Does man have free will? (Earth, choice, scriptures, Israel)

[Truthseeker]

This is why we must practice temperance (but not abstinence). We must realize that there is a difference between enjoying our lives at all costs and enjoying our lives in such a way that we do not ruin the physical experience for any other individuals!

Right ok by this statement you are admitting your a pleasure seeker right ? Our body is limited in as much as it only awards an individual limited pleasures we are never satisfied with anything the body can award us. Because of this we constantly seek the next source of pleasure that give us a temporary thrill. For instance lets say you have a craving for a chocolate bar. The minute you get your hands on one and taste it your desire for chocolate will be momentarily extinguished and you will then seek something else to give you pleasure in a vain attempt to satisfy our bodies desires.

Now we can see a human being is essentially like a drug addict. Pleasure is our drug, our bodies are addicted to it and just can't get enough of it we like drug addicts incessantly seek the next source of pleasure.

If you choose to serve the body in such a way then you are attempting to satisfy a constantly ravenous beast - you will never be able to satisfy its constant demands for pleasure because the body only awards fleeting pleasure. (The sensation of an orgasm doesn't last long does it ? But how aboutexperiencing that feeling as a constant sensation. Sounds good right ? Bad news is our physical body can't award us with it.) To get out of this cycle we have to realise that our desire for temporal pleasures is what is causing us all of our problems.

We have all heard about people who have seemingly had it all (Film stars ect, ect) and have got depressed or turned to drugs, drink for one reason or another. People look at them and think "How can they get depressed ? They have money, glamour, fame and everything anyone could want. I have virtually nothing how can they get depressed ?" The reason these people get depressed is because they have run out of things by which they can satisfy themselves with. They have done it all, got it all or had it all where is there left for them to go ? Millionares often say that when they acquired there first million £ or $ that it no longer had any worth in their eyes only 2 million had worth in there eyes when they got to 2 only 3 million then had any worth in there eyes and so on and so forth. (A good example of the way in which the desires of our body seduce us and leads us absolutely nowhere.)

So we have a choice - We can serve a body that can never be satified anyway and chase flleting pleasure - Or we can seek an alternative where we will confront true pleasures and for once become truly satisfied. For those of you wanting to choose the latter you should visit www.kabbalah.info. and take your first steps towards true spirituality and connection with The Creator.

[Truthseeker]

P.S.

Runt I checked out your website link. It was great! I really enjoyed it it seems we have a lot in common to. I love Shakespeare and would like to become an actor. (I have an auditions for drama school soon.)

Congratulations on attaining your yellow belt in Taekwondo as well.

[Truthseeker]

Hi All,

I just wanted to add something from Rabbi Michael Laitmans Book: Attaining The Worlds Beyond (I have his permission to re-print this section of his book)

[i] Against your will you are born, against your will you live and against your will you die." (This is actually an extract from the Talmud called the ethics of the fathers but included in the first chapter of Attaining the Worlds Beyond.)

Forgive me for stating the obvious but none of us choose to be born right ? We do not choose who are parents are, are circumstances, environment ect ect right ? And at the end of the we are all at the mercy of death who will not spare any human being on this Earth. So with these things borne in mind how can anyone possibly say that we have free will ?

[Runt]

Forgive me for stating the obvious but none of us choose to be born right ? We do not choose who are parents are, are circumstances, environment ect ect right ?

This is an assumption, not a proven fact. I believe that we DO chose to live, when to live, what kind of life to live, who our parents are, what the circumstances of our environment are, etc.... ALL BEFORE WE ARE BORN! If I am right and we were originally fully submerged in the Consciousness that is God, (rather than merely being connected to it because we are still PART of it, as we are now), we knew EVERYTHING, and we, having free will and the powers of God (because at that time we were inseperable from God) we literally CHOSE our lives. And when we return to that pool of Consciousness and are reabsorbed, perhaps we will one day chose again to visit the mere physical plane and "live" again.

[deahca2]

I can understand that. However, our free will is within limits. I'm sure we can all agree on that. Example, a child born in a middle class family in Western Society has more "free will" than a child born in poverty in a "banana republic". or my free will states that I will walk on air, and the reality is, we can't.
However, within the boundaries of our free will, whatever they may be, we still have choices, all of us.

[best friend]

Originally Posted by Colin_Admin

The point about asking your friend if he will help you is an assumption that he will, and this is not the same as God having foresight. Its not the same because you are making a guess that he will help. Guessing is not having the ability of foresight

I completely agree that guessing is different from the ability of foresight. my aim was to make it easy to imagine that god can know every thing about what we call it future(which is not like that to him).
As i believe that God has no past,present or future like us. coz he is the one who created time as well as he created for e.g; colours, gravity, human soul ,day and night, conscience,........etc
And i mentioned before that...

Originally Posted by best friend

God is beyond all time and space and everything is included in His Knowledge, He encompasses time with its past, present and future divisions in a single, undivided point.

about what colin said to me

Originally Posted by Colin_Admin

Maybe could you be more specific on your descriptions or give different ones because I am still unclear of your proof of free will.

well colin i was thinking of more relevant examples and i came up with this one;some people had dreams or visions about some events and it became true . so if humans can sometimes successfully know about the future, then god whom is supposed to have the absolute power and knowledge can know EVERY THING about the future. i know that this example is debatable but i believe in it because i experienced that once before, and i will try to search for information about it as well as finding more examples (if there is any, lol)
best regards to everyone

[Runt]

I can understand that. However, our free will is within limits.

Aye. How much we can exercise our free will is dependant on our present state. We are restricted by the natural laws that act on our physical bodies, on the laws of our society, and by other factors. For example, say I wanted go visit the moon tomorrow. Well... the reason I can't go is not because God decided before I was born that I couldn't go... it is because I don't have the influence, the money, the training, or a space shuttle conveniently at my beck and call :P But in THEORY I could go to the moon tomorrow...

[deahca2]

RE: visions of the future

Interesting and something to ponder. Perhaps SOME things are indeed written in stone and can't be changed. The Moshiach springs to mind about this being "written in stone". Maybe its a combination of both?

[Alaric]

My five cents is that free will is a term to describe our ability to reflect on our actions and imagine alternatives, and in so doing, influence them. Babies don't have free will because they can't reflect and can't imagine alternatives, but as we get older, we are held to be more responsible because we are expected to 'know better'.

Therefore, the more you learn about yourself, why you feel and act in certain ways to certain circumstances, the more free will you have! So not everyone is on the same level in this regard.

[deahca2]

Alaric:
Makes sense to me. AFter all it's all about choices.
deah