The Intersection of Free Will, Determinism and Compatibilism

“But man is freer than all the animals, on account of his free-will, with which he is endowed above all other animals.”- Thomas Aquinas. Many Christian churches and denominations have diverse views on the idea of free will. It is rather easy to become confused pertaining to God's control and our own free will. Free will is the ability to choose and have faith in God, being secure in our eternal life in heaven, or we can choose to turn from God and live apart from Him. All humans have free will. In the creation story in Genesis, this was evident given the actions by the first two humans Adam and Eve. Despite the warning from God, both Adam and Eve listened to Satan and in the process disobeyed God when they ate from the forbidden tree. Genesis 3:1-3, it says, now the serpent was more cunning than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say that you must not eat from a tree in the garden?' The woman told the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” In verses four and five of Genesis chapter 3, it goes deeper, “the serpent replied, 'You certainly won't die! God well knows that when you eat from the tree your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” God is omniscience in that God knows everything. A related term is foreknowledge. Foreknowledge means that God knows everything that is yet to happen in the future. The logical conclusion is therefore that God knew that Adam and Eve would have eaten from the forbidden tree. God also knew that the serpent would have beguiled both Adam and Eve. Interestingly, Lucifer was once an angel in Heaven. The Bible mentions Lucifer's rebellion against God in several places, including: Ezekiel 28:12-17: This passage describes Lucifer as a perfect and beautiful being who was filled with wisdom and understanding. However, he became corrupted by pride and decided to rebel against God. As a result, he was stripped of his beauty and cast out of heaven. Revelation 12:7-9: This passage describes how Lucifer, now known as Satan, wages war against God and his angels. He is defeated and cast out of heaven, and his followers are cast down to earth with him. The above Bible Scriptures gives us a a clear indication that free will existed in Heaven for the angels up to the time of Lucifer’s rebellion which led to him being cast out of heaven. Free Will. The American Psychological Association states free will is the power or capacity of a human being for self-direction. The function of the will is to be inclined or disposed toward an idea or action. The concept of free will thus suggests that inclinations, dispositions, thoughts, and actions are not determined entirely by forces over which people have no independent directing influence. Free will is generally seen as necessary for moral action and responsibility and is implied by much of our everyday experiences, in which we are conscious of having the power to do or refrain. The issue of free will is a core theological topic. Most religions insist that God has given human beings free will and thus human beings can choose right from wrong, and that (in some religions at least) wrongful acts are sinful and worthy of divine punishment, while good acts are righteous and worthy of divine reward. If “free will” means that God gives humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destinies, then yes, human beings do have a free will. The world’s current wicked state is directly linked to choices made by Adam and Eve. God did not create robots. God created mankind in His own image, and that included the ability to choose. Free will is described as the capacity for rational agents (namely humans) to choose one course of action over other possible alternatives. Some philosophers, such as Rene Descartes and Jean Paul Sartre, have argued for the position of radical Free Will that each agent is wholly free of influence, whether internal or external, when making choices. The antithesis of this position is that of Determinism, the idea that the present or future is effectively determined by the state of the past in conjunction with the basic laws of nature. In this view the human will is not exempted from the laws of natural causality and thus not “free” to self-determination. Heavenly Beings. Let us be mindful that there are other heavenly beings apart from angels. The Bible mentions the Seraphim, Cherubim and Four Living Creatures? Are these beings without free will? Each being mentioned has an important role in Heaven regarding serving God. The word Seraphim (one seraph, two or more seraphim) means “burning ones” or nobles. They are also sometimes called the 'ones of love' because their name might come from the Hebrew root for 'love'. So these types of heavenly beings have six wings, but they only use two of them for flying. It sounds strange to use wings to cover your face and feet. It is possible these beings cover their face because, being so close to God, they would witness His full glory which would be too powerful to behold. In many cultures the feet are considered 'unclean' and so unworthy to be shown to God. Their position is flying above God's throne, unlike the Cherubim who are beside/around it. Their primary duty is to constantly glorify and praise God and they may also be the personal 'attendant' angels of God. Their eternal song "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." has been used by Jews and Christians for thousands of years to join with the angels in praising God. In Jewish folklore, and some later Christian works, the Seraphim are said to be the highest rank of angels. This is probably because of their very close proximity to God. In art, Seraphim are often red (because of their names 'burning ones') and are shown holding a flaming sword with the words 'holy, holy, holy' on the blade. In the final book of the Bible, Revelation (4:8), there is a description of 'Four Living Creatures. These amazing creatures have features in common with both the Seraphim, in having six wings and continually praising God; and like the Cherubim, that they number four, are covered in eyes and look like a lion, ox, man and eagle. Immortality. One does not need to be a theologian to realize that in our present state we cannot go to heaven. One of the most significant Bible scriptures that address this fact is found in 1st Corinthians 15:53-55. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Those who have committed their lives to God and have acknowledged Him as Lord and Saviour, made a conscious effort to travel this path. On the other hand, the same can be said regarding those who have heard the Gospel repeatedly and have decided not to embark on the Christian journey. Free will is a choice all humans have. Without a doubt, this is not in dispute regarding our earthly journey. The million dollar question is will we have free will in Heaven. “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”- Joshua 24:15. Determinism. Determinism is the philosophical view that every physical event is completely caused by prior events together with the laws of nature. Or, to put the point differently, it’s the view that every event has a cause that makes it happen in the one and only way that it could have happened. The concept of determinism is linked directly to the genes in the DNA of a person. Because we already know that aberrations in certain genes can lead to various forms of physical and mental disease in humans, we can say with some certainty that people are physically determined by their genes. But genetic determinists want to extend this further, by claiming that even our behavior is determined by our genes. In this line of thinking, we are but victims of our genetic makeup, and any effort to change our moral nature or behavioral patterns is useless. This is sometimes termed "puppet determinism," meaning metaphorically that we dance on the strings of our genes. The debate surrounding humanity and free will has no end in sight. For centuries, the curious among us have debated whether or not human beings have free will. The issue of free will is not as straight forward as we like. The idea of free will is largely dependent upon how we define free will. If our examination of free will is through theological lens then we will probably view free will as an illusion. We all have been at the crossroads of free will. In fact, some of us are still waiting to cross over. For most of us our actions are primarily based on how we were socialized and the value systems we have internalized. Perhaps, the best compromise is a blended approach. Compatibilism. There are those who believe that humans lack a free will. Freedom of choice is a necessary condition for responsibility and therefore humans cannot be responsible for their doings. Those who support this view believe that humans can be, and normally are; responsible for what they do and in support of this belief they assume that free will is not necessary for responsibility. Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are mutually compatible and that it is possible to believe in both without being logically inconsistent. Our codes of ethics, for example, assume that we can freely choose between right and wrong. In the Christian tradition, this is known as “moral liberty” the capacity to discern and pursue the good, instead of merely being compelled by appetites and desires. In the end, both Adam and Eve made their decisions based on their will to choose. In the words of St. Augustine, free will without grace has the power to do nothing but sin. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #freewill #Determinism #Compatibilism