Hi, Ahang, At 02:07 PM 2/1/2005, you wrote: >>This presumes that future is like scenes in a movie gradually unfolding, and >>somehow the Prophet can see ahead.<<
Not necessarily. It can also presume that all knowledge of what *we* would call past and future is available to the Prophet, should He desire to receive any of it. >>While there is no question that certain inspired folks have sensed something >>about the future -- and actually some of them were correct in their >>predictions and we remember those -- to assume that either all or some >>aspects of the future are fixed apiary would completely remove free-will from >>man.<< IMO, the future is only fixed if God wants it that way. I suppose that a fixed future would approximate irrevocable or decreed fate/predestination. A future for which God may or may not have a particular Will, but one which is, at least partially, dependent on human choices would be impending or conditional fate/predestination. >>Let's say that God has decreed for the Most Great Peace to occur in 2700. >>For that to happen, everything before it must happen in a precise sequence, >>so that collectively they would end up with the Most Great Peace in that >>particular time. That completely removes free-will.<< The argument made by open-view theists (hyper-Arminians) is that God cannot possibly know the future. If He did possess that knowledge, then human free will would be negated. (It is almost precisely the opposite position to the one taken by hyper-Calvinists.) However, I do not see an inconsistency between omniscience and free choice. For instance, on a much more limited level, parents, I am told, often have a pretty good idea of the difficulties their children may experience from making certain choices. If, however, they believe that their children could benefit more from making the bad choices and learning from them than from being told not to make them in advance, it might be said that the parents predicted the outcomes. However, their predictions did not cause the child to choose one way or the other. >>This is a deterministic model (sort of a Newtonian view). I prefer a >>probabilistic model (quantum mechanics), in which man has free-will and can >>influence his environment.<< I would say we have as much free will as God wants us to have in particular cases. However, free will does not limit the knowledge of God, which is also available, at will, to the Prophets. >>It may well be that the accumulated effect of men's doings will lead to some >>prophesied event, say, the Most Great Peace, but there is always a >>probability, however small, that it may not.<< I think it depends on whether it is decreed or conditional. Of course, certain aspects of it, such as the timing, may well be conditional, while the eventual attainment of the Most Great Peace itself might be decreed. Regards, Mark A. Foster � http://markfoster.net � [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger." ---- Abbie Hoffman __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
