"Free Will"

1. 60

   Dave Mathewsposted 13 years ago

   How many people know and understand that "No Man" not even one, has had, has, or, ever will have, the so called power of "Free Will"? This term is a misnomer a term improperly used to describe mankind's "Free Choice".
   
   I mean think about it. Can you "Will" a refrigerator to move by itself from your kitchen into your livingroom and be successful? Uh uh! I doubt it.  Can you "Will" a million dollars in the bank's vault transferred into your personal bank account? Not a chance. If you were flying on a trip somewhere and all the engines failed and you were falling from the sky, could you "Will" the plane to stay in the air? Nope you can't do any of these things through your "Will".
   
   You can choose to do or say,or not to do or say any number of things in your life. You can "Choose" to take the day off from work. You can "Choose" not to cheat on your spouse. You can choose anything in life that you might wish to do. You can even choose not to lie for a whole day.
   
   The one and only person who can and does freely "Will" things in life, and have it work just the way they desire is GOD.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      jomineposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Even god can't will a triangular circle or married bachelor or parallel lines that meet! There is no will nor design.

      replyreport
   2. 70

      Titen-Sxullposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think you're confused about what the term Free Will means when we're talking about philosophy. No one uses the term to refer to the psychic ability to move things with your thoughts. We're not talking about FREELY WILLING anything and everything to happen with a mere thought with NO CONSTRAINTS. It's understood that Free Will refers to the ability to choose your actions consciously, NOT the ability to alter or affect the external world with a mere thought.
      
      As such it is debatable whether Free Will even exists or whether our actions are Determined by the inevitable flow of cause and effect. Modern discoveries in neuroscience seem to suggest that our brains make choices BEFORE we are consciously aware, this suggests that Determinism trumps Free Will.
      
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         What you consider "Free Will" in life's decisions I consider to be
         "Free Choice", as we freely choose to say, to do, or not to say, or do something, ie, I choose to help a friend. I choose to play baseball. I choose not to join the Mafia. I choose to eat meat and not vegetables, or in the case of my example with the fridge, I choose to get a friend to help me to move it.
         
         Get my point?

         replyreport
   3. 60

      Disappearingheadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Tuh! Jesus said that if we have sufficient faith we can tell a mountain to go jump in the sea, so getting your fridge to move to the living room should be easy peasy.
      
      Then of course there's the 'Word of Faith' types, people like Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, et al, who reckon you can speak things into being, or change your life circumstances by 'positive confession of the Word'. So who needs to move their old fridge, when you can just proclaim "fridge be!' and lo there was a new fridge and that fridge was good.

      replyreport
   4. 40

      H P Roychoudhuryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      [“This term is a misnomer a term improperly used to describe mankind's "Free Choice"] - Not absolutely true. It is because ‘Free Choice’ is the person’s choice. But fulfillment of the desire is not depending on person’s choice that is being depended on many factors. As such the term free choice is the person’s choice that is an expression of his or her desire but not the result. It is not a misnomer in true sense –with regards.

      replyreport
   5. 59

      recommend1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You demonstrate a blindingly shallow understanding of anything much with your ridiculous posts.
      
      Even if such a thing as a god existed, and it behaved as described in the only book that claims to represent it - we are clearly given free will as you demonstrate by being able to write what you like here.

      replyreport
   6. 60

      kessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Despite the flawed foundation upon which you choose to base your argument, I will also point out to you that such a stance is also a denial of the faith you stand for.
       
      'Nothing is impossible to those in  christ' is the basic christan doctrine.
      
      So unless we debate as to what nothing is, it means that the christian will is exactly as GOD's will.
      Which imply that just as God wills so the man also wills.
      So calling something into being is part and parcel of being a man.

      replyreport
2. 60

   Eric Newlandposted 13 years ago

   Err...
   
   will
   [wil]
   - noun
   1. the power of conscious action or choice
   
   Doesn't sound like a misnomer to me. Sounds like exactly what you just said.
   
   I mean, sure, we don't have the universal ability to do this:
   
   7. to influence by the power of the will
   
   ...But I don't think that's what anyone means when they use the expression "free will."

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If you believe that you have the ability to "Will" things into being, simply think it and poof all of a sudden it becomes what your mind desires, then you are one in a trillion, because no man can.
      
      You can choose for something to happen, but you cannot simply make it happen with the power of your mind your thoughts.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Did you read my post?
         
         The first definition of "will" is "the power to choose." The very first one. In the first dictionary I found. It means you can make choices. It doesn't mean you can create a refridgerator with your mind.
         
         Note that "will into being" is a phrase. You have to add more words onto the simple definition of "will" before you get anywhere in the neighborhood of claiming to have God-like powers.

         replyreport
         1. 60

            Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I saw it but it is not exactly a compelling definition of the word. Can you simply through your thoughts "Will" anything to happen or to be and then it happens OR, do you have to followup and "Choose" to take some form of action to make it happen. I know and understand what the dictionary says.

            replyreport
            1. 0

               Emile Rposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               What do you mean by not a compelling definition of the word? You can't deny a definition for a word exists simply because it doesn't suit your fancy.

               replyreport
3. 74

   jacharlessposted 13 years ago

   Choice is the parallel of right-wrong, good-bad, often defined as reasoning, duality.
   Free Will is not Choice nor choosing.
   Free Will is the power that enables Choice, yes. But it is not Choice in and of itself.
   
   Choice is only based on the processes of the human mind/brain.
   The thoughts in there are considered by humans to be those things that cause-effect living.
   Although, in actuality, thoughts are not decisive nor decision makers. Even more, those thoughts have no power until the body or spirit reacts to them, if they react to them.
   There is more to the human than their thoughts, therefore something greater than Choice exists in them. It is called Free Will.
   
   So long as choice is in play, Free Will is made of no effect.
   James
   
   
   EDIT: ps, Dave, it is also true you -and every other human ever made- was created with precisely the same image/likeness ability. One can 'free will' if one lets go of choice.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You run in circles saying very little. Are you able to simply "Will" your fridge to move, or do you have to choose to exercise some of you physical human power and physically move it?

      replyreport
      1. 74

         jacharlessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You are confusing the power source with the action of power.
         Not the same thing Dave.
         In addition, you are assuming you 'need' to will something for a reaction to occur (as in example willing a fridge to move).

         replyreport
4. 60

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   God wants me to smoke.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So what has that got to do with anything discussed here?

      replyreport
5. 60

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   If God is the only thing that freely wills in life, then God wills that I smoke.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      ibexgroundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      God is the only person that can "will". - create something from nothing- but god gives us the the choice by his "will" to decide between our choices. For you to say god "wills" me to smoke is invalid, god has freed you to will - Free will- only in the matter of choice.

      replyreport
   2. 60

      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Not exactly! You chose to smoke, because you could not will yourself not to.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         kessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I guess you did not realize that you are actually agreeing with him despite your doubtful statement.

         replyreport