Quote Originally Posted by sport_122 View Post

1. Depends on the character that you believe that being has. I believe that God by definition has to do certain things to maintain His own integrity. Some of these things include anger, jealousy and other emotion type things that we would consider to be bad characteristics, but are justified in the context of which God demonstrates. I believe that there is more to creation than just the universe as we currently understand it. but I'd like to put forward the thought that God is not God if he allows people to act outside of his law, or if he is okay with people worshiping and uplifting other deities above him. these two things under mind the Godhood of God. If he falters on these rules he demonstrates that he is not God at all because he has relinqushed authority to another. Think about parents that you see who relinquish there authority to their children. the kids become the authority unto themselves and the parent has to fight to regain it. This is demonstrated all over the place.
just because you choose to defy God doesn't in any way shape or form undermine his Godliness or ultimate authority. it doesn't change the nature of who or what He is. to use your example with kids, my son has the FREE WILL to defy me if he wants, but because i currently define the parameters of his immediate reality (lol), if he CHOOSES not to obey my rules, those actions come with specific consequences (being grounded, no tv, etc).

the universal law of cause and effect still works, even in his 6 yr old context. whether he wants to listen to me or not, it still doesn't change the situation (i'm his dad and I make the d@mn rules). my authority isn't remotely in question or even debatable . either he can listen to me and live pretty comfortably, or defy me and have a pretty miserable young life. it's his call. LOL.

it works the same for God. it's not a matter of whether God is "okay" with us defying Him. The parameters for how the universe operate have already been set. There's NOTHING we can do to undermine what God has established. It already IS what it IS. We've been left with the ability to choose. You can either work in harmony with it, or fight against it and make things harder on yourself. It's our choice.

Quote Originally Posted by sport_122 View Post
3. I don't believe people have free will. This is deeper than I can go, but two free wills cannot exist in this case. As soon as the two wills oppose one another then freedom is no longer for one or both of those wills. So the philosophical answer is no. Based on my worldview, my will cannot trump that of God therefore it cannot be free. I can only do that which is allowed based on the will of God. My will is subject to another therefore I cannot have a free will. I do not believe that I can act outside of his will. Even though I have the ability to make choices, the options on the table are limited. They are limited to the revelation of the universe that has provided me. I will not choose to do things that I have no knowledge or awareness of. ***Think of a multiple choice question where you can choose A,B,C, or D, but you don't have the ability to write in your answer. You demonstrate the ability to choose freely, but your options are limited based on what has been provided to you. I wrote more about this in a previous post in this thread.
yeah, we do disagree here, but just a bit. maybe a better word for "free will" as i see it is self-determination. i agree with you, we don't have ultimate freedom because we have to work within the context of the reality we were created in. our universe operates by rules that we have no control over.

but within that context, we have the freedom to make whatever choices we want. however, the choices that we make are subject to the rules of cause and effect, so these choices come with consequences that are destined to happen as a result. free will and destiny to me are 2 sides to the same coin - they are intertwined. here's an example - everyone born is destined to die at some point, but how long you live and what you do with your life is subject to your free will.