Free Will --What is it?

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 20100824 says: “Free will is the purported ability of agents to make choices free from constraints. Historically, the constraint of dominant concern has been the metaphysical constraint of determinism. The opposing positions within that debate are metaphysical libertarianism, the claim that determinism is false and thus that free will exists; and hard determinism, the claim that determinism is true and thus that free will does not exist.”

Answers.com 2010824 says: Dictionary FREE WILL
“n.
The ability or discretion to choose; free choice: chose to remain behind of my own free will.
The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.”

This is only a couple of the 7,000,000 hits that Google found in 0.12 seconds. It seems obvious to me that this is a really big question. Some of the areas this question is found included: Philosophy, Astrology, Religion, Anti-Religion, Moral responsibility, ….

20100824 --Encyclopedia Britanica eb.org presents Free Will as: “in humans, the power or capacity to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations independently of natural, social, or divine restraints. Free will is denied by those who espouse any of various forms of determinism. Arguments for free will are based on the subjective experience of freedom, on sentiments of guilt, on revealed religion, and on the universal supposition of moral responsibility for personal actions that underlies the concepts of law, reward, punishment, and incentive. In theology, the existence of free will must be reconciled with God’s omniscience and goodness (in allowing people to choose badly) and with divine grace, which allegedly is necessary for any meritorious act. A prominent feature of existentialism is the concept of a radical, perpetual, and frequently agonizing freedom of choice. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80), for example, spoke of the individual “condemned to be free” even though his situation may be wholly determined.

It has also been heard “I can do what I want and you cannot stop me!”.

That concludes presentation of the foundation for this paper.


I have heard these types of explanations for free will most of my life. I even thought that they were reasonably true, except now I am know otherwise.

Simply put, “We are to chose Right from Wrong every time there is a choice to be made, and we are accountable for every choice, to G-D.” That is our Free Will, our only free will. The power to chose to be for G-D or Against G-D.

Explanations or examples:

G-D evicts Adam from the Garden of Eden with “'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee ….”(Gene. 3:17) – Adam chose to obey Eve when G-D spoke to Adam, giving him HIS rule, which Adam turned away from G-D in his actions. BAD CHOICE.

Moses is not allowed to go to the promised land, 'Because ye believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.' (Numb. 20:10) –The translation of the word as BELIEVED also means Trust, of “Because you did not TRUST ME , to Sanctify ME....” Moses has at this point had G-D defend him many times without Moses even needing to ask G-D. This time Moses gets angry with the Israelites, he is not given the opportunity to complain, not even to G-D. The end result is that he(Moses) complains that he and Aaron must get water from the rock. If Moses had remember that G-D would protect him and everything would be o.k., he –Moses would have been fine, instead to insulting G-D. This one is not as directly stated as a “choose G-D or be against G-D” scenario. Do not worry, there are many more examples.

Leviticus chapter 26 is the match to Deuteronomy chapters 28-30.  These tell the end times because they tell us when all of the curses will stop and how this will happen.

Levi. 26:14 “But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments;”
26:15 “and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant;” Here begins the the cursing and checking and if we still walk against G-D more curses and more checking until we LEARN THE G-D IS G-D.

Duet. 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. ….

Duet: 30:15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, 16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.”

Duet. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; 20 to love the LORD thy God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for that is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.


1 Kings Chapter 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not whole with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Chapter 11:9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.

King Solomon, credited with being the wisest of any human, let himself be swayed away from the G-D of his Fathers. He chose his own comfort and pleasure in his old age, therefore turned away from G-D.

These stories and so many more fill the Tanach(Writings of Moses and the Prophets) and then there are the examples of repenting and then again turning away from G-D by some, while others live all of their life doing that which is right in G-D's eyes. Bottom line Isaiah 56:2 “Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” We are to Love G-D, Know the Law, Keep the Sabbath, Keep our hands from doing evil.

QUESTIONS??

Shalom, Shalom
Yaakov