Free will? I dont think so

[Lunam_Meam]

Would it have been possible for Jesus to disobey the will of God the Father? Or was it that the only possibility for Jesus was for Him to do only what God the Father had willed Him to do and nothing else?

The answer lies in my previous post.

 

[AlNg]

The answer lies in my previous post.

So as i understand it then from your post, it is not possible for Jesus to will anything different from what is willed by the Father. If the only possibility is for Jesus to will only what the Father wills, and anything else is completely impossible, how can the will of Jesus be said to be free?

 

[Lunam_Meam]

Lunam_Meam:

(i) What is your support for God’s foreknowledge being templates?

You’re making a fundamental semantic mistake here. God’s foreknowledge is NOT a template for creation.

I am not as you said:

…man follows the template of Gods foreknowledge for man.

Lunam_Meam:

(ii) What is your support for some humans possessing a false perception of free will?

Humans possess (from our perspective) a real perception of free will.

What is false, but perceived to be true, is a false perception. Now, for example, you believe mankind does not possess a free will, therefore what is false is mankind possessing a free will. So, if one perceives they do have a free will, then it is a false perception, as in untrue because they do not possess a free will, despite them perceiving it to be true they do. Now, why are false perceptions, reward, and punishment necessary if mankind is coerced?

 

[Gorgias]

So as i understand it then from your post, it is not possible for Jesus to will anything different from what is willed by the Father. If the only possibility is for Jesus to will only what the Father wills, and anything else is completely impossible, how can the will of Jesus be said to be free?

Because freedom, properly speaking, is the ability to do what is good. (You’re talking about something different – ‘license’, which is all about abandoning responsibility and doing whatever whim piques your fancy.)

Why would Jesus – who, as a divine person, is perfect – do something less than perfect? That is, if He has the ability to perfectly will what God wills, why do less?

So… Jesus has the complete freedom to will – and He does!

 

[Lunam_Meam]

Lunam_Meam:

(i) What is your support for God’s foreknowledge being templates?

You’re making a fundamental semantic mistake here. God’s foreknowledge is NOT a template for creation.

I am not as you said:

…man follows the template of Gods foreknowledge for man.

Lunam_Meam:

(ii) What is your support for some humans possessing a false perception of free will?

Humans possess (from our perspective) a real perception of free will.

What is false, but perceived to be true, is a false perception. Now, for example, you believe mankind does not possess a free will, therefore what is false is mankind possessing a free will. So, if one perceives they do have a free will, then it is a false perception, as in untrue because they do not possess a free will, despite them perceiving it to be true they do. Now, why are false perceptions, reward, and punishment necessary if mankind is coerced?

 

[Lunam_Meam]

aitapyh:

Lunam_Meam:

(i) What is your support for God’s foreknowledge being templates?

You’re making a fundamental semantic mistake here. God’s foreknowledge is NOT a template for creation.

I am not as you said:

…man follows the template of Gods foreknowledge for man.

You would think I’ve contradicted myself here.

That is because you have, and the remainder of your response, which I obviously did not quote, is a mix of backpedaling, and twisting of words.

Lunam_Meam:

(ii) What is your support for some humans possessing a false perception of free will?

Humans possess (from our perspective) a real perception of free will.

There is two definitions of “free will”: (i) “voluntary choice or decision”, and (ii) “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention”.

You believe two things: (i) mankind does not possess a free will at all, which means neither definition above applies to mankind, and (ii) some humans perceive they do have a free will.

If mankind does not possess a free will, yet one perceives they do have a free will, then it is a false perception, because they do not actually possess a free will. This is not to say their belief in what they perceive to be true (possessing a free will) is not real.

Understand now?

Is it coercion to fulfill the purpose for which you were made?

If we are made to do x, and we do so, but not of our own free will, which you believe mankind does not possess, then it is out of coercion. Why is reward, punishment, etc, necessary if mankind is coerced?

 

[Gorgias]

I would ask you to clarify here since “not my will but yours be done” clearly indicates - if the Father’s will is the perfect standard by which to judge - that Jesus in having his own will which was not the Fathers would have had a less than perfect will as an attribute of a perfect person.

Aquinas explains it like this (ST III.19, but especially articles 5 and 6): in humans, you can talk about the ‘will’ having two parts, so to speak – a part that is intellectual and a part that is ‘sensual’ (i.e., dealing with your senses). Jesus, being human, had a human will. Aquinas asserts that “it is clear that the will of sensuality naturally shrinks from sensible pains and bodily hurt” and “it must be said that although the natural and the sensitive will in Christ wished what the Divine will did not wish… neither the Divine will nor the will of reason in Christ shrank from or retarded the movement of the natural human will and the movement of the sensuality in Christ.”

So, just as any human would shy away from pain and death, that part of Jesus’ human nature did, too. But, I think you’re mistaken: he does have a will that is His Father’s – Jesus has both a divine will and a human will!

Aquinas’ point is that Jesus’ “wishes and the will to do what is good” are in perfect union. In addition, He is human, and felt what a human would naturally feel in that moment.

What would be necessary to ‘clarify’? Hmm… that Jesus is perfect, but He’s also human…? Is that what you’re getting at?

it seems to me that freedom would be to have the ability to do other than what one desires.

Wait – so, by your definition, ‘freedom’ means “the ability to do evil”? No… that’s not right. And, it seems to me, horribly jaded!

 

[Latin]

Now, how does reward and punishment tell the narrative of creation, and give it definition in a coerced reality?

The Father William Most Collection
St. Augustine on Grace and Predestination

I.(1) On human interaction with grace: Every good work, even good will, is the work of God.
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De gratia Christi 25, 26: “For not only has God given us our ability and helps it, but He even works [brings about] willing and acting in us; not that we do not will or that we do not act, but that without His help we neither will anything good nor do it”
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De gratia et libero arbitrio 16, 32: “It is certain that we will when we will; but He brings it about that we will good … . It is certain that we act when we act, but He brings it about that we act , providing most effective powers to the will.”
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Ibid. 6. 15: “If then your merits are God’s gifts, God does not crown your merits as your merits, but as His gifts.”
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Ep. 154, 5. 16: “What then is the merit of man before grace by which merit he should receive grace? Since only grace makes every good merit of ours, and when God crowns our merits, He crowns nothing else but His own gifts.”
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St. Augustine is called, rightly, the Doctor of Grace, for his great work. Augustine showed very well our total dependence on God.

St. Augustine​

“We are commanded to live righteously, and the reward is set before us of our meriting to live happily in eternity. But who is able to live righteously and do good works unless he has been justified by faith?” ( Various Questions to Simplician 1:2:21 [A.D. 396]).

“He bestowed forgiveness; the crown he will pay out. Of forgiveness he is the donor; of the crown, he is the debtor. Why debtor? Did he receive something? . . . The Lord made himself a debtor not by receiving something but by promising something. One does not say to him, ‘Pay for what you received,’ but ‘Pay what you promised’” ( Explanations of the Psalms 83:16 [A.D. 405]).

“What merits of his own has the saved to boast of when, if he were dealt with according to his merits, he would be nothing if not damned? Have the just then no merits at all? Of course they do, for they are the just. But they had no merits by which they were made just” ( Letters 194:3:6 [A.D. 412]).
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COUNCIL OF TRENT Session 6 Chapter 8
. . . None of those things which precede justification - whether faith or works - merit the grace itself of justification.
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“What merit, then, does a man have before grace, by which he might receive grace, when our every good merit is produced in us only by grace and when God, crowning our merits, crowns nothing else but his own gifts to us ?” (ibid., 194:5:19).
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We have merits, not because we deserve it but because God promised it, all our merits are His undeserved Gifts, freely given to us.
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God bless

 

[Lunam_Meam]

Lunam_Meam:

Now, how does reward and punishment tell the narrative of creation, and give it definition in a coerced reality?

The Father William Most Collection
St. Augustine on Grace and Predestination

God bless

My question is in response to someone who believes in coercion, not free will. And, the problem with this belief is there is no merit in coercion, and a coerced reality renders reward and punishment meaningless.

 

[Latin]

…

There are two types of free wills libertarian free will and aided free will and there is BIG DIFFERENCES between the two.
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LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL as follows:
Libertarian free will is basically the concept that, metaphysically and morally, man is an autonomous being, one who operates independently, not controlled by others or by outside forces. – Only God has libertarian free will, He has given us aided free will.
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH VEHEMENTLY REJECTS WE HAVE LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL .

The Council of Sens (1140) condemned the idea that free will is sufficient in itself for any good. Donez., 373.

Council of Orange (529)
In canon 20, entitled that Without God Man Can Do No Good. . . Denz., 193; quoting St. Prosper.

In canon 22, says, No one has anything of his own except lying and sin. Denz., 194; quoting St. Prosper.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Divine Providence explains;
Life everlasting promised to us, (Romans 5:21); but unaided we can do nothing to gain it (Rom.7:18-24).

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AIDED FREE WILL
The Catholic Church dogmatically teaches AIDED (CAUSED/ COERCED/ BROUGHT ABOUT) FREE WILL as follows:

Aided free will means, without even knowing, God himself operates in our wills and He CAUSES our acts. – CCC 307, CCC 308, etc.

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott;

For every salutary act internal supernatural grace of God (gratia elevans) is absolutely necessary, (De fide dogma).

There is a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul, which precedes the free act of the will, (De fide dogma).

The three Divine or Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are infused with Sanctifying grace, (De fide dogma) .

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COUNCIL OF TRENT Session 6 Chapter 8
. . . None of those things which precede justification - whether faith or works - merit the grace itself of justification.
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CCCS 1996-1998; Justification comes from grace (God’s free and undeserved help) and is given to us to respond to his call.
This call to eternal life is supernatural, coming TOTALLY from God’s decision and surpassing ALL power of human intellect and will.
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CCC 1998 This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other creature.
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Aquinas said, “ God changes the will without forcing it. But he can change the will from the fact that he himself operates in the will as he does in nature,” De Veritatis 22:9. 31. ST I-II:112:3. 32. Gaudium et Spes 22; "being …
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St. Thomas teaches that all movements of will and choice must be traced to the divine will: and not to any other cause, because Gad alone is the cause of our willing and choosing. CG, 3.91.
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CCC 2022 The divine initiative (supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul) in the work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man.
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God bless

 

[Lunam_Meam]

There are two types of free wills libertarian free will and aided free will and there is BIG DIFFERENCES between the two.

To possess a free will means one acts of voluntary choice or decision.

 

[Latin]

To possess a free will means one acts of voluntary choice or decision.

We don’t have to be spiritual geniuses to know, according to the above definition of free will (which I believe it is correct), WE DO NOT HAVE FREE WILL and as follows, easy to prove it.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Divine Providence explains.

Life everlasting promised to us, (Romans 5:21); but unaided we can do nothing to gain it (Rom.7:18-24).

This, the beneficent purpose of an all-seeing Providence, is wholly gratuitous, entirely unmerited (Romans 3:24; 9:11-2).

It extends to all men (Romans 2:10; 1 Timothy 2:4), even to the reprobate Jews (Romans 11:26 sq.); and by it all God’s dealings with man are regulated (Ephesians 1:11).

It extends to every individual, adapting itself to the needs of each (St. John Chrysostom, “Hom. xxviii in Matt.”, n. 3 in “P.G.”, LVII, 354).

All things are created and governed with a view to man, to the development of his life and his intelligence, and to the satisfaction of his needs (Aristides, “Apol.”, i, v, vi, xv, xvi.

His wisdom He so orders all events within the universe that the end for which it was created may be realized.

God preserves the universe in being; He acts in and with every creature in each and all its activities.

He directs all, even evil and sin itself, to the final end for which the universe was created.

Evil He converts into good (Genesis 1:20; cf. Psalm 90:10); and suffering He uses as an instrument whereby to train men up as a father traineth up his children (Deuteronomy 8:1-6; Psalm 65:2-10;

Evil, therefore, ministers to God’s design (St. Gregory the Great, op. cit., VI, xxxii in “P.L.”,

God is the sole ruler of the world. His will governs all things. He loves all men, desires the salvation of all, and His providence extends to all nation.

Again, from the fact that God has created the universe, it shows that He must also govern it; for just as the contrivances of man demand attention and guidance, so God, as a good workman, must care for His work.

That end is that all creatures should manifest the glory of God, and in particular that man should glorify Him, recognizing in nature the work of His hand, serving Him in obedience and love, and thereby attaining to the full development of his nature and to eternal happiness in God.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12510a.htm
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CCC 324 Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life.
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St. Thomas (C. G., II, xxviii) if God’s purpose were made dependent on the foreseen free act of any creature, God would thereby sacrifice His own freedom, and would submit Himself to His creatures, thus abdicating His essential supremacy–a thing which is, of course, utterly inconceivable.
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God bless

 

[Gorgias]

We don’t have to be spiritual geniuses to know, according to the above definition of free will (which I believe it is correct), WE DO NOT HAVE FREE WILL and as follows, easy to prove it.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Divine Providence explains.

From the catechism:

1730 God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”

Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.

1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.

How you can consistently disagree with what the Church teaches, and yet attempt to use the Church to bolster your assertions, continues to amaze me and make my head hurt…

 

[Latin]

1730 God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”

Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.

LET’S COMPARE 1730 WITH THE OTHER TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

CCC 301 With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence.
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As we see Gorgias, far from God left us in the hand of our own counsel:

CCC 308 The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator.
God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes:
"For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Far from diminishing the creature’s dignity, this truth enhances it.
.
CCC 307 God thus enables men to be intelligent and free, causes in order to complete the work of creation, … Though often unconscious collaborators with God’s will.
.
Aquinas said, “ God changes the will without forcing it. But he can change the will from the fact that he himself operates in the will as he does in nature,” De Veritatis 22:9. 31. ST I-II:112:3. 32. Gaudium et Spes 22; "being …
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As we see Gorgias, we all cooperating with God without even knowing it because he himself operates in our will. – Do you still believe Gorgias, God left us in the hand of our own counsel and He is not at work in all our actions ?!?

.
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott;

The three Divine or Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are infused with Sanctifying grace, (De fide dogma) .

For every salutary act internal supernatural grace of God (gratia elevans) is absolutely necessary, (De fide dogma).

There is a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul, which precedes the free act of the will, (De fide dogma). – As we see, we have free will, AIDED FREE WILL, WHICH IS: supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of our soul.
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St. Thomas teaches that all movements of will and choice must be traced to the divine will: and not to any other cause, because Gad alone is the cause of our willing and choosing. CG, 3.91.
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As we see above Gorgias, God does not left us in the hand of our counsel, in fact He himself operates in our will as he does in nature, this fact makes Him the master over our acts.
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God bless

 

[Latin]

1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.

Yes we have free will, not libertarian free will but AIDED FREE WILL, as God himself operates in our will.
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH VEHEMENTLY REJECTS LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL AS FOLLOWS

The Council of Sens (1140) condemned the idea that free will is sufficient in itself for any good. Donez., 373.

Council of Orange (529)
In canon 20, entitled that Without God Man Can Do No Good. . . Denz., 193; quoting St. Prosper.

In canon 22, says, No one has anything of his own except lying and sin. Denz., 194; quoting St. Prosper.
.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Divine Providence explains;
Life everlasting promised to us, (Romans 5:21); but unaided we can do nothing to gain it (Rom.7:18-24).

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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DOGMATICALLY TEACHES AIDED FREE WILL AS FOLLOWS

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott;

Fallen man cannot redeem himself, (De fide dogma). – It is God’s responsibility to save ALL OF US.
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Without the special help of God the justified cannot persevere to the end in justification, (De fide dogma). – It is God’s responsibility TO KEEP US SAVED by His grace of Final Perseverance.
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CCC 298 Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them.
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COUNCIL OF TRENT Session 6 Chapter 8
. . . None of those things which precede justification - whether faith or works - merit the grace itself of justification.
.
CCCS 1996-1998; Justification comes from grace (God’s free and undeserved help) and is given to us to respond to his call.
This call to eternal life is supernatural, coming TOTALLY from God’s decision and surpassing ALL power of human intellect and will.
.
CCC 1998 This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other creature.
.
CCC 2022 The divine initiative (supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul) in the work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man.
.
As we see above Gorgias, our salvation utterly depends on God’s decision.
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It makes no difference how we cut it, only God has LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL and we have AIDED FREE WILL, which means, we freely will what God wills us to will and we freely do what God wills and causes us to do. – CCC 307, CCC 308, etc.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Free Will explains;
“God is the author of all causes and effects. God’s omnipotent providence exercises a complete and perfect control over all events that happen, or will happen, in the universe.”
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God bless

 

[Gorgias]

LET’S COMPARE 1730 WITH THE OTHER TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

No, let’s compare it to your thesis: “humans have no free will.” That’s in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Church. Can you admit that? (No, I don’t think: you’ve made up this new class – “aided free will” – which the Church doesn’t teach, per se.)

 

[Latin]

I admit we have some class of free will, but I cannot admit we have libertarian free will.

Libertarian free will is basically the concept that, metaphysically and morally, man is an autonomous being, one who operates independently, not controlled by others or by outside forces. – Only God has libertarian free will.
.
Also, the Catholic Church vehemently denies that; libertarian free will would be benefit for us.

The Council of Sens (1140) condemned the idea that free will is sufficient in itself for any good. Donez., 373.

Council of Orange (529)
In canon 20, entitled that Without God Man Can Do No Good. . . Denz., 193; quoting St. Prosper.

In canon 22, says, No one has anything of his own except lying and sin. Denz., 194; quoting St. Prosper.

.
The class of “aided free will” came out from the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Divine Providence.

“Life everlasting promised to us, (Romans 5:21); but unaided we can do nothing to gain it (Rom.7:18-24).” – If our will is unaided we can do nothing, this is the birth place of the class of “aided free will.”
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If you like Gorgias (apart from libertarian free will, which already taken by God) we can choose another class of free will.

From CCC 308 The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator.
God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes:
"For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Far from diminishing the creature’s dignity, this truth enhances it.
.
CCC 307 God thus enables men to be intelligent and free, causes in order to complete the work of creation, … Though often unconscious collaborators with God’s will. – We could choose the class of “Caused free will.”
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From De Veritatis: Aquinas said, “ God changes the will without forcing it. But he can change the will from the fact that he himself operates in the will as he does in nature,” De Veritatis 22:9. 31. ST I-II:112:3. 32. Gaudium et Spes 22; "being … – We could choose the class of “God’s gift of Created free will.”
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So, we can choose any class of “Free will,” but we CANNOT CHOOSE “libertarian free will,” because only God has libertarian free will, NO ONE ELSE.
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As we see above, the Catholic Church teaches we have free will and we have some class of free will (whatever class we name it), but the Catholic Church vehemently denies that we have “libertarian free will.”
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We always freely will what God wills us to will and we always freely do what God wills and causes us to do. – CCC 307, CCC 308, etc, we should call this free will the class of “obedient free will,” THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE.
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Our obedient will is the condition of the fulfilment of CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Free Will
“God is the author of all causes and effects. God’s omnipotent providence exercises a complete and perfect control over all events that happen, or will happen, in the universe.”

Without our obedient will, the above statement could NEVER BE reality.
God created our obedient free will.
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God bless

 

[fhansen]

First off, no one has shown why God couldn’t have created us in the beginning as we will be in the end

It’s really quite simple- it’s because He’s patiently waiting for our wills to achieve proper orientation: educating , cultivating, and preparing them during that time between the beginning and the end so that we might finally be ready to receive the light when we see it, if we will.

There would be no reason to place us into such a world as this if not for the fact that He’s literally giving us time, to gain the wisdom to make the right choice, and make that choice more firmly. He wants our participation. We work out our own worth based on choices and strides we’ve made in aligning ourselves with the perfect will of God, depending on whatever time, experience, knowledge, grace, etc that we’re given, with more demanded from those given more, a biblical principle outlined in such passages as Luke 12:48 and the Parable of the Talents.

 

[lelinator]

@Gorgias, this is a more appropriate place for this discussion.

Nothing to something

In which case it doesn’t matter how you define it, the free will that Wile E. Coyote thinks he has, is only an illusion.

No – only if he thinks that “free will” implies “free action”. I’m under no illusions that I’m able to fly like a bird. So, it would strike me as facetious to suggest that, since it’s not in my nature to fly, therefore I have no free will.

Obviously, I haven’t explained my argument clearly enough. I absolutely am not suggesting that since the laws of physics prevent Wile E. from flying that he therefore lacks free will. That’s not my argument at all.

What I’m saying is that if you’re going to argue that God the fine tuner/tinkerer has any control over the course of human events, then the only way that He can do that is by controlling men’s wills, He can’t do it by simply controlling the outcome of their will. He has to control their will itself.

Thus you inevitably end up with exactly what @Latin proposes, “Men freely will what God wills them to will”. I’m simply stating the premise a little differently, “Men freely will what the laws of physics causes them to will.” But no matter which way you put it, if God is in control of human events, then men lack free will.

 

[Gorgias]

What I’m saying is that if you’re going to argue that God the fine tuner/tinkerer has any control over the course of human events, then the only way that He can do that is by controlling men’s wills, He can’t do it by simply controlling the outcome of their will. He has to control their will itself.

Ahh… I see what you’re trying to say, now!

However, I disagree with your assertion. (In fact, I would hold that God doesn’t do what you suggest! Having given free will, He doesn’t thwart it, but allows it to function.)

Let’s try a thought experiment. I’m not suggesting God does this (as such), but just attempting to provide the counter-example to your assertion that “the only way to control human events is by controlling human wills, not the outcome of the will.”

Someone (ok… maybe me, maybe God) thinks you aren’t eating enough. One way to fix that is to muddle inside your mind and force you to think “I want to eat right now.” Is that the only way? Of course not! Knowing that you love cheeseburgers, I can contrive to be somewhere that crosses your path, with a freshly-grilled cheeseburger in each hand. “Want a cheeseburger?”, I ask. You have the freedom to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and if you say “yes”, then I’ve changed the outcome without affecting your free will.

I would argue that God might put cheeseburgers out there, but He doesn’t force us to eat them.