Romans 9:19, this exact argument is raised by the opponent of Paul’s reasoning:
“You will be protesting to me, then, ‘Why is He still blaming? For who has withstood His intention?’ (Greek: boulema = counsel, purpose)”

Isn’t the fact that this argument is brought against Paul’s teaching the clearest evidence that Paul indeed taught that God has determined (appointed) all things?

Full-blown Arminianism makes man into a god. We are even stronger than God, because anyone can thwart His will and follow their own. In doing so, the Lord God is stripped of His omnipotence and reduced to nothing more than a powerless deity trying His best to get as many creatures on His side as He can.

Amen!

The key is found in Ephesians 1:11. Here the apostle Paul says something important about God. Take note:
“…according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will” (CLNT).

Here two different things are spoken of: the counsel of God (boule = purpose, plan) and the will of God (thelema = will, choice, inclination, desire).

Exactly! The difference between God’s counsel and God’s will is fundamental in this matter. Much of what we see in the world goes radically against God’s will. And yet, we must conclude that NOTHING goes against – or even can go against – God’s counsel. The Pharaoh of the Egyptian holocaust resisted God’s revealed will (“Let My people go!”), but at the same time, according to Paul, he fulfilled God’s hidden counsel (the word boulema in Rom. 9:19).

In summary: As human beings, we do not have absolute free will—but we do have relative free will. We can make our own choices within the boundaries God sets (of course, these choices are influenced by many factors beyond our control—hence: relative free will).

Indeed, as humans we only have free will in a relative sense. Our choices are ultimately shaped by factors outside our control. No one has made themselves. We have to work with the genetic package we were conceived with, and we have no say in the place or time in which we are born. And those are precisely the two major categories of influence – nature and nurture – that shape the course of our lives.

God will transform every person, reconcile them through the Lord Jesus, and turn them from enemies into friends. He does not do this apart from the will of a person. He is not a computer programmer, and we are not software. He is an artist who has created a masterpiece with a will, emotion, and understanding of its own. The goal of His creation is a full-fledged relationship of love between the artwork and the Artist. Love cannot be forced—if it is, love evaporates and all that remains is obedience.

I wholeheartedly agree with the conclusion, of course. But at the same time, this is exactly where the doctrine of free will completely falls apart. God has determined that all people will love Him. If man truly had a free will, then this could not be certain in advance. Reaching that destiny would then depend on man’s choice.

But God does not need coercion to make us into lovers of Him. “He knows our frame” – and more than anyone, He is able to convince and overwhelm us, in every fiber of our being, with the supremacy of His Love!

Delen: