Predestination vs. Free Will

[CowDoc]

A question was posed to me dealing with Predestination, God Being “All Knowing”, and Free Will.
A friends argument is that it is impossible to say that we have Free Will if God knows whether or not we will be saved as an individual. He claims that if God knows in advance of who will be in heaven then we do not have true Free Will. He assumes that God would have a plan for us to get to heaven but would be like having a “double standard” or “having it both ways” that Free Will and God’s Knowledge could co-exist.
Several of us tried to present explanations but none were adequate. Could you please present the best defense of Catholic teaching for me to give to him?
Thank you so very much for you time and assistance.
God Bless.

 

[Peggy_Frye]

*Whatever God knows, He knows most perfectly: for there is in Him all perfection…
Divine Providence is not inconsistent with Freedom of the Will *(Summa contra Gentiles St Thomas Aquinas)

On predestination, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 600) says the following:

“To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of “predestination”, he includes in it each person’s free response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place."For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.” Mt 26:54; Jn 18:36; 19:11; Acts 3:17-18.

“It is an article of faith that God knows all things, including any kind of future events whatever (Vatican Council, sess. 3). St. Augustine, in De Civitate Dei, 5,9, affirms: “Who does not know in anticipation all future things surely is not God.” 3) The mode of manner according to which God knows the future is mysterious and draws its particular difficulty from the general difficulty of the relationship between the Infinite and finite, eternity and time.“
*Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology * pp. 221-222 by Msgrs. Pietro Parente, A. Piolanti, S. Garofalo

On Freedom of the Will the Catechism no. 1730 says, "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 "

323 Divine providence works also through the actions of creatures. To human beings God grants the ability to cooperate freely with his plans. (ibid)

For a detailed treatment of this very complex subject, I recommend the following:

St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica on Predestination
newadvent.org/summa/102300.htm

Grace, Free Will, & Predestination
cin.org/users/james/files/files.htm

Book: *Salvation Controversy * Jimmy Akin
shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-stoe/scstore/p-CB258.html?E+scstore

Many good articles on Free Will & Predestination
monksofadoration.org/freewill.html

Divine Providence is not inconsistent with Freedom of the Will:
nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc3_73.htm

Many excellent articles on free will: Summa Contra Gentiles of Saint Thos Aquinas
nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc.htm