Does a murderer have free will or God's instructions?

Question

The main theory in the belief of God is that He gave free will to us humans, but...

A murderer dies and he meets God, and God says, "You did evil, you must be punished,'
The murderer says, "You, my God, gave me free will, and I chose this, so why does that make what I have done, wrong? Surely it is up to me what I do, as you, my God have granted me this free will."

Why should the murderer be punished for his free will, and if so, then why would a God create this person in the first place, knowing (as a God would) what this person is going to do?

But, if the God didn't know what the murderer was going to do, then he couldn't judge such a person, because he granted them that free will to kill.
If he did know the murderer's plans, then we, the human race, are nothing more than puppets or actors reading our lines.

Answer 1

Put the bible down and read the funny paper! You are straining you brain!

Answer 2

God never EVER gave you free will to murder. You think that free will means the choice to do as you wish in all matters with no consequence, but that is not true. Your choice is only whether you choose to love God. If you deny His existence, then you are lost. Period, end of free will, that IS your choice.



"Thou shalt not kill" is pretty plain, no second-guessing what He means, no "well maybe sometimes it's okay" conjecture there. All 10 of His commandments are like that. Even a small child understands what it means.



I do believe you are misled in what you think free will means. For instance, here in America we have freedom of speech. We all think we have the right to say any old thing at any time we want. But that's not true. If you yell "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre and people are trampled in the ensuing rush, you are definately held accountable for your speech.



So if, according to your little theory, we have freedom of speech, then why should someone be held accountable because they did that very thing and your family was trampled to death? Why should they be punished for their constitutional right to free speech?



Yeah, consequences. Now you're getting it ... there are consequences to your choice, no matter which one you make. Welcome to maturity!

Answer 3

I appreciate reading such a thought- full question.



Yes a murderer, does have free will. If an individual chooses to exercise free will and commit murder, then that person is subject to punishment, by criminal law and the law of God.



Each individual is responsible for their own actions. The mis-use of free will is the individuals responsibility, not God's nor society.



Therefore it is critical for everyone in the human form of life, to know what proper activities are, otherwise that individual may be living very dangerously.



If anyone with a human form of life, does not understand the difference between human activity and animal activity, then their future is indeed bleak.



The murderer is not being punished for his free will, he is subject to punishment for mis-using his free will.



Everyone has the potential to mis-use their free will, if you could not choose to something wrong, then you couldn't choose to do something right, right and wrong would have no meaning.



If God did not grant free will, then there would be no choice's, we would then indeed be puppets or robotic, programmed entities, love is unconditional, you cannot force someone to love you, if you could it would be meaningless, without that individual making a personal choice.



God is omniscient, he knows all that is happening in the past, all that is happening in the present and all that is happening in the future, within the infinite world's.



Although a person has commited murder, they can still be rectified by attoinment, certainly that individual soul will be forced to endure the same degree of suffering that they themselves have inflicted, in an equel and opposite manner. In Christian theology it is stated "The measure that you give, will be the measure that you get", or in Vedic terms, Karma or cause and effect, which is experienced over past lives and future lives.



You are responsible for your own actions, choose the right actions and make your human life successfull.



To discuss further:- Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 4

As a Christian, I believe that God does give free will to human being. The reason is God wants children who can loves Him back freely not acting like puppets. However, He also draw a bottom line for us not to cross over the limit. So when Adam & Eve did cross over the limit, God has to show His rightous - send them away.

In this case, God said clearly that nobody should kill but the muderer choose to kill then he had to bear the consequency. On earth, God will use punishment like go to jail or even dealth sentence. However, the most utimate punishment will be from God when the time has come - which will lead to punishment forever.

I believe God knows what the results will be whether he kills or not. But He won't interfence the natural rule. He wants us to chose to obey him. Not forcing us to obey Him. God gives us a good heart to guide us how to get along with each other. But most of all, He is also righteous so the murderer cannot argue that God gave him free will therefore he killed. Because God can also says, "Well, I also give free will to everybody and they including you also know that nobody shall kill but you chose to disobey me whereas the rest didn't so you have to bear your punishment."

Answer 5

If you were God, would you promote murder? You're probably saying that it doesn't matter because he promotes free will. True, but think about the word 'trust'. It's like when a parent lets a young, impressionable teenager hang out with his friends late at night. They're giving him trust that he'll do the right thing, even though they know he may not.



If we were puppets, the world would be perfect-in God's eyes. But it's just that-we'd be puppets. Free will gives us the ability to just live. It's our own choice to kill. Just because God knows we are going to do it doesn't mean a thing.



You ask why would he create the person in the first place? Our free will gives us the ability to create people through sex. God didn't do that. It's our free will that makes us kill. God didn't do it.



You say God couldn't judge a person with free will. God judges us because we CAN choose. And if we choose to do the right thing, his judgment will be that we're good in his eyes. It's that choice that lets us do the right thing. We brought sin upon ourselves as a race. It was inevitable, and God knew that too. But now that sin is here, we can choose to avoid it.

Answer 6

This would be a choice of Free Will... Now on the matter of where God stands on these issues is not for us to ponder or worry our hearts over. But pray that the murderer may seek Jesus into his or her life. That my friend is there only salvation.

We also don't know God's plans of intricate proportion. "like did he want this person to die to affect another person so they do this... and so on and so forth" He knows every hair on your head Yes... Remember This out of the book Ecclesiastes Chapter 12

on wondering about what God's intentions are and all his works. How doing this is wasting time. GOOD QUESTION THOUGH



Ecclesiastes 12:8 -14





8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. [a]

"Everything is meaningless!"



The Conclusion of the Matter

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.



13 Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole duty of man.



14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.



Note " Including every hidden thing" this will be the ultimate "ANSWERS.GOD.COM" in heaven

Answer 7

We have free will-- a gift from God really as the angels do not have it-- to make our own choices.



I wrote this the other day, but I will do it again.



You come to the end of a road. You can go right... or you can go left. If you go right, God knows what will happen. If you go left, God also knows where that will lead to as well. However, God as left it up to you to make the choice. This is free will.



The workings of God are really beyond us. Take your murderer. He kills a father of three girls. One of the girls grows up, becomes a police officer and arrests a drunk driver. However, if the father had not been murdered, the girl would have never became a police officer, she would have been a stripper instead, stuck in an abusive relationship. See, it was her father's murder that gave her the drive to become an officer of the law, her father's memory that got her through police school. If she did not go to police school, if she would have not been on duty the day she pulled over the drunk driver. If she had not pulled over the drunk driver, he would have driven into a playground and killed 9 kids.



See. That is an extreme example, but sometimes we do not understand God's plan for everything.



Free will is a gift, but you will have to answer for your choices. God has laid out the laws plainly. "Thou shalt not murder". God said it, but it is up to you to obey it. Like a father who punishes his children when they do something wrong, that is God.



If you had a son and left him home alone. He could watch tv, or he could invite his friends over to do drugs and have an orgy. Lets say your son chooses the latter. You come home and catch him in the act. But then the son says to you, "But father, you are the one who left me home alone? If you did not want me doing drungs and having orgies, why did you leave me alone? In truth father, this is your fault."



Would you agree? Would you take the blame and let your son off with nothing? Or do you still punish the son?



Something to ponder...



T.

Answer 8

The reason we are given free will is so that we may work towards our rewards in heaven...if a shop assistant steals from the the till, no-one says "Oh, it was the employer's fault for hiring them in the first place". No, if a man or woman chooses to murder then they are responsible for their own actions. We are given free will on the basis of love trust and hope, but if we take another's life we are breaking that trust...of our own choosing..it boils down to the old fashioned struggle between good and evil..if you choose to follow evil paths it will lead you to ruin...in life, if you break the rules, you get punished, and you cannot expect to lead an evil life and then be rewarded in heaven for it..No-one would want to think of Mari Hindley and Ian Brady, or Fred and Rosemary West going unpunished in the next life...killers are evil through and through...and deserve what comes to them for what they have done...

Answer 9

God made me do it, right? If this won’t work in a civil court, it certainly won’t work on Judgment Day. Even with an expert defense lawyer, it would take a pretty inept judge to fall for the old "God made me do it" defense. We are responsible moral agents. The "buck" stopped at Adam. He tried to blame both God and Eve for his sin; Eve blamed the serpent. It is human nature to try, but it doesn’t work with God.



"A brilliant young man questioned Dr. Henrietta Mears about surrendering his life to God. He was convinced that becoming a Christian would mean the destruction of his personality, that he’d be altered in some strange way, and that he’d lose control of his own mind. He feared becoming a mere puppet in God’s hands.



"So Miss Mears asked him to watch as she turned on a lamp. One moment it was dark, then she turned on the switch. She explained, ‘The lamp surrendered itself to the electric current and light has filled the room. The lamp didn’t destroy its personality when it surrendered to the current. On the contrary—the very thing happened for which the lamp was created: it gave light.’"

Answer 10

"God"s instructions is written in our genes. It explans why we are overly focused on sex for it's in our gene's instructions to procreate and multiply. In the complexity of our being is our brain with the ability for rationality and the capacity to memorize. We are also endowed with a subconscious that I suspect instinctual imprints resides. The interplay of genetic predisposition, instinctual reaction, societal conditioning, and intellectual reasoning, among others, governs the exercise of "free will". So in a sense we are free but not totally free.



The scenario you painted could very will happen..in the murderer's mind. In which case whether punishment is meted or not depends to some degree on the murderer.



The question it seems presupposes that "God" is bound by our precept of good, evil, and fairness. Perhaps the real question is "did God created us, or did mankind created God'?

Answer 11

My problem with it is this.



You are deemed a sinner from birth. Even if you haven't done anything wrong. God knows everything you will ever do, so is it really freewill? He already knows if you are going to hell supposedly.



There are so many holes and not enough answers to fill them all. There should be at least some level of proof. But quite simply, that some level does not exist.

Answer 12

Without wishing to start world war 3, I think God must take some of the blame. Try reading two verses from the old testament, they may give you part of the answer you're looking for.

a. Exodus chapter 5 verse 11.

b. Exodus chapter 10 verse 20

To me, and it is just me, these two verses do not give the impression of the boss being all loving and just, as we are led to believe in church. I hope I have helped.

Answer 13

Good use of logic but it is misplaced. God gives us free will which permits us to do everything we want that sounds logical right according to your question. However, this is why God send his only Son so that whom so ever believes (here is where free will comes into play as to where you and everyone will spend eternity, you have free will to reject Jesus as Lord and savior or accept him as Lord and savior) in Him will not go to hell but have everlasting life in heaven---you can practice your free will any time now because now you know the truth. Where will your free will send you?

So once you know the truth you can decide if free will gets you into trouble or leads you to paradise.

Answer 14

I can't believe I'm responding to this, because it's the most absure question I've read yet. God gave us FREE WILL-- and THAT means, to choose to follow GOD or NOT follow GOD. THAT is what's all about. If a person commits murder, it is by his own choice-- NOT by GOD's instructions, and therefore he will be held in judgement for it. Read yer Bible-- You'll find a lot of answers there.

Answer 15

You know, God did give humanity free will, but he also gave them a set of rules to follow that include, Thou shalt not kill." You also have a freewill to commit a crime, even though you know that there are laws prohibiting the crime. Are you going to commit the crime and use that explanation to the judge in the courtroom? It won't work!

Answer 16

God did give everyone a free will. But,he did not say you can kill,and get away with it. He gave a commandment: Thou shalt not kill. He gives you a free will,because he wants you to to be able to choose which path you want to follow. But, I advise you not to try to play words with God. You will lose big time. And,your question doesn't impress me at all with all the word play.

Answer 17

The apostle Paul already answered this question. Read the book of Romans.



Basically, God allows evil to exist, but he has a good reason. Humans commit evil for a bad reason. So God can judge us for our motives without judging himself, because his motives for allowing us to do what we do, are pure. Our motives for committing evil are not pure.



If you cannot follow that, than so be it.

Answer 18

God gave Law written in TORA aka Old testament, and it states that if you will fallow Law you will not be panished otherwise you will be punished, so God gave you free will to obey him or not and face consequences :)

simple as that :)



one of commandments bans killing... so God did not grant anyone to kill:)

Answer 19

The answer to your question is; Free Will. But we don't need God to tell us murder is wrong. As he had free will and did bad, unless he repents of his sin and does penance, he will go to Hell and not Heaven anyway!

Answer 20

Free will is given to us by God what we do with it is our decision. Most people use it wisely and most fall in to temptation. It is up to us to decide our paths. That is the way God intended

Answer 21

True...God did give us a free will - and He also gave us humans the power to reason !

- free will to choose between right and wrong -

- all born in diff. family backgrounds - muslim, christian, pagan, etc but free to accept or reject it.

simple.

Answer 22

free will to chose Good or evil if he chose wrong he must pay the consiquence. it is not just God how gives us advice we have the devil pushing us to do wrong as well we must chose right

Answer 23

You are confusing free-will with pre-destination. If you are pre-destined to be a murderer, how can you be held accountable for your actions?



Free-will means you can decide to be a murder or not. Therefore, you are held accountable for your decision.



H

Answer 24

well if it was free will it wont be fair on us. how come all the good things we do is part of his blessing and all the bad things is a human thing. we are all free, he hasn't given us anything, he is not to blame for anything bad nor good.

Answer 25

You make a lot of sense. However, have you considered the Muslim God who (from what I hear) instructs their faithful to kill the infidels?

Answer 26

True, true, spoken like a true agnostic! Religion truly is an opium of the masses!They just talk and preach!, they don't THINK!

Answer 27

just cause he granted free will doesn't mean if you feel like it go out and take a life and destroy a family in the process.thats like someone saying to you 'will i stab him/her' and you saying 'ah sure it's up to you'does that make it ok cause you said it was up to them!

Answer 28

they chose to murder that person and god knows that he will choose to murder because god knows his creatures very well

Answer 29

You contradict yourself. I'm not even going to waste my time thinking about what you have to say.

Answer 30

It depemds on what the voices tell him to do

Answer 31

Haahah i like that. I never even considered it.!

Answer 32

Are you an idiot or a defense lawyer?

Answer 33

Free will, is a GREAT RESPONSIBLITY!!! You mess up on any responsiblity you will be greatly punished.........







...duhh...

Answer 34

freewill

Answer 35

That is deep. WAY deep.....