Can predestination and free will be reconciled?


	Can predestination and free will be reconciled?
	Advantages The Bible has both Augustine's statement of predestination shows that we do have an extent of free will. In confessions he says that the evil nature within us is a result of our own free will yet we have no sway over whether we are elect or not. God is timeless so he knows the past, the present and the future. This nevertheless makes our choices free, it's just God already knows them. Arminius' statements holds this to be true, as does the writings of Aquinas	Disadvantages However the Bible is subject to scholarly scrutiny. In Romans, where it is true that there is evidence of both, the writer perhaps also struggles with this tension. Perhaps they hadn't worked out their own theology. Whereas when it is present in different books, it is not surprising that we see differences as they are different authors in different cultures. However statements from Pelagius clearly shows how logically opposite each concept is and how you can only logically hold one However, is this really free will if God already knows what we will do? If human choice is already decreed thanks to Gods sovereignty then surely there is no free will at all?
	Evaluation No, predestination and free will cannot be reconciled

The Bible has both
Augustine's statement of predestination shows that we do have an extent of free will. In confessions he says that the evil nature within us is a result of our own free will yet we have no sway over whether we are elect or not.
God is timeless so he knows the past, the present and the future. This nevertheless makes our choices free, it's just God already knows them. Arminius' statements holds this to be true, as does the writings of Aquinas

However the Bible is subject to scholarly scrutiny. In Romans, where it is true that there is evidence of both, the writer perhaps also struggles with this tension. Perhaps they hadn't worked out their own theology. Whereas when it is present in different books, it is not surprising that we see differences as they are different authors in different cultures.
However statements from Pelagius clearly shows how logically opposite each concept is and how you can only logically hold one
However, is this really free will if God already knows what we will do? If human choice is already decreed thanks to Gods sovereignty then surely there is no free will at all?

No, predestination and free will cannot be reconciled

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