Why did we get free will?

Medicine*Woman said:
... I've always interpreted, "black is the pit from pole to pole," as meaning "this world is a dark place."
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Certainly reasonable, but the whole line is an adjective describing how dark and extensive (which is alogorical for "great unknown") is the "darkness" (meaning again alogorically the lack of knowledge about god / human fate etc.)

I thank you for you post - I had never before noticed the "Pits" part of Pittsburg, but of course knew it was a major industrail city (Quite polluted in my day - bad as any industrail city in China is today.) built in part on the good anthrocite coal of the region. - Pittsburg was once the "steel center of the USA." In a modern renaming, still preserving the original idea, Pittsburg would be "Coal-mine City"!

Yes, I too lived in southern W.Va. - the capital, Charelston, to be specific -Went to Thomas Jefferson Jr. high and Charlestion High School.* -Where did you live more specifically? Or were you just born there? -If also lived in Charleston or some Kanawa or Elk River city, tell which. My distant ancestors were Welsh coal miners. -No doubt why that area was my home after my father gained custidy of me.

My father was sort of a country doctor with poor patients - occasionally rode horse back up in some "hollar" to deliver a baby or help someone to sick to come to town. His older brother delivered the then cash payroles to the mines, in Souther W. Va., carried a pistol to guard it, often went on horse back also. - It is possible he brought the money that paid your father -directly if he was a miner, and indirectly if not.

For last 16 years, I have lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil
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*It has been torn down now, so I have been told.
 
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Invictus is a great poem.


I think that we have free will because for us to function happily would be impossible otherwise. Without making decisions to adjust to change, we experience despair. Giving us free will was the best option for nature to make us happy and function.
 
Billy T said:
Certainly reasonable, but the whole line is an adjective describing how dark and extensive (which is alogorical for "great unknown") is the "darkness" (meaning again alogorically the lack of knowledge about god / human fate etc.)

I thank you for you post - I had never before noticed the "Pits" part of Pittsburg, but of course knew it was a major industrail city (Quite polluted in my day - bad as any industrail city in China is today.) built in part on the good anthrocite coal of the region. - Pittsburg was once the "steel center of the USA." In a modern renaming, still preserving the original idea, Pittsburg would be "Coal-mine City"!

Yes, I too lived in southern W.Va. - the capital, Charelston, to be specific -Went to Thomas Jefferson Jr. high and Charlestion High School.* -Where did you live more specifically? Or were you just born there? -If also lived in Charleston or some Kanawa or Elk River city, tell which. My distant ancestors were Welsh coal miners. -No doubt why that area was my home after my father gained custidy of me.

My father was sort of a country doctor with poor patients - occasionally rode horse back up in some "hollar" to deliver a baby or help someone to sick to come to town. His older brother delivered the then cash payroles to the mines, in Souther W. Va., carried a pistol to guard it, often went on horse back also. - It is possible he brought the money that paid your father -directly if he was a miner, and indirectly if not.

For last 16 years, I have lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil
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*It has been torn down now, so I have been told.
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M*W: I was born at Welch, WV, and lived with my grandparents at War, WV, a stone's throw to KY and VA, deep in the heart of Appalachia! War, WV is the most southern town in WV.

My cousin is an orthopedic surgeon in Charleston. His dad was a general surgeon in Charleston before him.

I think Pittsburgh was named after William Pitt, but it makes me wonder if his family was involved in the coal mines wherever he came from.

I was born and lived there until I was five when my parents who were veterans and working for the government in SC. When I came of school age, they wanted to give me better opportunities than what were available in coal mine towns. I still love that place passionately.

Thanks for your reply. I will PM you with additional information.
 
lightgigantic said:
ironically that is my suggestion to you too ...
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Why didn't you start at the bit before there was religion and people behaved themselves to maintain group cohesion and co-operated on the basis of you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
 
Myles said:
Why didn't you start at the bit before there was religion and people behaved themselves to maintain group cohesion and co-operated on the basis of you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
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I'm not aware of any chronicles of human society like this, so I guess that's why I didn't start there
:D
 
to test us on what choices we make using this free will
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This response is without merit. An omniscient entity has no need to "test" anything, he already knows the results before the test started.
 
to M*W:

I just noticed your statement about origin of name Pittsburg. I am sure you are correct. Thanks. It is just an interesting chance that "pit" was still, when that city was named, a common way to refer to a coal mine.
 
JesseLeigh said:
Evening lightgigantic!

You said, 'He is not being tested. We are.'

Good answer! Tested and trained. - Jesse.
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It's a glib answer. What do you think it means ? Tested and trained like animals in god's circus ?

Why does god test if he knows the outcome ?
 
Again, whether or not you believe in God, we do not have free will. Not biologically and most certainly not if there is a God.
 
Myles said:
...Why does god test if he knows the outcome ?
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He is quite old. - Probably he did once know the way humanity would behave in every little detail. (Such as who spits where on the street and when, how much fluid, etc.) but with age, his memory is failing. I hear He can not remember any details about year 2016 now. (Perhaps it is tramatic? A global depression?) - That would be my answer. ;)
 
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This all seems slightly nonsensical to me. (of course I did not read every post, so forgive me if I recover old ground) God created angels without free will they were servants. God created a super-perfect angel and gave him free will. He led a rebellion of angels against God. God created us to be 'better' servants. Less powerful, but more willing. Our free will allows us to choose between Him and not Him. If we choose not Him, we are against Him, and thus a part of the rebellion and subject to damnation. If we choose Him we gain a place in heaven.
 
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