Does free will exist?
As humans came to enlightenment, the concept of free will concerned many philosophers’ thoughts, especially in philosophy of religion. Many came to question, whether humans have free will or they just do what needs to be done based on God’s plan. Therefore, many philosophers assume that the meaning of free will is the ability to choose to do something with one’s desire or to be free to choose. Moreover, people have different minds and different views about the idea of free will; some believe that it exists, and some don’t. For instance, Arminianism and Calvinism, two different forms of Christianity, have different views about the idea of free will. Arminianism is based on free will and Calvinism is based on predestination. I will argue that the idea of free will in the Arminianism belief is right because God does not decide who would get salvation and who would not, but people do themselves. The article, “A Review Essay: Olson’s Arminian Theology” by Don Thorsen mentioned that Arminianism believes that Jesus died for all, and salvation is provided for everyone. …show more content…
God knows who would be saved from the beginning; however, He is not the one who determined it. God gives humans free will and they are free to choose or reject the salvation. Moreover, Arminianism considers that to choose good over evil is peoples’ choice. Arminianists also believe that God is in charge of everything, but He does not control everything in order to give humans self-determination. Therefore, God does not use His power to control over people whom have denied Him. He only controls, guides, and saves those that accept Him. On the other hand, Thorsen also states that Calvinism believes that God decided who would be saved from before they were born. Calvinists also believe that humans do not have the ability to choose to do good over evil because they are sinners. Therefore, salvation is totally the gift from God. Moreover, in order to get saved, people need to have faith, and faith is from God. Calvinism considers that God is not limited in His work to make the elected people believe in Him. Additionally, Calvinism also believes that people who are elected could never lose their salvation because the faith they have is from God. A short story, “Please Don 't Tell Me How The Story Ends” by Thomas D. Davis addresses free will. The story is about a man who was locked up in a room without interactions with other people. Whatever this man does, all his actions and activities are recorded in the book that was in that room. He concentrates on this book and wonders if the book already knows what he is going to do. He becomes insane about it and once he even decides to kill himself. However, he realizes that if he did that the book would just record his actions. So, he changes his mind and decides to not be bothered with that book anymore. He knows that whatever he decides to do, the book would just record it. William Egginton’s article called, “The Limits of the Coded World” also talked about free will. Egginton writes about a machine that can read the mind of a monkey and know what the monkey is going to do. Egginton said if something or someone knew what he is going to do in the future, even when he did not think about it yet, it meant that everything was already decided for him. Even so, the author said that he is free according to what Darwin discovered because no one can force or tell him what he should do. However, the author also agreed with Strawson that humans were not free because they had to make a choice, even when they thought there was no choice for them to make. Christianity considers that humans are sinners and salvation is the gift from God. Humans do not have the ability to save themselves or overcome evils. Consequently, Jesus had to come and save them. However, the idea of Calvinist beliefs that God decided whom to be saved does not seem reasonable. If God were the one who decided,
As humans came to enlightenment, the concept of free will concerned many philosophers’ thoughts, especially in philosophy of religion. Many came to question, whether humans have free will or they just do what needs to be done based on God’s plan. Therefore, many philosophers assume that the meaning of free will is the ability to choose to do something with one’s desire or to be free to choose. Moreover, people have different minds and different views about the idea of free will; some believe that it exists, and some don’t. For instance, Arminianism and Calvinism, two different forms of Christianity, have different views about the idea of free will. Arminianism is based on free will and Calvinism is based on predestination. I will argue that the idea of free will in the Arminianism belief is right because God does not decide who would get salvation and who would not, but people do themselves. The article, “A Review Essay: Olson’s Arminian Theology” by Don Thorsen mentioned that Arminianism believes that Jesus died for all, and salvation is provided for everyone. …show more content…
God knows who would be saved from the beginning; however, He is not the one who determined it. God gives humans free will and they are free to choose or reject the salvation. Moreover, Arminianism considers that to choose good over evil is peoples’ choice. Arminianists also believe that God is in charge of everything, but He does not control everything in order to give humans self-determination. Therefore, God does not use His power to control over people whom have denied Him. He only controls, guides, and saves those that accept Him. On the other hand, Thorsen also states that Calvinism believes that God decided who would be saved from before they were born. Calvinists also believe that humans do not have the ability to choose to do good over evil because they are sinners. Therefore, salvation is totally the gift from God. Moreover, in order to get saved, people need to have faith, and faith is from God. Calvinism considers that God is not limited in His work to make the elected people believe in Him. Additionally, Calvinism also believes that people who are elected could never lose their salvation because the faith they have is from God. A short story, “Please Don 't Tell Me How The Story Ends” by Thomas D. Davis addresses free will. The story is about a man who was locked up in a room without interactions with other people. Whatever this man does, all his actions and activities are recorded in the book that was in that room. He concentrates on this book and wonders if the book already knows what he is going to do. He becomes insane about it and once he even decides to kill himself. However, he realizes that if he did that the book would just record his actions. So, he changes his mind and decides to not be bothered with that book anymore. He knows that whatever he decides to do, the book would just record it. William Egginton’s article called, “The Limits of the Coded World” also talked about free will. Egginton writes about a machine that can read the mind of a monkey and know what the monkey is going to do. Egginton said if something or someone knew what he is going to do in the future, even when he did not think about it yet, it meant that everything was already decided for him. Even so, the author said that he is free according to what Darwin discovered because no one can force or tell him what he should do. However, the author also agreed with Strawson that humans were not free because they had to make a choice, even when they thought there was no choice for them to make. Christianity considers that humans are sinners and salvation is the gift from God. Humans do not have the ability to save themselves or overcome evils. Consequently, Jesus had to come and save them. However, the idea of Calvinist beliefs that God decided whom to be saved does not seem reasonable. If God were the one who decided,