Divine Omniscience and Human Free Will
Title | Divine Omniscience and Human Free Will PDF eBook |
Author | Ciro De Florio |
Publisher | Springer Nature |
Pages | 278 |
Release | 2019-11-14 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 303031300X |
This book deals with an old conundrum: if God knows what we will choose tomorrow, how can we be free to choose otherwise? If all our choices are already written, is our freedom simply an illusion? This book provides a precise analysis of this dilemma using the tools of modern metaphysics and logic of time. With a focus on three intertwined concepts - God’s nature, the formal structure of time, and the metaphysics time, including the relationship between temporal entities and a timeless God - the chapters analyse various solutions to the problem of foreknowledge and freedom, revealing the advantages and drawbacks of each. Building on this analysis, the authors advance constructive solutions, showing under what conditions an entity can be omniscient in the presence of free agents, and whether an eternal entity can know the tensed futures of the world. The metaphysics of time, its topology and the semantics of future tensed sentences are shown to be invaluable topics in dealing with this issue. Combining investigations into the metaphysics of time with the discipline of temporal logic this monograph brings about important advancements in the philosophical understanding of an ancient and fascinating problem. The answer, if any, is hidden in the folds of time, in the elusive nature of this feature of reality and in the infinite branching of our lives.
Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom
Title | Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom PDF eBook |
Author | William Lane Craig |
Publisher | BRILL |
Pages | 390 |
Release | 1991 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 9789004092501 |
The ancient problem of fatalism, more particularly theological fatalism, has resurfaced with surprising vigour in the second half of the twentieth century. Two questions predominate in the debate: (1) Is divine foreknowledge compatible with human freedom and (2) How can God foreknow future free acts? Having surveyed the historical background of this debate in "The Problem of Divine Foreknowledge" and "Future Contingents from Aristotle to Suarez" (Brill: 1988), William Lane Craig now attempts to address these issues critically. His wide-ranging discussion brings together a thought- provoking array of related topics such as logical fatalism, multivalent logic, backward causation, precognition, time travel, counterfactual logic, temporal necessity, Newcomb's Problem, middle knowledge, and relativity theory. The present work serves both as a useful survey of the extensive literature on theological fatalism and related fields and as a stimulating assessment of the possibility of divine foreknowledge of future free acts.
The Divine Foreknowledge
Title | The Divine Foreknowledge PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | 12 |
Release | 1842 |
Genre | Free will and determinism |
ISBN |
Predestination & Free Will
Title | Predestination & Free Will PDF eBook |
Author | David Basinger |
Publisher | InterVarsity Press |
Pages | 180 |
Release | 2009-09-20 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 9780830876594 |
If God is in control, are people really free? This question has bothered Christians for centuries. And answers have covered a wide spectrum. Today Christians still disagree. Those who emphasize human freedom view it as a reflection of God's self-limited power. Others look at human freedom in the order of God's overall control. David and Randall Basinger have put this age-old question to four scholars trained in theology and philosophy. John Feinberg of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Norman Geisler of Dallas Theological Seminary focus on God's specific sovereignty. Bruce Reichenbach of Augsburg College and Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College insist that God must limit his control to ensure our freedom. Each writer argues for his perspective and applies his theory to two practical case studies. Then the other writers respond to each of the major essays, exposing what they see as fallacies and hidden assumptions. A lively and provocative volume.
Omniscience, Foreknowledge, and the Problem of Divine Freedom
Title | Omniscience, Foreknowledge, and the Problem of Divine Freedom PDF eBook |
Author | Graham C. Floyd |
Publisher | |
Pages | 172 |
Release | 2020-01-09 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 9781948048118 |
If God foreknows the future, then he also foreknows his own future actions. How then is God a free and responsible agent? Four attempts at resolving the problem of human freedom in light of divine foreknowledge are applied to the problem of God's freedom in light of his foreknowledge.
Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism
Title | Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism PDF eBook |
Author | Timothy A. Stratton |
Publisher | Wipf and Stock Publishers |
Pages | 328 |
Release | 2020-10-02 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1725276119 |
Does humanity possess the freedom to think and act, or are we always caused and determined to think and act—exactly how we think and act—by things outside of our control? If we are always causally determined to think and act by things outside of our control, then how can humans be genuinely responsible for any of our thoughts or following actions? However, if humanity is genuinely free and responsible for at least some of our thoughts and actions, then how can the Christian rationally affirm the doctrine that God is totally sovereign and predestines all things? In Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism, Timothy A. Stratton surveys the history of theological thought from Augustine to Edwards and reaches surprising historical conclusions supporting what he refers to as “limited libertarian freedom.” Stratton goes further to offer multiple arguments appealing to Scripture, theology, and philosophy that each conclude humanity does, in fact, possess libertarian freedom. He then appeals to the work of Luis de Molina and offers unique arguments concluding that God possesses middle knowledge. If this is the case, then God can be completely sovereign and predestine all things without violating human freedom and responsibility.
The Problem of Free Choice
Title | The Problem of Free Choice PDF eBook |
Author | Saint Augustine (of Hippo) |
Publisher | |
Pages | 310 |
Release | 1955 |
Genre | Fathers of the church |
ISBN |
One of Augustine's most important works, written between 388 and 395, this dialogue has as its objective not so much to discuss free will for its own sake as to discuss the problem of evil in reference to the existence of God, who is almighty and all-good.