From: (Anonymous)	Date: December 9th, 2004 07:38 am (UTC)		(Link)

you are wrong

From: (Anonymous)	Date: April 17th, 2009 07:06 pm (UTC)		(Link)
wow

what an argument - "you are wrong" oh brother - must be a religious person who wrote that

I like your discussions on free will. I would like to offer for consideration that if the terminology of "free will" is not listed in the bible, then it is "subjectively" extrapolated.

Subjective anything, is by nature, simply an opinion.

Opinions are not facts. If an opinion is evidenced with data to refute the subjectivity, then it's a fact.

Free Will is being considered synonomous with "choice" which is not the same.

We say something is "free", if it is free then pointing to its observation negates the "freedom" as it is now a conscious action which can be directed by the individual. If it is an unconscious action then it is "free" as it is unencumbered by the conscious mind "knowing" the choice.

Further, "will" is not defined by "choice" - for a child is "willful" is to say the child is acting against "your will" or your desire for behavior modifications, ect.

If you "willfully" make a choice to act, then you are not making a "free" choice as you are acting on a conscious knowing of selecting your desires.

think of it this way, if the kitchen is on fire - do you react w/out thinking to either leave or put it out or do you "willfully" just sit in the chair and let it burn.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: December 18th, 2004 05:23 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I have no idea how we would know the "good" if it's opposite did not exist. To say that God could have created a universe in which all choices are "good", is quite baffling to me. To evaluate one thing over another and then decide on one is what we call choice. If in a world where all choices are "good", we'd still have to decide which choice is best. And of course, if we chose the "lesser good" it could be called the "bad" or evil choice.

I think sometimes humans project their morality onto a completely amoral situation. You've given hurricanes, earthquakes etc. etc as an example of "natural evil". But that's a human judgement. It is only classified as an "evil" if it affects man. A hurricane that blows itself out over the ocean isn't evil, it's just a hurricane. A better argument is for the so-called evil of animals killing each other to eat. There again we are making a human argument. When animals kill each other, they are not making a "moral " choice, they're hungry. Actually, animals are not cruel when they kill. They try to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. We also have no idea what the animal being killed is feeling. For all we know, there's a sense of resignation and acceptance.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: February 25th, 2005 07:14 am (UTC)		(Link)

I agree--you're basically just making some pretty bald-faced statements, and holding them out as proof. The idea that the beliefs of all theists worldwide will be crushed in five or six sentences is a bit of an odd one, frankly.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: February 25th, 2009 03:13 am (UTC)		(Link)
free will theodicy

Hey. I read some of what you posted on your site. Some of the arguments and refutations you posted were vastly oversimplified.

There are plenty of those forwarded email stories floating around like the one you listed under the absence of God- the Einstein one, which I think is pretty ridiculous myself. Stories like that are mere anecdotes though. That's the equivalent of atheists who take Leviticus out of context and say the Bible condemns eating shellfish and picking up sticks on the Sabbath.

If you want more legitimate interpretation of theodicy, then read real commentary by actual theologians. It's condescending to "refute" an argument that you've only heard in the mouth of one unqualified to defend it. Here are just three of the many that have contributed to the interpretation of biblical theology- Augustine, Aquinas, and Soren Kierkegard. You should tackle some material that is more academically substantial and really take the time to understand it. You might find there is more to it than you originally thought (considering people have spent their entire lives interpreting and searching it out).