So God has given us free will. But He knows the future. Hmmm....there's a problem here isn't there? Or is there? Many people have attempted to come to grips with this problem. Some have made up theories such as God knows the general future but not the exact future. This is clearly not the case. Consider 57:22-25 which definitively states our exact futures were preordained.
At the same time, as I write this post, I clearly feel I have free will. I can sip on my cup of tea or decide to get up and leave this post. From my point of view right now...it's completely up to me. God also says 'He does not change a condition of a people unless they first change it for themselves'. Again, fully supporting free will. And just to be clear, whenever we refer to free will for human beings, it means limited free will. After all, I can't very well split the moon or cause the sun to rise from the west instead of the east. So it certainly seems, that we as human beings, have free will. If we didn't, on what basis could God even judge us?
At the same time, the Qur'an clearly states God has set the future before He brought creation into being. So where does this leave us? Well first of all, let's understand the only reason the future, the present and the past exist, is because time exists. And the only reason time exists is because God created time itself. And if God created time, then it must mean God stands outside of time. Yes, just think about that one. So if God stands outside of time it must also mean that for God there is no distinction betweeen the future, present or the past. It's all the same to God. This is part of what is meant by God stating that He is all knowing.
So now, it would seem the only option that is left, considering God has predetermined our future, and that He has also given us free will...as difficult as it is to accept...is that they both exist together. Yes that's right...you heard me. Free will and predestination co-exist. In fact, it is the inevitable outcome of Creation by an omniscient Being.
You see the issue all along has been the wording...it isn't so much free will vs. predestination, rather it should be stated...free will and predestination. Consider them opposite sides of the same coin. So again, how is that possible? Well simple really. God knows the future because He stands outside of time and observes all of time at once. We don't. From His point of view it is predetermined. From our point of view it isn't.
Let's take an example. Let's say you travel to the future two years from now strictly as an observer with no interaction with the environment and without affecting the environment even through the observation of it. You find out many things...like who your best friend marries, what job he takes. You come back to the present but you know the future. Does this mean your friend no longer has freedom of choice, that he no longer has free will just because you went to the future and know it? Of course he still has freedom of choice from his point of view, while at the same time, you know the future from your point of view. As I say to my in-laws...it's all relative.
Here's another way to look at it. God created all the heavens, the universe, the earth, all the creatures on it including man. Do we know how God managed to create all that from nothing? We don't have a clue...but it's God...He's capable of doing anything. Okay, so why can God do anything, yet He can't create existence in such a way where He knows the future and still gives us free will? I mean it's God isn't it? If there's someone who can do that...it has to be God.
Let's look at it from the point of view of physics...and specifically the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. It states that the smaller the mass of an object and the faster its speed, the greater the uncertainty of its location at a given time. So electrons for example that travel really fast, and are really really small...well we have no idea where they exactly are in their orbit around a proton, nucleus or molecule at any given time. Hence, the uncertainty.
And considering that electron transfer is the basis of chemical reactions between atoms when molecular bonds are formed...including the neurochemical basis of thought along our neural pathways. So from our point of view, we don't know what we're going to do or think in the future. The uncertainty is built into the system that allows us to have freedom of thought. However the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle does not apply to God. He knows exactly where the electrons are...and therefore knows what we are going to think and do.
Hence, the reconciliation between Free Will and Predestination.
At the same time, as I write this post, I clearly feel I have free will. I can sip on my cup of tea or decide to get up and leave this post. From my point of view right now...it's completely up to me. God also says 'He does not change a condition of a people unless they first change it for themselves'. Again, fully supporting free will. And just to be clear, whenever we refer to free will for human beings, it means limited free will. After all, I can't very well split the moon or cause the sun to rise from the west instead of the east. So it certainly seems, that we as human beings, have free will. If we didn't, on what basis could God even judge us?
At the same time, the Qur'an clearly states God has set the future before He brought creation into being. So where does this leave us? Well first of all, let's understand the only reason the future, the present and the past exist, is because time exists. And the only reason time exists is because God created time itself. And if God created time, then it must mean God stands outside of time. Yes, just think about that one. So if God stands outside of time it must also mean that for God there is no distinction betweeen the future, present or the past. It's all the same to God. This is part of what is meant by God stating that He is all knowing.
So now, it would seem the only option that is left, considering God has predetermined our future, and that He has also given us free will...as difficult as it is to accept...is that they both exist together. Yes that's right...you heard me. Free will and predestination co-exist. In fact, it is the inevitable outcome of Creation by an omniscient Being.
You see the issue all along has been the wording...it isn't so much free will vs. predestination, rather it should be stated...free will and predestination. Consider them opposite sides of the same coin. So again, how is that possible? Well simple really. God knows the future because He stands outside of time and observes all of time at once. We don't. From His point of view it is predetermined. From our point of view it isn't.
Let's take an example. Let's say you travel to the future two years from now strictly as an observer with no interaction with the environment and without affecting the environment even through the observation of it. You find out many things...like who your best friend marries, what job he takes. You come back to the present but you know the future. Does this mean your friend no longer has freedom of choice, that he no longer has free will just because you went to the future and know it? Of course he still has freedom of choice from his point of view, while at the same time, you know the future from your point of view. As I say to my in-laws...it's all relative.
Here's another way to look at it. God created all the heavens, the universe, the earth, all the creatures on it including man. Do we know how God managed to create all that from nothing? We don't have a clue...but it's God...He's capable of doing anything. Okay, so why can God do anything, yet He can't create existence in such a way where He knows the future and still gives us free will? I mean it's God isn't it? If there's someone who can do that...it has to be God.
Let's look at it from the point of view of physics...and specifically the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. It states that the smaller the mass of an object and the faster its speed, the greater the uncertainty of its location at a given time. So electrons for example that travel really fast, and are really really small...well we have no idea where they exactly are in their orbit around a proton, nucleus or molecule at any given time. Hence, the uncertainty.
And considering that electron transfer is the basis of chemical reactions between atoms when molecular bonds are formed...including the neurochemical basis of thought along our neural pathways. So from our point of view, we don't know what we're going to do or think in the future. The uncertainty is built into the system that allows us to have freedom of thought. However the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle does not apply to God. He knows exactly where the electrons are...and therefore knows what we are going to think and do.
Hence, the reconciliation between Free Will and Predestination.
No comments:
Post a Comment