Free will contradicts theism

Author: Benjamin

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3RU7AL
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@Outplayz
That's very complicated lol. I imagine it would be some kind of paradox. I believe it would be both, free will but ultimately determined. If it had only free will, wouldn't it be infinitely alone? Unless other gods also exist, but then i believe that would result in the same outcome in the end. It's hard to imagine bc we are trying to define how an immortal infinitely powerful consciousness would act... i believe there are too many (infinite) possibilities to fully imagine. 
FREE-WILL is inversely proportional to knowledge of the future

for example - the chess grandmaster has fewer moves available to them than the chess novice

the chess grandmaster makes the best move on the board when the best move is obvious to them - looking at least four moves ahead

the chess grandmaster only has a "choice" when the predicted outcome of two or more moves appears to be roughly equal - rendering the choice between them moot

when the best move is clear - there is NO "choice"

when the best move is unclear - there is a "choice"

AN OMNISCIENT GOD IS THE ULTIMATE GRANDMASTER - THE BEST MOVE IS ALWAYS OBVIOUS TO THEM
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@3RU7AL
"AN OMNISCIENT GOD IS THE ULTIMATE GRANDMASTER - THE BEST MOVE IS ALWAYS OBVIOUS TO THEM"

Thank you for your thought provoking questions and answers. I absolutely agree with you. I also however believe there are infinite characters within god doing the same thing. For instance, i very well could have perceived this life in an infinite state *my grandmaster* state and saw the moves and wanted to live the life. Or, maybe it's a chess game from the past i wanted to revisit to strengthen my moves. Nevertheless, we can be mini-gods within a god, within itself... the illusion of free will can have degrees as i choose to live this life thinking in my infinite state that is my ultimate free will, but i may be one chess move behind the ultimate god that invented my character in infinity, etc... etc... etc... when it comes to the many layers that can go on for lol. It's mindboggling how an infinite chess game could play out. 
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@Outplayz
if an omniscient god wanted to shatter itself into a million tiny pieces - with each piece lacking omniscience - that might be one way of creating a sense of free-will, at least temporarily

they'd certainly know the end result before they shattered

free-will = ignorance

i'm not sure why people find it so "essential" and "precious"
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@3RU7AL
i'm not sure why people find it so "essential" and "precious"

I imagine it's bc people like to argue absolutes rather than degrees. It's easier when it's black and white... it gets hard once you add gray. But i like the idea of a shattered god bc that would be the only way to create areas within itself that are not entirely itself. Why would it ever live with absolute knowledge and as one entity? That is what i don't understand... i think that would be the definition of hell. Which is why i think reality is what it is and not the former. 
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@Outplayz
I agree with you btw. 

God(s) found total omnipotence and omniscience boring and whether by splitting herself/himself/theirselves/itself up or by allowing certain things to be genuinely random (if that's viable), reality suddenly became more fun for this god to watch unfold.
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@Benjamin
I didn't call my proposed god a Deimurg or a Demiurge.

Demiurge is very close to what the overall spectrum of power-types this god holds.

Note: I prefer to use 'her' than 'its', as I think of my god as a mother of reality

The god I propose has total and utter knowledge and power of reality due to her being granted a unique ability upon her origin/creation that enabled her to hijack the random variable generator. She sets 'is true' to 'this entity (she) knows everything' and then began toggling other switches, making her existence static (stopping her randomly disappearing or being uncreated) and controlled basically everything there was to control at first.

I am very sure she can experience boredom and sadness even though she doesn't likely have a human brain or hormones. She became rather depressed-like and bored and her melancholy only ceased the moment she allowed some things to be random and surprising.

That's my genuine theory of reality, of course there's a bit more to it than just that but regarding if free will can occur with a god I don't see how regarding my god(dess) as a demiurge-type is a disqualifying factor.
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@Outplayz
Certainly a paradox required.

And so what would  the degrees of free will be?

I  get stuck after the first degree really.


1. Free will.

2. Just ever so slightly, not free will.

3. Just ever so slightly less slight, not free will.

4. Still more or less freewill, though ever so slightly less slight than less slight, not free will.

5. Less freewill now than before, but not so much as to be unreasonable lacking in the ability to make spontaneous data constructs.

6. One is aware that "to make" is to apply determinism.

7. Shit.
Benjamin
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I WAS SPEAKInG OF YOUR PERSONAL REASONS. Most other atheists, don't believe because of a lack of evidence. As you stated in the opt in a roundabout way, you don't believe because you like the ideal of free will. When I was an atheist. I simply did not believe, because there was a lack of evidence. Most atheists are that way. You however are unique. 
I was raised a Christian and never had a say in what to believe. My parrents were steadfast in their faith and didn't want me to go to hell so they protected me from dangerous thoughts. I went to Christian primary school, a pentacostal church, and never had any atheist friends. I was so convinced of Christianity that I became a fundamentalist and wannabe preacher at age 12 due to a family mission trip to Moldova, and me being old enough to understand the seriousness of the Christian message. Later, my maturity rose even higher and my education grew more rigorous at high school. I began to put Christianity under scrutiny and needed to read and pursue apologetics to avoid a crisis of faith. Eventually, through the internet, I was exposed to real atheists and not just the cherry picked examples and straw-men Christianity presented in order to present a narrative of having "debunked" atheism.


Importantly it struck me, the realisation that every religion is just as "true" to their own believers, their holy books just as "legitimate", their activities and music just as enthrilling --- I was alarmed as to the falsehood of the propaganda fed to me. My religion wasn't logically or factually superior to others, and so why should I trust it when I already reject all other's. I only ever though Christianity was the one true religion because only it was supported by supposed "evidence" in philosophy in science --- and yet the only reason that is was because other religions's intelectuals were few (due to intelectualism and christianity both being most dominant in the west). Islamist's using many of the same theist arguments were ignored by Christianity. I understood how religion and spiritualism as a whole were just unproven ideas which lack sufficient evidential basis and which propagated through culture by manipulation of emotions and taking advantage of existential dread.


Only by separating myself from my religion could I ever hope to take an honest and unbiased look at it. And so I did, and haven't found any reason as to return. But I quite honestly believe that atheists are in a better position to find the "true" religion if there is any, solely because they aren't already loyal to any religion. Statistically speaking, no matter your religion or worldview, you are most likely wrong due to the sheer improbability of any particular human stumbling upon the truth in a world dominated by lies. I understand that many view all religions as true to some extent, but that idea fails to explain what is true specifically and what istn't in particular religions. The passions of religious people to their theology is understandable, I come from that place, but not in any way logical or justifiable.


I am an atheist because I love the truth. I won't let my pursuith of correct information be contaminated by religious dogma. I want clear answers to specific questions.

P1: IF some religion is objectively true, THEN the facts should prove this fact  [Having a different standard for "religious" truth is by definition intelectually dishonest]

P2: The facts don't prove any particular religion, apologetics are long rebuted, and I don't find any religious arguments compelling

C: Intelectual honesty demands that I withold faith untill I am convinced by facts and evidence that a religious worldview is true


Most atheists are that way. You however are unique. 
Nope. As explained in my previous reply to you, nobody has incentive or ability to chose what to believe for any reason. We all are convinced into believing, or we don't. 

Atheism is caused by the failure of theism to convince, and nothing else. 
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@Benjamin
 A+1


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@Outplayz
@RationalMadman
Your mind is in the right place but i would say this contradicts Abrahamic religions more than "theism"  in general. If a human makes a movie, that movie plays out as what it is... fantasy, drama, horror, whatever. If all if this is hard determinism happening in the mind of a god... than that's what it is, an ultimate movie.

We both would agree that this simulation can be comparable to a movie with actors and an ultimate Producer. This is where I tend to narrow my responses down to what the average person is capable of receiving. But I know you will catch this...There's still an element of surprise involved in the Platform creating characters and a setting. You see, with this element of surprise, this is what the Source has invested in all this. Remember how we discussed we become mini-creators in our world even within a staged setting that the Platform set?

This is where it gets very interesting, the Source can't predetermine actions (becomes of the dynamics involved as I pointed out in my first post), It can only predetermine casts and a setting but within the setting the character begins to take on its own persona and decisions through its individual perceptions of its own experiences within each setting....hence becoming a mini-creator within the Creator.
Since we are all channels that the Platform has access to through our individual states of consciousness, the Source gets unique observations through each one of us because we begin to play the role with a fresh plot/choices.
Nobody seems to understand this, they just assume that the Creator HAS to know everything but there is no way to predetermine consciousness because it becomes a spontaneous event, it's not like creating a setting, a character's will cannot be planned because it is random. Now, you might play the role a TYPE of character, but the way in which that character plays out its role is completely unique.

This is what makes creation and a simulation much more interesting for the Source to even think about setting up, otherwise the Source would simply dream. This is greater than a dream though, it's actual characters taking on their own personas all throughout creation! this is also why Karma exists, because as we take on our own personas and our own will we have to become accountable for what we decide within the movie. The movie is only one part of the objective, the other part is for us to learn about ourselves through the characters we play, it is genius.

I'm sure you have heard of the ego, and how religions get into this concept that the ego has to die. That's because the ego is the only thing distinct from the Platform. Once you discard the individual self, you are one with the Platform once again....this is why the Platform covered our souls within the subtle layers of ego and mind, because that is what makes your character unique from the Platform.
We are never separated from the Source, because everything exists within the Source, but the ego ensures that what you do within the Source is fresh and unknown. 

Therefore, we don't know if their is free will, other than free will in a god that is everything and that everything playing out like a movie.

We have our own will because as I said above, consciousness cannot be predetermined, it is a live event, in present time. Consciousness can be split into many countless individual states of consciousness much like channels and frequencies of radio waves, but there is no knowledge or mechanism that can control the outcomes of conscious life, it's far to dynamic and there are too many variables involved in will.

EtrnlVw
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@Benjamin
Your argument is that our world is too complex for God to have precise foreknowledge about it. Essentially you are saying that God isn't smart enough to predict the future, he has to observe events to know their outcome. 

No, what I'm saying is that conscious life is a spontaneous event, it runs in real time, present time. God's attributes are irrelevant. I didn't say our world is too complex, I said the nature of the will, and all things involved is far too dynamic to predict. Not because God is stupid, but because it happens in the present moment. Basically, it is NOT predictable. 

The fine-turning argument shows that a creator would necesarily be intelligent enough to produce a desired outcome by tinkering with the starting conditions. If God created a universe suitable for life on the first try then he definately decided how history should look like. 

Read my post again. 
Even if God has some influence upon how the world will move forward, it has no relation to any predestination. It is all in real time. Did you catch the "pet" analogy? God can create a setting where will is still a unique feature. 

Humans can sometimes predict the actions of others given different situations; and the scientific field of biology is begining to understand our behavior. Humans being too unpredictable for an omniscient omnipotent God is a preposterous claim. 

Yes, God can predict what you MIGHT choose, but what you choose was not pre-decided, understand? God can only predict what you might choose, as that moment arises, before that, that moment never existed, was never known. This is simple stuff here. The nature of conscious life is a spontaneous event. 
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@Benjamin
Atheism is caused by the failure of theism to convince, and nothing else. 
pure signal
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@EtrnlVw

what I'm saying is that conscious life is a spontaneous event, it runs in real time, present time.
As does every other phenomena we observe. Even light, which doesn't experience time at all, moves at a set speed linking its position to continous time. Humans are not the only living beings with neurological consciousness and the ability to think and plan, though our intelligence far superceed that of animals. If humans have "free will" by your argument, then do animals have it? What about bacteria, viruses, molecules? Linking free will to unpredictability and yet applying it only to humans is a special pleading --- which unfortunately is a logical fallacy.


Basically, it is NOT predictable. 
Our world is very much predictable, we can accurately predict future events in terms of mathematical models. Imperfect information about all the rules and factors of the universe prevents us monkeys from knowing the future. Even if you invoke quantum mechanics or another source of randomness that would apply not only to human brains but also all matter. If you can't predict a persons actions perfecty because interactions between braincells are random, then you also can't predict turbulence or other chaotic phenomena. Besides, if our decicions are controlled by mystical randomness without known cause then how "free" would we be?


Even if God has some influence upon how the world will move forward, it has no relation to any predestination.
Let me clear up my argument's premises: 
  • The universe is predictable unless invoking randomness not from complexity but from "magic" 
  • Predestination is most likely true, history is not random, there is only one future. 
The question is whether or not some omniscient God or "fate" already knows the future, and whether our actions were consciously planned. A God or source that didn't create our universe knowing its entire history beforehand leaves free will alone; both for us and for God. In this thread I critique the abrahamic Idea that an omniscient creator exist simultaniously with free will --- that is quite clearly a contradiction. A non-omniscient God as you described is compatible with free will; because it faces the same problem we humans have, being unable to know perfectly the result of one's possible actions. 
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@Benjamin
First and second cause is not the apropriate distinction here. We blame the responsible person for murder, even though it was the bullet who killed the victim and the gun which sent the bullet flying. When we asign guilt for tragic events we trace the causal chain back to the first moral creature that would be aware of what they're doing. We blame Hitler for Holocaust as a whole even though SS officers clearly made a choice that wasn't controlled solely by Hitler. If, however, Hitler was a robot programmed to what he did by someone who knew the eventual outcome; then we would obviously place the guilt of Holocaust on the creator of Hitler, and view Hitler as the tool.

Similarly, the world being "evil" is caused by a lot of unfortunate events, but only God is responsible. He chose to create a world that would be evil. He specifically put a tree in the garden of eden when he knew that Adam and Eve would eat of it. God bears the ultimate responsibility for how the world turned out.

And no, this doesn't mean Hitler wasn't evil --- just that God already decided that he would be.
It is an appropriate distinction. Tolkien is the not the evil wizard and empire in the book Lord of the Rings. He is the author - And it would be absurd to blame him for the evil that others have done in the story.  Of course they would not have done the evil save and except Tolkien wrote the story. Yet the evil occurred in that narrative and every person who reads that story can clearly denote the distinction. A first cause and a second cause.  

God is the first cause.  Yet this does not implicate him as evil except by those who wish to deny their own responsibility. If humans were robots and programmed to sin then this might be argued. Yet humans are not robots and they do choose what they do.  Hitler was evil.   Not because decided he was would be evil - but because Hitler chose to be evil. 

For your scenario to be true - you need to demonstrate that the first and second cause of evil are linked in a causal manner.  Christians would argue that God is the first cause of all things.  Yet they would argue that each individual event that occurs is a result of a cause and effect from second causes.  There is a separation between the first and the second cause that completely removes the first cause from any wrong and good attached to the second one.  

It is similar to the taxation system in every modern society in the world.  If I pay taxes - and the government takes that and uses it to pay for abortions, am I accountable or responsible for that abortion?  People have lodged court litigation against the Tax departments to attempt to avoid paying tax on this argument. Yet the courts around the world have indicated / ruled that people are not responsible or accountable because there is a wall of separation between the consolidated tax fund which government's use to pay for abortions and by which the person pays tax into the consolidated fund. 

Governments are responsible for their own actions.  Individuals must still pay tax but are not held responsible for what the government spends their funds on. 

It is this separation between first and second causes that is legitimately at the core of the issue you raise.   God might be the author of all things. Yet he is not responsible for how people choose to act.  It is an absurd proposition to argue otherwise.  And from my point of view - the only reason you would attempt to do so is either to shift the blame from yourself - or to use it as an exercise in your mind to disprove God's reality.  

The first is typical of sinners. The second a strawman argument. This is because theists do not hold to your position no matter how logical you think it is - they hold to a separation of first and second causes and to a position on free will (whatever they might look like).  Ironically, despite many people saying they  believe in determinism and anti-free will - they still ultimately believe that people who kill other people should be punished and sent to prison. 

If you believe in a court system where people are punished for the crimes they commit - you demonstrate - no matter what you say with your mouth or computer - that you believe in free will - and that the individual is responsible for their own actions.   Now of course - this culpability is going to vary upon the circumstances, mental health, IQ, brainwashing, blackmail, etc, but there are not many people in this world who would think that pedophiles should not be held accountable for their actions.  

I am reformed in my position and mostly hold to a non-free will point of view. I don't think people can choose to follow God for example.  Yet I also hold to the view that humans are responsible for their own actions.  This is the reality of the world we live in. And I think the bible clearly teaches it.  It teaches both that God is the first cause - but also that humans are responsible.  Since it also teaches that God is good - I do not think that it reasonable to doubt this twofold approach.  

Of course - if someone does not believe in God - or wants to disprove God using anti-intellectual reasoning, then that is their prerogative.  And although I think that everyone has the right to their ideas and opinions - it does not mean that every idea or opinion is equal to every other one. 


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I would say this is a spectacularly unimaginative argument. The big failing here is working backwards from the idea of some imagined "God". Rather you should work forwards from the idea of a "free will".

We are instincts become thought then projected into eternity. We got nothing innate left in us, except us. Hellfire, then, is the same question of the hot plate, just instead of one action it's every action. Free will is the reason for God. It's the anxiety of being left alone with ourselves. 

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I think that's a lot of fun. 
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You might suppose then that the anxiety of some propels them to spend their days on the internet, in some religion forum, attempting to quash all arguments as to a "God". But they can't escape from themselves.

There's something of an animal caught in a trap chewing off its own leg about it. 
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@Tradesecret
Tolkien is the not the evil wizard and empire in the book Lord of the Rings. He is the author - And it would be absurd to blame him for the evil that others have done in the story. 
This is true but not for the reason you think. Tolkien is not a creator in the same sense that God is, the world he creates is only imaginary, not real. Writing a story about pointless suffering isn't immoral, but creating a world of pointless suffering is. The Biblical God chose to create a world with sickness and disasters; but most importantly sin. Satan could only ever become evil and sinfull because God put him on that path, literally, by created him and his enivorement in a particular way as to cause his eventual downfall. His nature and nurture both originate from God who knows everything, even our thoughts before we think them. Now if you purposefully put your child in a position you know will lead to it becoming evil and commiting countless attrocities, then "second causes" don't 




If I pay taxes - and the government takes that and uses it to pay for abortions, am I accountable or responsible for that abortion?
No, and this example is not a valid comparrison. God is not merely allowing evil things to happen in this world, he purposefully created it this way. You will notice that individual taxpayer neither know in full the future nor have the power to create any possible government. Funily enough, God does. He knew the outcome of his creation act, that is our evil world, and he could have picked any other alternative. Either God was ignorant of the evil his world would bring about, or he actively decided to create an world of suffering and evil. The former contradicts God's omniscient, the latter his alledged perfect moral goodness. 


"Free will" is a cheap copout argument from a religion that teaches with clarity that God knows the future, even your thoughts. Didn't God plan outJesus's sacrifice before he created the world [1]? Aren't there countless specific examples of God forcing his will on individuals and later punishing them, as he did with pharao [2]? Doesn't God demand faith, obedience and worship from people lest they burn in hell? The answer to all of these questions is yes, so humans are indeed under God's controll. No choice is ever made that was not controlled by God directly or indirectly, as God is the author who planned our world's evil history. 



Yet the evil occurred in that narrative and every person who reads that story can clearly denote the distinction. A first cause and a second cause.  
The world of Tolkien wasn't created by Tolkien, it has its own mythology and Gods. Reading the story we know Tolkien's imagination is amoral by virtue of not having real consequence. Even if the middle earths existed in a paralell universe, Tolkien's world matching it would just be a coincidence as there is no causal connection. God on the other hand deliberately imagined our world as it is, with evil pain and suffering and the need for a savior. Then he went on to create it because he wanted to be worshipped by his own image even if for every diciple he would have to send dozens of people to burn in hell. Theology aside, an omnipotent God with acceptable moral standards would have created a different world than we currently live in.n  


Again, CHOICES MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN EXTERNAL BEINGS DELIBERATE PLANNING ARE NOT REALLY FREE. The creator is responsible for his creation.
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@Benjamin
A+1
Benjamin
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@Tradesecret
If you believe in a court system where people are punished for the crimes they commit - you demonstrate - no matter what you say with your mouth or computer - that you believe in free will - and that the individual is responsible for their own actions.   Now of course - this culpability is going to vary upon the circumstances, mental health, IQ, brainwashing, blackmail, etc, but there are not many people in this world who would think that pedophiles should not be held accountable for their actions.  
An eye for an eye is not the purpose of a justice system meant to help society. Punishment serves to protect society by discouraging crimes and enforcing the laws of society. A well-made justice system also understands the causes of crime and seeks to heal criminals. After all, the vast majority of criminals are people who have problems they most likely wished themselves out of. Culpability is a measure of how much of the blame can be put on external factors; the rest of the problem lies in the criminal's mind. This concept, however, does not require free will. An attempted terrorist can be put to death justifiably without invoking "personal responsibility" for his indoctrination since birth into islamism. Brain surgery can heal many pedophiles by literally removing the problem of pedophilic lust. A cure to such crime would make it nonsensical to punish the guilty afterwards as it would be a physically and psycologically different person with a different brain. Thinking of evil as "problematic traits within an individual" begs the question: is it the whole person or just the root problem that deserves the death penalty? Considdering our ability to change people to the better rather than punishing them, why should we use the abstract, unscientifical concepts of "free will" and "guilt"  to justify actions by the state that we otherwise consider immoral? Is it enough to justify the blatant unfairness, missentencing and discrimination present in many courts?


My point is, people's choices are not always free, and we should seek to rehabilitate people rather than arrogantly act like a righteous objective judge when we are not.
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@badger
The big failing here is working backwards from the idea of some imagined "God". Rather you should work forwards from the idea of a "free will".
Problematically enough, free will is almost extinctively defined in contrast to a God's control. Scientists have known for quite a while that human choices are facilitated by biological processes controlled by external physical laws. The idea of free will as "the ability to have chosen otherwise" might fall solely on this fact: that we could not have acted differently without breaking the laws of physics. Yet free will is still a common idea. One reason might be that free will is defined as lack of deliberate controll by an external person; so that the physical laws of nature don't count against free will. But even with that definition an omniscient omnipotent creator still contradicts free will by violating the concept of non-planning and replacing it with a theistic version of fate: God's plan. 
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@Benjamin
As does every other phenomena we observe. Even light, which doesn't experience time at all, moves at a set speed linking its position to continous time.

You still don't get it, now we have to take baby steps to deal with your stubbornness and lack of commonsense. Our world is based upon equations, formulas, processes, materials and calculations. They can be broken apart, reconstructed and constructed through a systematic and predictable system of procedure. Just so we're clear, our world means the setting we exist in, our universe and all such processes that make it possible.
Now we have an entirely separate feature, and our will I will discuss below. 

Humans are not the only living beings with neurological consciousness and the ability to think and plan, though our intelligence far superceed that of animals. If humans have "free will" by your argument, then do animals have it? What about bacteria, viruses, molecules? Linking free will to unpredictability and yet applying it only to humans is a special pleading --- which unfortunately is a logical fallacy.

Before you make assumptions make sure you ask me so we can avoid me having to answer for strawmen. Conscious life applies to every single thing that has awareness.....now make sure you pay close attention to what I write below.
Conscious life has no equations, no formulas or predictability of outcome. When I say in real time and in the present moment what I mean is that every moment is the only moment in which it can actually occur to be known. Unlike our world, while existing in real time, which can be systematically understood, known and calculated.... consciousness is not a calculation or a system of procedures.
It can't be known because there is no methodology to break it down and examine what will take place, there are no materials or processes that show what will take place in any given scenario. Just like with any recipe that contains ingredients, materials and a methodical process that establishes a known product our world is under that same method of known and predictable outcomes. Consciousness has no recipe or method of mechanical outcomes of what will occur in an infinite amount of possibilities and circumstances that arise from a purely spontaneous affair.

A recipe doesn't have an infinite or unknown amount of possibilities, it is understood which ingredients are needed and by which process those ingredients must be properly combined. It contains everything that can be predicted and known as to what it will produce. Even if there are slight variations the outcome is that which the recipe has "predestined".
Our will is not based upon any possible foreknowledge, they are an unknown feature because they simply don't exist until they are chosen in present time. This doesn't limit God's attributes, only things that can be known can be known. God knows everything that can be known of anything that exists that can be known. That still qualifies as omniscience since God knows all things that can be known, and since you are the one fixated on that silly qualification there is no contradiction.

Now I'm not just talking about a single feature of consciousness or one roadmap of life, we're talking about every creature, animal, human, insect, microbe and every single form of life that exists. Now add an infinite amount of possible outcomes to billions of life forms on all levels. As I pointed out before, you would have to accept that God predestined every time each life form makes a single choice, there's no way you want to make such an absurd leap in logic right? tell me you know that is insane? remember that predestination applies to the exact millisecond every single phenomenon and movement takes place, which means there are no random occurrences or alterations of actions taking place, like slamming your finger in the door when you leave your house which causes a delay in your departure which drastically changes every other event and timing that you decide thereafter. 
The question becomes, are you willing to concede any part of your assumptions or should just let you wallow in such a ridiculous assertion?

Scientists have known for quite a while that human choices are facilitated by biological processes controlled by external physical laws. The idea of free will as "the ability to have chosen otherwise" might fall solely on this fact: that we could not have acted differently without breaking the laws of physics. Yet free will is still a common idea.

And sometimes scientists can be as ignorant as the next dummy. Even though there MAY be external factors that sway (not control) our own will it is not a given in an unknown amount of possible choices. Say for example it's cold outside so that may play a role in what you decide to wear, but it doesn't decide which sweater or jacket you pick or the exact moment you put it on. You have biological needs so you may desire sex, food, drink and all the things that help you survive and stay alive but that has not control over your own will other than you coming to the realization that you need something. External factors could be an indication that something needs attention, but it does not dictate when where or what you decide to do. Again, this should all be very easy for your rational mind to understand, and certainly simple in regards to commonsense. We have our own will nomatter what is thrown at us and that will always make your will unique and extemporaneous.

Our world is very much predictable, we can accurately predict future events in terms of mathematical models.

Hopefully I made my point clear above. Our world is our setting, we agree on this point alone. Our will is not a mathematical model, it contains no blueprint. 

If you can't predict a persons actions perfecty because interactions between braincells are random, then you also can't predict turbulence or other chaotic phenomena.

This is all true, but again make sure we are using the same choice of words here. When we talk about God's foreknowledge and your assumptions about omniscience we are talking about predestination for every single seemingly random event or choice. That's your absurd claim not mine.

The universe is predictable unless invoking randomness not from complexity but from "magic"
Predestination is most likely true, history is not random, there is only one future.

Now let me clear up my premises, there are two distinct realities at play. You have our world which is based upon materials, processes and a calculated model. It is known what it will produce and the outcomes thereof.
Then we have conscious life (our will) which is completely spontaneous and without materials, processes, models or preexisting knowledge. There are no known results or outcomes other than speculation, intuition, guesses, hunches, conjecture ect ect. Predestination cannot be applied to will.
Now let me be clear again, certainly God can shape and funnel the directions of human affairs, our history and the future (if so desired). But it is manipulated in real time, it is not predestined. God can control those external factors we discussed if indeed needed to influence life in a larger, broader sense...but that has no relevance to our own will being completely unique. 
If God can control our SETTING (not our will), then certainly God could know the start and the finish of our world just by having complete ability to manipulate our environment. Again, our will is distinct from what God does or knows about what will happen to our world. And obviously since we exist within the world, we are subject to whatever occurs, but this still does not control our will, only our environment. 

In this thread I critique the abrahamic Idea that an omniscient creator exist simultaniously with free will --- that is quite clearly a contradiction.

Not at all. It doesn't matter whether we go with the Abrahamic idea of will or simply the general concept of a God, the idea of our own will will always be compatible because it applies across the board because will cannot be predestined. We are uniquely free to decide whatever we want in a world set up for us to make our own choices. 

A non-omniscient God as you described is compatible with free will; because it faces the same problem we humans have, being unable to know perfectly the result of one's possible actions.

Only things that can be known can be known. Our will is not a knowable event so there is no contradiction with my premise and God's attributes. Hopefully this post will begin to satisfy the confusion about will vs God's attributes. Even still, I'm not pressed to label God omniscient, but given that conscious life is unknowable it is irrelevant to God's knowledge. 

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Benjamin. you do get it.  Worm man does not get it.
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@Benjamin
Scientists have known for quite a while that human choices are facilitated by biological processes controlled by external physical laws. The idea of free will as "the ability to have chosen otherwise" might fall solely on this fact: that we could not have acted differently without breaking the laws of physics.
So you're saying scientists know that all of our choices are simply the inevitable results of natural processes totally outside of our control?
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The harassers of the forum are those who always leave snarky comments with zero content or rebuttal. But why would they offer content? it's not about rational discussion/debate but about their weirdo obsessions. 
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I am saying that scientifically speaking, how we act is 100% determined by the past. Only the yet poorly understood quantum mechanical randomness could serve as a rebutall.
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@Benjamin
I am saying that scientifically speaking, how we act is 100% determined by the past. Only the yet poorly understood quantum mechanical randomness could serve as a rebutall.
If that is true, and we know that with 100% certainty, then why do we hold anyone accountable for their "choices"?
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[--> EtrnlVw]:


Conscious life has no equations, no formulas or predictability of outcome.
Consciousness is the state of being aware and reactive to your surroundings. Anything with enough intelligence and sensory input can become conscious. Contrary to your notion that consciousness isn't systematic, the fact of the matter is that consciousness is an integral part of our brain structure: it is the sum of all information the brain choses to pay active attention to, and all thought-threads currently active. Without consciousness, the brain would be lost, drowning in endless unsorted information without structure. When we sleep the brain shuts down sensory driven consciousness and starts to rest and consolidate the experiences we have had through, for example, dreaming. On what basis you can claim that consciousness isn't predictable or systematical remains to be seen.



External factors could be an indication that something needs attention, but it does not dictate when where or what you decide to do.
That is your strawman. I am not saying that external "factors" dictate your choices --- that would be spooky action at a distance. What I am saying is that INTERNAL factors dictate your decision: namely, the excact physical state of your brain and body. The atoms in our body are not special or magical, they behave according to excact mathematical equations. The problem with your argument is that you muddle abstractions and concrete concepts. Let me delve into an example:

"Now let me clear up my premises, there are two distinct realities at play. You have our world which is based upon materials, processes and a calculated model. It is known what it will produce and the outcomes thereof.Then we have conscious life (our will) which is completely spontaneous and without materials, processes, models or preexisting knowledge.Since we exist within the world, we are subject to whatever occurs, but this still does not control our will, only our environment"

This mind-matter duality is a philosophical idea stemming back millenia. Unsubstantiated as it is, this claim still enjoys much popularity. But using it in this context as an argument does not follow even if we agreed to accept it as a premise. Regardless of whether or not supernatural "experience" of our brain's consciousness exists, our choices are NOT made at another plane of existence. According to all scientific evidence, choices are made inside the physical brain. Simpler "choices" like following a habit are less time-consuming for the brain to make and so they seem instantaneous and uncounscious. On the far end of the spectrum we have reflexes where the body makes a choice before the neural signals reach your brain. If by "choices" you mean the steady stream of conscious conclusions we come to then they are undoubtedly systematical and (to a sufficiently knowledgeable observer) predictable. 




Again, my argument assumes that no scientificly aquired fact is discarded. Replacing known facts regarding humans and the universe with vaguely defined spiritual concepts is not a valid way to adress my argument. I am simply pointing out the fact that an omniscient creator couldn't create a strictly deterministic world like our own without also have predetermined everything. Therefore, the clasical concept of "free will" is incompatible with this form of theism. Only by invoking quantum randomness could one defeat my argument without changing definitions, moving goalposts or rejecting scientific facts. 
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The implication of the evidence I have presented earlier [#50] is that the cause of crimals is the way people were raised, their genes, their experiences; or something as random as a brain tumour causing pedophilic lust in a person. Factually speaking, a criminal is nothing more than a human with a smaller og bigger problem; and they certainly didn't all consciously chose to become criminal. There is no hard evidence that commiting a crime justifies, nay demands, punishment.  The entire concept of "deserving" certain treatment is not clearly defined.Justice as a concept and an institution comes from the acknowledgement that we need to enforce our standards for good and evil. People exist who lack empathy and who are willing to take advantage of and even hurt other people. Punishment gives people non-virtuous motivation to pursue a moral lifestyle. A good justice system also priorities rehabilitative measures as to minimise the damage and cost crime causes society.
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@Benjamin

Well stated.  Are you a Kingsman?