Nimos
Well-Known Member
If you understand free will, you don't need to understand why there are laws.
In a free society, there is actually no such thing as absolute freedom. It is freedom of choice within the parameters of specific rules that modify human behavior so that everyone is NOT free to do as they wish. Abusing free will is deliberately breaking a set law. It comes at the expense of a stated penalty. That is called justice. We are programmed for justice. And we have a conscience.
A good person obeys the law, not because of the penalty, but because it's the right thing to do. They agree with the law, so obeying it causes no hardship. What causes problems in any free society is those who want to break the law and cause suffering to others because they don't agree with the law and don't care about causing problems for others. Who appreciates the presence of such people?
I agree with what you are saying here, there are very few, if any absolute truth as I see it and that even in a free society, freedom is restricted. However I think its important to make the distinction between what freedom we are talking about here. Because we are talking about two different ones:
1. Humans "free will" given to us by God
This is the claim given in the bible as I understand it, meaning we are free to do as we please, otherwise we can't really say that we have free will.
2. Free choices or free will defined by humans
This is what you refer to and what I agree with, as it is our choice within human societies to decide how we want to make use of our free will given to us by God. So we have chosen to restrict our selves in certain areas to increase security or safety for the majority rather than the few, put simply.
But according to the bible, God gave us the law and decided how they should be followed and punished. Which is what im referring to when I ask, if we have free will or free choices given to us by God, why does he demand that we follow his laws?
I think we look a bit differently at this Adding the law and deciding who should live and die, putting a clear favor towards the Jews helping them to defeat others. I wouldn't call that "little intervention" as he is changing the natural cause of history so to speak, had he not done it.God stepped out of human life when they chose independence, and allowed us all the freedom to show him who we really are, with little intervention from himself. He has provided an instruction manual and guarantees that if we follow it, our lives will be free of the troubles that plague lawbreakers. The responsibility for harm will never be laid at our feet.
When you say that he allowed us all the freedom to show him who we really are, again he commanded or decided in large parts what should be done. Saying you have "all the freedom you want", but if "you don't do as I say you will be utterly destroyed or certainly destroyed". makes Its really difficult to talk about something being a free choice if certain things you might choose, leads to one being utterly destroyed and the other to eternal happiness.
Again it depends if God want us to come to him through free will and through love, threats of destroying us if we don't, should logically not give God any answer to the question you are asking. Because some might choose to do it out of fear rather than free will.Are we the kind of people God is looking for to become citizens of his incoming kingdom?
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