Search — Theology Explorer

James 1 Genesis 4 James 1 Calvinism free will

Q2: Do we have free will? Mike asserts strong yes — biblically, intuitively, and philosophically supported

Viewer Lace Buck Corny asks about free will, sovereignty, and whether punishment is just if we lack free will.

atheism free will moral responsibility

Free will is biblically assumed throughout Scripture — humans are treated as responsible agents making real choices

Continuing the free will answer, Mike argues that the assumption of free choice and moral responsibility permeates the entire biblical narrative.

free will divine sovereignty compatibilism

Free will and divine sovereignty are compatible — sovereignty means ultimate control, not micromanagement of every choice

Mike addresses how free will coexists with divine sovereignty.

free will moral responsibility divine judgment

Without free will, punishment is morally problematic but stopping evil agents still makes sense

Mike addresses the hypothetical: if no free will, is punishment just?

Mike Winger idea 2020-12-04

Why did God create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil if he foreknew the fall? Guessing divine motives is risky, but free will and genuine love require real choices.

Question from Reggie LQ about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and divine foreknowledge.

Genesis 2-3 Genesis 2-3 Tree of knowledge of good and evil Divine foreknowledge

Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

Why God creates people he foreknows will reject him

Our Fish asked why God would create people he knows will not choose him.

Matthew 13:24-30 free will theodicy problem of evil

Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

God is in control: sovereignty without divine determinism

Wade Nelson asked whether "God is in control" is a meaningless platitude implying divine determinism.

Ephesians 1:11 Calvinism free will providence

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-05

Romans 8:29-30 — the Golden Chain of Redemption: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified; Calvinist and non-Calvinist interpretations

Brief overview of the golden chain; Mike declines a full treatment and refers to his Romans series

Romans 8:29-30 election Calvinism free will

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-05

Molinism helps explain how divine sovereignty and human free will operate together

Expanding the discussion about God creating people He knows will reject Him

middle knowledge free will divine sovereignty

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-26

Universal atonement does not guarantee universal salvation; receiving Christ requires a personal decision.

Response to anonymous question: since Jesus died for all, will all be saved like gravity works on all?

John 1:12 John 1:9-11 salvation free will universalism

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-26

Satan in the Garden: God did not place Satan there; Satan's presence does not negate human free will responsibility for the Fall.

Brian Harper asks why a God who hates evil would place evil incarnate (Satan) in the Garden knowing it would lead to human corruption.

Genesis 3 Genesis 3 Satan free will

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Free will does not mean freedom from consequences — the golden calf judgment illustrates this

Q15 from Jill Sworzel-Stix: If God gives us free will to worship him, why did he have Moses command the Levites to kill 3,000 people who chose not to (Exodus 32:28)?

Exodus 32 Moses Aaron covenant

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Are individuals made by God? Yes — through both direct soul creation and divine foreknowledge/providential design

Q16 from Mary Strickland: How do I know I personally was made by God if I was conceived out of sin through ordinary biology?

Jeremiah 1:5 Jeremiah 1:5 foreknowledge divine providence

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-19

Molinism explained and distinguished from determinism

Listener Solomon Dahlberg asks whether on Molinism people's choices depend only on circumstances God places them in, and if so why doesn't God make everyone believe.

Molinism Free will Avengers: Infinity War

Mike Winger idea 2020-02-12

Why the cause must be PERSONAL: (1) a mind uniquely fits spaceless/timeless/immaterial yet has causal powers, (2) state-event causation from timelessness requires a decision to act, (3) absence of determinism in nothingness requires libertarian free will.

Why the cause is a personal agent

determinism determinism causal powers

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-08

Drew's Question 4: If God knows who will choose him, why not only create those people and skip earthly suffering? If free will is the answer, that implies heaven lacks free will (since there's no suffering there), making earth better than heaven.

Presenting Drew's argument — why create the non-elect?

free will problem of evil problem of evil

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-08

Good #1: Freely choosing to enter a loving relationship with God is a great good — a love potion analogy shows forced love isn't real love. Good #2: Alvin Plantinga's supralapsarianism theodicy — the Incarnation and atonement (Christ dying for those who hate him) is among the greatest conceivable acts of love, only possible in a world with sin.

Response to Q4 — goods requiring earth (love and atonement)

free will Alvin Plantinga free will

Mike Winger idea 2020-03-04

Q: Why can an atheist be a "better person" than a Christian? Because humans have free will. But our standard for "good person" is skewed — we judge by how someone treats us, ignoring whether they love God. Rejecting the Creator is a massive moral failure regardless of philanthropy. We evaluate select pockets while ignoring what matters most to God.

Q&A — atheists being "better" than Christians

free will free will

Mike Winger idea 2020-04-15

Sovereignty of God: God is good, all-knowing, and in ultimate control. Romans 8:28: works all things for good for those who love him. But sovereignty doesn't mean exhaustive divine determinism (God causing every single thing). Job: God allowed Satan's attack but didn't cause it. God is in control of the flow of all things, can stop or allow anything, but humans have real choices.

Sovereignty of God — not determinism

Romans 8:28 free will sovereignty of God free will

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-07

Calvinism and free will: Mike isn't a Calvinist. He believes in genuine human free will while also affirming God's sovereignty. The key issue: does God determine every single human decision (Calvinist compatibilism) or do humans have genuine libertarian choice? Mike believes libertarian free will better fits Scripture and makes better sense of God's commands, judgments, and the problem of evil.

Calvinism and free will — Mike's position

Calvinism free will Calvinism

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-15

The "outsider test of faith" (apply your reasons for rejecting Thor to Christianity) backfires for informed Christians because the evidence for Christianity specifically doesn't work for pagan deities.

Responding to the street epistemology version of argument 1

Luke Barnes William Lane Craig biblical prophecy William Lane Craig

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-15

Four theodicies provide a cumulative answer to the problem of evil: soul-building, free will, natural law, and skeptical theism.

Detailed treatment of theodicies responding to the problem of evil

theodicy theodicy problem of evil

naturalism naturalism arguments for God

The Free Thinking Argument: if naturalism is true, humans cannot freely think; but humans can freely think; therefore naturalism is false — and the best explanation is the biblical God.

Introduction to interview with Dr. Tim Stratton on the argument from free will for God's existence

Calvinism Molinism Calvinism

Tim Stratton's journey from cage-stage Calvinist determinist to Molinist — catalyzed by noticing atheists calling themselves "free thinkers" while denying free will, and Calvinists doing the same in reverse.

Stratton's background and what sparked his research

compatibilism compatibilism libertarian free will

Libertarian free will defined: the ability to choose among alternative options compatible with one's nature. Two versions — principle of alternative possibilities (PAP) and sourcehood freedom.

Philosophical definitions before presenting the formal argument

Daniel Dennett Sam Harris Dan Barker Dan Barker

Most leading naturalist/atheist thinkers deny libertarian free will: Dawkins, Harris, Dennett, Hawking, Rosenberg, Coyne, Carroll, Barker. Stratton uses their own admissions as premises in his argument.

Establishing that atheists themselves concede the naturalism-determinism link

libertarian free will free thinking argument

The Free Thinking Argument formal syllogism: (1) no libertarian freedom → no rational inference; (2) humans DO rationally infer; (3) therefore humans have libertarian freedom. Stratton calls it deductive and potentially debate-ending.

Presentation of the core Free Thinking Argument

naturalism naturalism arguments for God

The expanded Free Thinking Argument Against Naturalism adds steps from naturalism → no soul → no libertarian freedom → no rational inference (all deductive), plus abductive conclusion that God is best explanation.

Full 8-step argument against naturalism

determinism determinism consciousness

Premise 3 defense: if external forces determine your beliefs, you lose justification for knowledge. You become a "bag of beliefs, none of which are up to the bag." The mad scientist thought experiment illustrates this.

Detailed defense of the most attacked premise

Alvin Plantinga self-refuting argument properly basic beliefs

Premise 4 is self-evident: to argue that humans CANNOT rationally infer knowledge claims is itself a rational inference — it's self-defeating. Some things are properly basic beliefs that don't require proof.

Defense of premise 4 and discussion of properly basic beliefs

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig Kalam cosmological argument

The Kalam Cosmological Argument supports step 8: the cause of the universe must be timeless, spaceless, immaterial, enormously powerful, personal, and possessing libertarian freedom — matching the biblical God.

Using the Kalam to defend the abductive conclusion (step 8)

Genesis 1:26-27 2 Corinthians 5:8 Galatians 5:13 image of God Genesis 1:26-27 2 Corinthians 5:8

Biblical confirmation: Genesis 1:26-27 (made in God's image as immaterial minds), 2 Corinthians 5:8 (we exist apart from body), Galatians 5:13 (called to live in libertarian freedom to choose love over sin).

Scriptural support for the philosophical conclusions

Daniel Dennett Sam Harris naturalism naturalism

Some atheists are driven to deny their own existence to maintain naturalism — Rosenberg (The Atheist's Guide to Reality), Harris, Dennett all deny the reality of the self/consciousness. This is self-refuting: someone must be having the illusion.

Consequence of determinism: denial of self-existence

Mike Winger idea 2021-09-10

Why did God Allow our Sin Nature?: Frank Turek said (paraphrasing) that in Heaven we will have free will, but we won't sin because we won't have a sin nature. If that's the case, why didn't God just make us like that on Earth?

Q&A question: Why did God Allow our Sin Nature?

Frank Turek free will

Mike Winger idea 2021-10-22

Did Pharaoh in Exodus have Free Will?: I was just wondering what your thoughts were on Exodus 9: 12. Did Pharaoh have free will?

Q&A question: Did Pharaoh in Exodus have Free Will?

Pharaoh free will

Mike Winger idea 2021-12-17

Angels, Free Will, & Did God Command Satan to Rebel?} How would you react to someone who claims that angels don't have free will, and that by extension, God commanded Satan to rebel? Hoping to address the issue and the heart here, thanks!

Q&A question

Satan free will angels

Mike Winger idea 2022-04-15

Does God Control our Free Will?: In Proverbs 21:1 it says, "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water He turns it wherever He wishes." Does that mean God controls the king's free will?

Q&A question: Does God Control our Free Will?

Mike Winger idea 2022-10-21

Trusting God’s Will for our Loved Ones: We are supposed to trust God with all our hearts. But what does it look like to trust God with the free will decisions of others, like our adult children?

Q&A question: Trusting God’s Will for our Loved Ones

Mike Winger idea 2024-02-09

What if God Has No Free Will?: Does God lack free will Himself, since He cannot act outside of or contrary to His nature? If so, doesn’t that make His actions questionable?

Q&A question: What if God Has No Free Will?

Mike Winger idea 2024-02-23

Does Acts 13 Prove Calvinism?: I'd like to hear your thoughts about Acts 13: 48. It seems to contradict the idea that God wants everyone to be saved and that everyone has the same opportunity/free will to believe in Him.

Q&A question: Does Acts 13 Prove Calvinism?

Acts 13 Calvinism Acts 13 free will

Mike Winger idea 2024-08-09

Does Satan Have Free Will?: Given what Revelation 20:7-10 says, what is the probability that Satan will NOT deceive the nations when he's released from the abyss? Is it 0 or greater? If it is 0, does Satan have free will?

Q&A question: Does Satan Have Free Will?

revelation Revelation 20 Satan revelation free will

Mike Winger idea 2024-12-20

Choosing Sides?: A friend of a friend asked why he has to “choose sides” (God or the Devil). Why can't he just remain neutral? He claims it's not really free will when there's only one “right side.”

Q&A question: Choosing Sides?