Good day Bro. Eli
I came across this article in one of the websites frequently visited by a lot of people and it caught my attention because of the words “free-will”. I know that scientists who claim that they are learned in their fields of expertise doubt the existence of God and believe in the evolution of man from apes. But I never thought that even the existence of “free-will” is also being questioned by these scientists.
I am posting this article on this blog site because I believe, with the help of God, if there is a person who can give a logical, biblical and sensible comment about this, it is you.
Anticipating your witty comment,
Godspeed, Bro. Eli!
alsie616
Dear Alsie616,
I do not know where you got the information that the scientist you are mentioning not only denies the existence of God, but the reality of free will, also.But as you wish, I will tackle this very important topic about human life.
Free will or, better still, free choice is something existent in some, but not all, creatures.Free will is something done without compulsion and willingness.The Encarta defines it as done voluntarily rather than by compulsion.
I believe that giving us free will is the most loving and compassionate act of the Creator.It is in our free will on what He prefers us to do , that He is delighted.
(Isaiah 1:19)“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land…”
Although because of it also, we can do things that disgust Him; and will bring people to destruction.
(Deuteronomy 30:19)“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live…”
The preceding verse gives us an insight that God wants us to use our free will or free choice in doing His will.He delights if we give generously according to our free will.
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7)“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
But giving to delight God, must be coupled with good deeds.
(Hebrews 13:15-16)“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
As I said earlier, some (but not all) were given free will by God.Angels have their own free will.This is proven by the fact that other angels chose to leave their own habitation and rebel against God.Most famous of them is satan.
(Jude 1:6)“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
(Revelation 12:9)“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Even cherubim are portrayed in the Bible being evil because of improper use of free will.
(Ezekiel 28:14-17)“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”
The same thing is happening to man who are being led astray from the path of righteousness because of the abuse of their free will.
(Romans 3:12)“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
And this is part of the history of mankind since time immemorial.
(Malachi 3:7)“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?”
Common sense and incidental happenings in our daily lives, proves the existence or the reality of free will in man.Anybody who will doubt this is a fool.
Here is a very simple example:
A.A man is being loved by two women B and C.He can freely choose from the two; but he chose B.Is it not free will?
B.In another case, he chooses both and made them both suffer at the end.Of course, suffering comes if you do something with your own free will which is against the will of God.
(1 Timothy 3:2)“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach…”
These are all irrefutable evidences that there really is free will among men. To understand the deeper part of it, we can just look on our being as an individual.In our bodies, there are what science calls as muscles acting voluntarily and involuntarily.The heart is one of them.It beats and pumps blood throughout the body unceasingly throughout ones lifetime without the control of man himself; while voluntary muscles moves are controlled by the mind.
The muscle of your heart is also striped but it is involuntary. It is called cardiac muscle: cardiac means “of the heart”. Cardiac muscle contracts and relaxes automatically without you having to think about it. When you take exercise your heart beats faster and with a bigger volume. This increase in cardiac output (how fast the blood is pumped around your body) is produced by a hormone called adrenaline. The vagus nerve can make the heart go slower; this happens when you are sitting or lying down. (http://www.purchon.com/biology/muscles.htm)
So in our being, the presence of voluntary and involuntary actions will tell our common senses that on this earth, there are things that happen because of man’s free will , and they can either be against or in accordance with God’s will.But life on earth is not exactly the same in all living creatures.There are things that happen in lower forms of life which are evidently not in conformity with their own will.While the female peacock may choose its mate in a particular mating period, in captivity, an animal doesn’t have a choice.
We, humans, are the most abusive users of free will in the animal kingdom.The free will of a bird to fly, it does not use for its own destruction.But we have used our free will throughout the entire history of humanity for our self destruction.
(Revelation 18:11)“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
Whatever explanation or scientific studies done with the fruit fly that you are mentioning, they will not in any manner fit to humans, because according to the Bible, we have a different kind of brain and understanding very much superior and more complex than any other lower forms of life.
(Job 35:11)“Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?”
I hope you have learned a little from this.
May God Bless You.
EFS