Free Will vs Determinism

[Bezprym]

You implying that since God is almighty he should make everything right, should eliminate all evil in life and turn Earth into paradise. But what if current life on Earth was actually intended to be sort of experiment in which certain species were given full freedom within 'aquarium' just to see what will it grow into? It could be the way God learning new things himself and we serving as generators of new feelings and ideas.

If God needs experiments and doesn't know something, then he's not almighty.

[Herr Abubu]

To argue that God isn't omnipotent were He to create beings with free will makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. One reason is that for Him to be omnipotent, for example, He would have to be able to create beings with free will. Bezprym's assertion is a completely imaginary and arbitrary judgment on his part. To argue that God is evil is to assume that good and evil are independent from God and that humans are in a position to judge their creator. God is by His very being Good, so the argument is moot, and only has emotional credit. Bezprym is a first rate Polak dumbass, but a tenth rate thinker.

[Petros Agapetos]

I also noticed another flaw in the poll, no offense to the OP, but knowledge is not a belief position.
The poll asks us to choose what we believe, and it offers as one of the options "I don't know", the agnostic position, which is without knowledge but not belief.
I think it is a category error to use knowledge and belief so interchangeably, when they are not one and the same thing.

If I could modify the poll, I would list the following options:

A. Libertarian Free Will (Incompatibilist)
B. Compatibilist Free Will
C. No Free Will, Determinism (Incompatibilist)

where

Incompatibilist = free will is not compatible with determinism
One can either be an incompatibilist believing in free will and rejecting determinism (Libertarian Free Will) or accepting determnism and rejecting free will (Determinists)

Compatibilism = free will is compatible with determinism

Determinism, offered as the anonym of Free Will, is an incompatibilist position

[Sarmatian]

If God needs experiments and doesn't know something, then he's not almighty.

You can't know something that doesn't exist yet. It has to be created first, then observed and comprehended. Humanity could be that pool of free entities resembling God's image placed in isolated environment serving the purpose of generating new random informational content to be comprehended.

[Petros Agapetos]

http://www.theapricity.com/forum/sho...93#post4084993
Here is a thread I opened, in which I discuss theories of knowledge.
I explain the difference between knowledge and belief, talk about justification, and truth.
Nice Epistemology thread. I received reputation points for it. You are welcome to take a look.

[Bezprym]

You can't know something that doesn't exist yet. It has to be created first, then observed and comprehended. Humanity could be that pool of free entities resembling God's image placed in isolated environment serving the purpose of generating new random informational content to be comprehended.

And you can't create anything by snapping the fingers, yet God was able to create the world. Everything, basically speaking. Similarly, to be "almighty" he should know the future as well. Unless, the prophets know more than God himself, since they know something that doesn't exist yet. Otherwise, we can put Revelations in a trashcan.

[Neon Knight]

I'm a hard determinist. However, I think determinism is compatible with some paranormal/spiritual ideas.

[Petros Agapetos]

The Problem of Free Will is an ancient problem in metaphysics. It addresses the limits of human behaviour. If free will is an illusion then the conscious part of our mind is not the ultimate author of our thoughts and actions. It applies to any religion.

There are Biblical arguments against the existence of Free Will as well, including Christian ones. Christian denominations disagree about what the correct Biblical stance is on this question. Some Christians believe in free will (tend to be Catholic) and others don't (tend to be Protestant). I will look into Christian arguments for and against Free Will and post it here.

[zhaoyun]

I think it's a combination of both. But in American society, I think Free Will is 70% of the game, and Determinism is about 30% of where you will likely end up in life. However, if you're a woman in Saudi Arabia, it's pretty much going to be 5% free will and 95% determinism.

[Mortimer]

I believe in free will.