In This Biography

Freedom of Will in Religion.

The freedom of will allows one to control your actions and choices.

Freedom of choice is the ability to decide how you’ll act in certain situations. However, keep in mind that your choices will have consequences.

One of the benefits we being human beings is the fact that God has granted us the freedom to choose. Some might consider this to be freedom of choice however, regardless of the definition everyone has an unfettered choice.

Freewill In the Bible

The biblical foundation for free will is the sinful fall of Adam and Eve which occurred as a result of the course of their “willfully chosen” disobedience to God.

“Freedom” and “free will” can be considered one, since both terms are often used interchangeably as synonyms.

What the Bible Says About Free Will.

1. Having the freedom to choose to serve.

“Now take heed of Jesus Christ and worship him with faith. Eliminate the gods that your ancestors worshiped in the vicinity of the Euphrates River, and even in Egypt, and worship the Lord. However, if serving the Lord appears to be unpalatable to you make a decision for yourself today whom you’ll serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates as well as the gods worshipped by the Amorites who reside in the country in which you reside. For my family and me we will serve our Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).

2. Having the freedom to choose whether to be obedient or not.

“If you sincerely adhere to God the Lord your God and follow the commands I have given you today and keep them in mind, the Lord Your God will elevate you above all the nations of the planet. All of these blessings will fall upon you and surround those who follow God, the Lord. God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

“However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28:15).

3. We have the freedom of choice of deciding between the two options of life or death.

“This day I invoke heaven and earth to be witnesses to you. I have laid before you death and life both blessings and curses. Make a decision to live in order that your children and you are alive and can love your Lord your God take heed to his voice and be steadfast to the Lord. Because the Lord will be your God for the rest of your days and he’ll grant you many years of life in the land that he pledged to grant to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Freewill in the Roman Catholic

Theologians from the Roman Catholic Church universally embrace the notion of free will. However, generally, do not consider free will as distinct from or contradicting grace.

The notion of freedom of will is important to The Oriental Churches, those in communion with the Coptic Orthodox Churches of Alexandria. In Judaism freedom of will is considered to be axiomatic.

Freewill in Islam.

The debates over free will in Islam started with the Mu’tazili-vs. Hanbali disputes, with Mu’tazili argument, that humans possess Qadar, the ability to choose between right and wrong, and hence were entitled to the punishment or reward they received, while Hanbali insists on God’s Jabr or complete power and responsibility in the management of every event.

Ash’ari proposes the “dual agency” or “acquisition” theory of free will where every human action involves the involvement of two different agents. God makes the possibility of human activity through his divine Jibr. Then the human performs the action and then “acquires” the act, becoming the owner and assuming the responsibility using their own Qadar.

The belief in freedom of choice is a fundamental part of Islam. This is because for Muslims the life of a person is a test for Allah. So, every human being has to make their own choices and be assessed by Allah.

Holy Book of Islam appears to be a testament to God’s omnipotence as well as human free will, focusing on individual accountability for their actions.

Freewill in Judaism.

The concept of free will is fundamental to Jewish philosophy and is closely associated with the notion of punishment and reward, which is based on the Torah itself.

Free will therefore is extensively discussed in Jewish philosophical thought, first concerning God’s intention in the creation process, and then in relation to the closely connected and resulting paradox.

Freewill in Hinduism.

Since Hinduism is mostly a fusion of various religious beliefs and beliefs, there isn’t an accepted position on the concept of freedom of choice. In the main religious schools that make up Hindu philosophy, there are two major views. They are the Advaita schools generally advocate the concept of fate, while the Dvaita schools advocate the free will theory.