The Concept of Free Will

I wrote a blog not too long ago dealing with what a friend of mine said when I mentioned to her that she should play the lottery since she had been getting so lucky as of late and she responded with, "Sometimes I don't think God wants me to have money." She also claims to believe in free will.

I received a comment on my blog that read, "When a 'christian' believes in free will, that means that they believe that God gives man the choice to believe and follow him."

That comment left me scratching my head, so I did some research. The definition of free will is "the belief or the philosophical doctrine that holds that humans have the power to choose their own deeds." This definition seems to differ amongst Christians. Whereas some may believe in predestination, others believe in free will, and others yet seem to attempt to blend these two together.

I do not understand this logic. If the comment left before me was true, how could it be construed as free will? If the only choice in my life is to follow God's lead or not and everything else has been mapped out and chosen for me, then how would that choice to follow or not follow God ultimately be my choice? Wouldn't that "choice" be blurred and distorted? Wouldn't our sinful words and actions contradict the one choice we'd made if we do follow God's lead? President Bush claims to be a follower of God and that was his choice, but everything else that has transpired is merely acts of God and predestination? 2,600 U.S. soldier lives, 35,000 Iraqis, 8,000 U.S. soldier injuries, etc.? Some "Christians" may look at the book of "Revelations" and claim that God is leading us to Armageddon. If that's true, then God is ultimately the creator and the destroyer, correct? Why would one create life only to destroy it? Why would I buy a $500,000 home only to run a demolition exercise on it? How can "God" determine who are the true followers if humans do not have free will? If we are all predestined automated robots, how can one choice determine who we are, how we live, and where we will settle once we perish?

It's logic like this that makes me believe that religion has always just been a tool used by the people in power to brainwash and mold people to behave and fit the norms of society. People can follow the lead of the President or whoever is in charge if they so choose, but that'll be their only choice. If they dissent, they will pay the price.

There are limitations to the concept of free will. For example, I did not choose to be a Caucasion male born in Nebraska who had ancestors in Poland, Germany, and England. I did not choose to be born six-weeks early, with a lesion, and epilepsy. But, I did decide to type this blog. I did decide to walk the dogs earlier today. I did decide to drink this Gatorade that's sitting right next to me. I did decide to vote for John Kerry in 2004. These things were not decided for me. Even though President Bush likes to play the role of God and refer to himself as "The Decider," until all our freedoms and liberties have been taken away, we can decide things for ourselves.

Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will