Questions ABOUT non-believers

[Papillon]

Originally posted by amerikajin

You have the ability to choose whichever of the two you want.

 

You "choose" based upon the variables available to you. But even then the outcome of the "decision" is fundamentally determined on a physical level, you're still just a machine responding to input. If it were possible to know all the variable that have been influencing you, and still are, at that point, you could acurately predict which car you would choose. There's no "extra you" that exists outside of the confines of your body and brain - everything is bound to the laws of nature.

[amerikajin]

You "choose" based upon the variables available to you. But even then the outcome of the "decision" is fundamentally determined on a physical level, you're still just a machine responding to input. If it were possible to know all the variable that have been influencing you, and still are, at that point, you could acurately predict which car you would choose. There's no "extra you" that exists outside of the confines of your body and brain - everything is bound to the laws of nature.

 

Your point about inputs and the variables are an attempt at providing some sort of scientific rationale behind the process of free will. The fact that there might be a science behind free will doesn't necessarily mean there's no free will. Science has its limitations.

 

The fact remains, inputs or not, we have the capability to make decisions on our own based on what inputs we have. The decision process itself isn't controlled; the decision is ours to make. We consciously decide what we want, and what we don't want. We have the freedom to make a choice between two or more options: that itself is free will. There may be a rational, scientific explanation to shed light on why we made a decision, but that's not the issue.

[Moose]

You "choose" based upon the variables available to you. But even then the outcome of the "decision" is fundamentally determined on a physical level, you're still just a machine responding to input. If it were possible to know all the variable that have been influencing you, and still are, at that point, you could acurately predict which car you would choose. There's no "extra you" that exists outside of the confines of your body and brain - everything is bound to the laws of nature.

 

It isn't possible to know ALL the variables. And even if you did know, it still would not necessarly mean you would choose the car the variables point to. If that were true, than all of us would choose that which is more beneficial to us. They'd be no crimes, accidents, money troubles.....yada, yada, only God knows what the entire picture is going to look like.

 

It's like I said before, God CANNOT be in the presence of sin. So when we are in the presence of it, the decisions we make aren't of God, it is of our FREE WILL to choose it. I can't understand why that's so hard for you to comprehend. But that in essence explains why we have free choice. It's of our own will that we choose that which, WE, feel is right or wrong.

[Beth]

I would like to thank all of you for participating in this discussion. I am, however, closing this thread to further posting.

 

The original topic of this thread has become buried under several other discussions on religion and even computer technology.

 

If any of you wish to begin new threads to continue the various discussions, please keep in mind our civility and respect guidelines, and please stick to the individual topic of each thread.

 

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