Do We Have Free Will?
A Response To The Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB) - Do humans have free will?
Deuteronomy 30:19 and Joshua 24:15 are given rightly by the SAB as examples of freewill, which the Bible teaches harmoniously throughout. The perceived contradiction by the SAB is due to an understandable confusion caused by the language of translation which, though not inaccurate can be misleading.
Acts 13:48 - To be ordained or appointed indicates a people being rightly disposed rather than preordained. The verse is talking about the prophecy of Isaiah 42:6-7 in which the opportunity of salvation would be extended to the Gentile.
Romans 8:29-30 is a reference to a class of people rather than specific individuals. God knew that there would be provision for those who would be declared righteous, but he didn't know who each of those people would be. The choice was theirs.
Romans 9:11-22 refers to the undeserved kindness of Jehovah, and that there is nothing we can do which would give us a claim of deserving his mercy. It also references the account of Jacob and Esau, and how Jehovah, seeing them struggle even in the womb, gave Esau's birthright to Jacob.
Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 2 Timothy 1:9 all deals with the term "before the world began" and considers the time of humankind after the sin of Adam, and prior to their offspring. The point being that immediately after Adam's sin Jehovah began to prepare for man's salvation.
Jude 1:4 demonstrates how past experiences relayed in the Bible serve as an example to us. Jude writes of men who slipped into the congregation, and failing to pay heed to the examples of the past repeated similar offenses. He then gives three examples of this. Faithless Israelites; angels forsaking their original positions and Sodom and Gomorrah. The men Jude referred to were, in a sense, condemned by example through the past.
For a more detailed explanation of the above scriptures see What The Bible Says About Freewill or Determinism.
Though these scriptures may seem to indicate the lack of freewill, of a predestinarian nature at least at first glance, they do not in fact do so and there is no contradiction with any other scriptures in the Bible, either given by the SAB or any other.
Deuteronomy 30:19 and Joshua 24:15 are given rightly by the SAB as examples of freewill, which the Bible teaches harmoniously throughout. The perceived contradiction by the SAB is due to an understandable confusion caused by the language of translation which, though not inaccurate can be misleading.
Acts 13:48 - To be ordained or appointed indicates a people being rightly disposed rather than preordained. The verse is talking about the prophecy of Isaiah 42:6-7 in which the opportunity of salvation would be extended to the Gentile.
Romans 8:29-30 is a reference to a class of people rather than specific individuals. God knew that there would be provision for those who would be declared righteous, but he didn't know who each of those people would be. The choice was theirs.
Romans 9:11-22 refers to the undeserved kindness of Jehovah, and that there is nothing we can do which would give us a claim of deserving his mercy. It also references the account of Jacob and Esau, and how Jehovah, seeing them struggle even in the womb, gave Esau's birthright to Jacob.
Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 2 Timothy 1:9 all deals with the term "before the world began" and considers the time of humankind after the sin of Adam, and prior to their offspring. The point being that immediately after Adam's sin Jehovah began to prepare for man's salvation.
Jude 1:4 demonstrates how past experiences relayed in the Bible serve as an example to us. Jude writes of men who slipped into the congregation, and failing to pay heed to the examples of the past repeated similar offenses. He then gives three examples of this. Faithless Israelites; angels forsaking their original positions and Sodom and Gomorrah. The men Jude referred to were, in a sense, condemned by example through the past.
For a more detailed explanation of the above scriptures see What The Bible Says About Freewill or Determinism.
Though these scriptures may seem to indicate the lack of freewill, of a predestinarian nature at least at first glance, they do not in fact do so and there is no contradiction with any other scriptures in the Bible, either given by the SAB or any other.
