Reality significantly alters depending on which option I choose. Now funny enough it wasn’t me who asked my wife out, it was my wife who asked me. I remember being set up with her through a mutual friend and she called me and asked me if I wanted to go on a date. At that time I had the option of saying either yes or saying no. We all know what the current reality is and here are a few facts of our life now as follows.
We are married
Live in an apartment
Have a daughter named Aubriella
If I said no to the date how different would the current reality be? What would it look like? We could never know for certain as there are so many factors that could alter the chain of events but this does leave a new reality possible where Brie and I never marry, neither one of us live in our current apartment and Aubriella never being born and a world without Aubrie is a world that would never be influenced by her decisions. At the time of my decision though, the reality where I say yes to Brie and the one where I say no to her existed simultaneously in two possible potential futures. If this sounds like the double slit experiment you are on the right track.
Now what I am not saying is that the double slit experiment proves free will but I am taking a concept from it to demonstrate my point. Two realities are simultaneously existent prior to measurement. Likewise two realities were present when my wife asked me to go out for our first date. It wasn’t until I made the decision to go out with her that the universe where I chose not to, ceased to exist. Now it would be beyond the purposes of this paper to argue why I believe free will exists, so I will link to a few articles that you can delve in to at the end of the blog but I will say that I think that the very fact that humans can think of possibilities of actions and weigh through and choose one at least opens the door to the possibility of free will and I believe there are good reasons to accept this intuition as fact, but I want to stay on track. Consider the following verses.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
Let’s take the example with my wife and I and let’s flip it. Suppose it was I who wanted to ask her on a date and suppose I work up the courage to ask her. Suppose also that I have the ability to reverse time and if I were to say something wrong to her I could simply recreate the scenario again, not make the mistake and eventually make my proposal to her perfect. Lets say the first time looks like this.
Tim: “Hey babe, want to go on a date?”
Brie: “I am not your babe… I just met you?”
*internal dialogue with brain*
Tim: Crap brain could you have not done better!?
Brain: Sorry man sounded like a good idea! REVERSE THE TIME!?
Tim: LET’S DO IT!
Tim: “Hey Brie, want to go to taco bell and grab a burrito and see the movie Warcraft?”
Brie: “I hate taco bell and Warcraft doesn’t interest me…”
*internal dialogue yet again*
Tim: REALLY BRAIN! I mean I get taco bell and she seems a little out there to not like that but you really thought she would like a movie based on a video game nerds who still live with their moms in their basement play for hours on end until mold grows underneatth their armpits?!
Brain: Rewind tim-
Tim: YES BRAIN REWIND THE TIME!
Brain: BLARGABARGADO!
Tim: “Hey Brie, I really do not like Taco Bell and Warcraft sucks and is for people who still live with their moms with moldy armpits, want to go have some Italian food and see a movie of your choice?”
Brie: “Why would you say mean things about people that like Warcraft for? That seems really aweful of you.”
*brain was already anticipating defeat*
Brain: “Nice job Tim
Tim: “Just do it.”
Brain: “Nike?”
Tim: “DANG IT BRAIN!”
Brain: 🙂
*epic time warp music ensues*
Suppose after several times of mishaps I finally get it right.
Tim: “Hey Brie, you look really nice today. I have been wanting to ask you out for a while, however I wasn’t sure if you were interested in me so I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat and maybe see a movie?”
Brie: “No thanks Tim. I really am just not interested in you… but thank you! You are really sweet to ask me out and say those things.”
Suppose I keep trying the scenario over and over and end up with the same result. I change the factors, I change my approach, wait a bit longer, get to know her as a friend more and every time she ends up rejecting me. It would not be long before I understood that maybe its not what I am doing and everything to do with Brie’s choice. To my dismay I find that there is no possible chain of events, no right amount of nice things I could say or do, no amount of wooing, romancing, friendship or chivalry that will win Brie’s heart over to me. There exists no possible universe where Brie would choose me, because that is what she has chosen. It’s not about what I do or don’t do, but on what she wills and what makes this example really painful is I have knowledge of what it is like to be with Brie. I can only imagine how it must be to God to know what it would be like to have a relationship with those who reject Him, only to know it will never happen, but lets keep going.
Now there is plenty of evidence that demonstrates mind is separate from the brain but I want to quote one of the greatest neuroscientists of all time to save time and keep on target.
“There is no place in the cerebral cortex where electrical stimulation will cause a patient… to decide.” – neuroscientist Wilder Penfield “The Mystery of the Mind.” page 77
Penfield found in his experiments that he could force his patients to recall memories, make noises, move body parts but he could never force them to decide. One of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to decide. Consider the ultimate free will passage of Scripture…
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
God has given us the ability to choose Him or reject Him, to obey or disobey. I honestly believe when Jesus said,
But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.
John 10:26
He is referring to people who no matter what He does, no matter what circumstances He ordains, no matter how much He woos, calls, loves, protects or comforts they will always choose to reject Him. Take the analogy with my wife for instance.
Like my wife who in the above analogy refused to date me no matter what I did, no matter what approach I took and no matter how hard I tried ended up rejecting me, even when I could create the best possible scenario where she was the most likely to accept me (this is all you can do without violating free will) these people would choose to reject God no matter what He did, just like she would no matter what universe I orchestrated. They are not His sheep in any possible universe, like she would refuse to go out with me in any possible universe.
Consider two interpretations of quantum mechanics
The Copenhagen interpretation tells us that a particle exists in all possible states until a measurement is made at which in that moment all the possibilities collapse into only one. Think of a particle being in two boxes at once. Before you open a box the particles existed in both boxes simultaneously but once you open one of them the particle is either in one box or another and no longer exists in both. Prior to measurement it existed in both.
The multiverse interpretation tells us that rather than the particle collapsing into one definite state, all of the other states the particle was in branches off into multiple universes. Think again of the particle being in two boxes but this time however when you open up the box another universe is created where the particle is found in the other. So imagine you open up box 1 and find the particle in that box. This means that unlike the Cophenhagen interpretation where the reality of the particle being in box 2 is destroyed and no longer exists, another universe springs in to existence where you open the box and find the particle in box 2 instead of one.
Now I personally like to Occams razor things and believe that since there is no evidence for the multiverse interpretation and that it could never be empirically verified that the Cophenhagen interpretation is what is most likely but this article is not to debate that point. I want you to take these concepts and keep them mind as we place ourselves in the seat of the Creator.
Also keep these concepts in mind as well about His nature.
He wants all people to be saved
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
Knows all people inside and out
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:1-6
Ordains people both non-believing and believing alike to accomplish His will
4 Cyrus, you don’t even know me!
But I have called you by name
and highly honored you[a]
because of Israel,
my chosen servant.
5 Only I am the Lord!
There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
though you don’t know me.
6 Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
No other gods are real.
Isaiah 45:4-6
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 1:4-8
He sets the dwelling places and establishes the times of all people in hopes that they will find Him and be saved
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[c] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Acts 17:24-28
He has perfect knowledge of all things
Known to God from eternity are all his works Known to God from eternity are all his works
Acts 15:18
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Isaiah 46:9-11
Taking all of these facts about God nature, here is what I believe.
Since God has perfect knowledge He would know every possibility there could be so all possible universes would be known to Him. He would understand that if He created a universe where events 1, 2 and 3 (insert any idea you want here, like a dog being hit by a car, no rain on this day etc.) then person A (any person you want, yourself, Donald Trump, whatever…) would be saved, but person B would not. He would also understand that if He created a universe where events 4, 5 and 6 happen person A does not get saved, but person B does. He also understands that if He created a universe where events 1, 2 and 5 happen, but 6, 4 and 3 do not then person A and person B both would be saved and spend eternity with Him.
Since God desires all men to be saved, He would naturally gravitate towards creating the universe where person A and B both are saved as opposed the other universes where only one of them gets saved. God would essentially be able to see all the possibilities at once (just like the double slit experiment) and chose to “measure” (or create) the one where the maximal amount of people are saved.
Like me, if there were a series of events I could orchestrate that would make my wife say yes to our date I would do it and likewise if there are a series of events that would persuade someone to the foot of His Son’s cross He would create it because like me knowing the joys of what it is like to have Brie as my wife, God knows the joys of having you as His child so any combination of events where He wins you He would create and favor just as I would to be with my wife.
Unfortunately though, there are some people I believe that no matter what God does, they will choose to reject Him. There is no possible universe God could create where they freely chose Him (and that has to be heartbreaking for Him with how much I love my wife).
This is why I believe Jesus told the group of people,
“You do not believe because you are not my sheep.”
Jesus would essentially be looking at them and understand that no matter what universe He created, their answer would always be no. They are not His sheep because in every possible scenario they reject Him and never follow.
Now how do we reconcile our free choices with Gods Sovereignty?
We saw hints of both in some of the above scriptures. In part 3 we will reconcile them all together. Hope to see you there!