>I WANT TO BELIEVE IN GOD BUT I JUST CAN'T GET MYSELF TO GO ALL THE WAY ON FAITH. I CONSIDER THE GOD OF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM. FOR THIS GOD TO EXIST, AT THE VERY LEAST, THIS GOD'S DOCTRINES CANNOT CONTRADICT. DOCTRINES OF GOD MUST COHERE, OR BELIEF IN GOD MUST COLLAPSE. CONSIDER TWO DOCTRINES. ONE, GOD KNOWS THE FUTURE; AND TWO, HUMAN BEINGS HAVE FREE WILL. BOTH DOCTRINES ARE VITAL, BUT TAKEN TOGETHER THEY SEEM TO CONTRADICT. AFTER ALL, IF GOD IS INFALLIBLE AND IF GOD KNOWS THE FUTURE PERFECTLY, THEN GOD KNOWS MY FUTURE PERFECTLY, THEN GOD KNOWS WHAT I WILL DO AT EVERY MOMENT FROM MY BIRTH TO MY DEATH. SO WHERE'S MY FREE WILL? I'M ROBERT LAWRENCE KUHN AND CLOSER TO TRUTH IS MY JOURNEY TO FIND OUT. SO HERE'S MY PROBLEM. I'D HAVE TO RECONCILE GOD'S PERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE WITH HUMAN FREE WILL IN THE PRESENT. I BEGIN AT NOTRE DAME IN ITS PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT WITH THE DISTINGUISHED CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER, ALVIN PLANTINGA. AL IS WELL AWARE OF MY PROBLEM, AND HE SEEKS TO SOLVE IT WITH SO-CALLED POSSIBLE WORLDS, INNUMERABLE WORLDS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE OF OUR ONE WORLD THAT ACTUALLY IS. AL, YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD KNOWS THE FUTURE, RIGHT? >>RIGHT. I DO. >YOU ALSO BELIEVE THAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVE FREE WILL. >>I BELIEVE THAT, TOO. RIGHT. >HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THE TWO? >>WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I'D HAVE TO ASK WHY THERE'S A PROBLEM ABOUT THAT. IS THERE A PROBLEM - I MEAN, SUPPOSE THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE A CERTAIN WAY. IT'S NOW TRUE THAT I'LL WALK OUT OF THE DOOR AT A CERTAIN TIME, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S NOT -IS IT NOW TRUE THAT I WILL HAVE DINNER TONIGHT? THINGS LIKE THAT AT LEAST CAN BE TRUE AND WE DON'T THINK THAT INTERFERES WITH FREE WILL SO WHY SHOULD IT BE THAT GOD'S KNOWING WHAT THE FUTURE IS, WHY SHOULD IT BE THAT THAT WOULD COMPROMISE HUMAN FREE WILL? >WELL, THERE IS ONE DIFFERENCE THAT IF GOD HAS A BELIEF TODAY ABOUT THE FUTURE THAT CANNOT BE WRONG, IS THAT CORRECT? >>IT CANNOT BE WRONG. NO BELIEF THAT GOD HAS CAN BE WRONG. >THEN WHATEVER THAT IS HAS TO HAPPEN AND WE ALL HAVE TO CONFORM TO THAT. >>OKAY. SO LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT. AQUINAS, THE GREAT MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHER THOMAS AQUINAS, THOUGHT ABOUT THIS, THIS SAME QUESTION AND FIRST HE SAID, WELL, HOW DOES GOD KNOW THE FUTURE? AND HE SAYS, WELL, GOD REALLY KNOWS THE FUTURE LIKE HE KNOWS EVERYTHING ELSE JUST BY SEEING IT. HE JUST SEES WHAT'S THE CASE. WELL, THEN HE SAID WHATEVER GOD SEES TO BE THE CASE IS NECESSARY TO THE CASE. HE PUT IT IN TERMS OF THIS FELLOW THEAETETUS HE LIKED TO TALK ABOUT: IF GOD SEES THAT THEAETETUS IS STANDING THEN THEAETETUS IS NECESSARILY STANDING, AND IF THEAETETUS IS NECESSARILY STANDING THEN THEAETETUS ISN'T FREE NOT TO STAND. THEAETETUS CAN'T SIT DOWN. THERE'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS ARGUMENT AND AQUINAS THOUGHT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT, AND I THINK HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT THIS, IF YOU SAY THAT WHATEVER IS SEEN TO BE STANDING IS NECESSARILY STANDING, WHATEVER'S SEEN BY GOD TO BE STANDING IS NECESSARILY STANDING, THE WAY TO PUT THAT WOULD BE TO SAY EVERYBODY IS SUCH THAT EVERY POSSIBLE WORLD IN WHICH HE IS SEEN TO BE STANDING IS A WORLD IN WHICH HE IS STANDING. BUT, OF COURSE, FROM THAT IT DOESN'T FOLLOW THAT I'M NECESSARILY STANDING IN THE SENSE THAT I'M STANDING IN EVERY POSSIBLE WORLD AT THAT TIME. ALL THAT FOLLOWS IS I'M STANDING IN THE ACTUAL WORLD AT THAT TIME. SO THE ARGUMENT REALLY CONFUSES WHAT'S TRUE IN THE ACTUAL WORLD WITH WHAT'S TRUE IN EVERY POSSIBLE WORLD. >AND THE SAME WOULD HOLD FOR A CURRENT BELIEF THAT GOD HAS ABOUT THE FUTURE. >>YEAH. GOD SEES THIS THING THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. AND FROM THAT IT FOLLOWS THAT IT WILL HAPPEN, BUT FROM THAT IT DOESN'T FOLLOW THAT IT HAS TO HAPPEN. WHAT HE SEES PERHAPS IS THAT I WILL FREELY DO SO-AND-SO. THAT'S WHAT HE SEES. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT IT'S TRUE THAT I'LL FREELY DO SO-AND-SO BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT'S IN SOME SENSE NECESSARY. >BUT YOU CANNOT NOT DO THAT BECAUSE GOD SEES THAT TODAY AND GOD CANNOT HAVE A FALSE BELIEF. >>HE CAN'T HAVE A FALSE BELIEF. THE FACT IS, IF I WERE TO DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT I WILL IN FACT DO, THEN HE WOULD HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT BELIEF. UNDER NO CONDITIONS WOULD HE HAVE A FALSE BELIEF. THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WORLD IN WHICH HE HAS A FALSE BELIEF, BUT THERE ARE POSSIBLE WORLDS IN WHICH HE BELIEVES SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM WHAT HE BELIEVES IN FACT IN THE ACTUAL WORLD. >OH. THAT'S INTERESTING. >>YEAH, RIGHT. I MEAN IN THOSE WORLDS WHERE THINGS GO DIFFERENTLY HE HAS DIFFERENT BELIEFS. HIS BELIEFS ARE ALWAYS TRUE, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME BELIEFS IN EVERY POSSIBLE WORLD. >NOW, MANY RELIGIONS BELIEVE IN PRAYER, THAT PRAYER HAS AN EFFICACIOUS INTERACTIONAL EFFECT. PRAYER WORKS. SO PRAYER, IN THAT SENSE, HAS SOME CHANGE IN WHAT WOULD HAPPEN BECAUSE THERE'S THIS ACTIVITY. IF GOD HAD A CERTAIN BELIEF OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, THAT BELIEF WHEN HE HAD IT HAS TO BE TRUE, BUT THEN IF YOU PRAY AND SOMETHING DIFFERENT HAPPENS THEN GOD HAD TO HAVE A DIFFERENT BELIEF IN THE PAST. >>WELL, I MEAN -- >I'M GETTING IN TROUBLE. >>RIGHT. I THINK, IN FACT, PRAYER CAN BE EFFICACIOUS. I DO, IN FACT, BELIEVE THAT. BUT I THINK IT'S EFFICACIOUS IN THIS WAY. IF I WERE NOT TO HAVE PRAYED THEN SOMETHING THAT WILL IN FACT HAPPEN WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. WE CAN PUT IT IN TERMS OF POSSIBLE WORLDS. IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT I CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE BUT I CAN DO SOMETHING SUCH THAT IF I HADN'T DONE THAT THING THEN A DIFFERENT POSSIBLE WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ACTUAL WORLD. GOD HAS TAKEN MY PRAYER INTO ACCOUNT FROM ALL ETERNITY, YOU MIGHT SAY. PART OF HIS PLAN INCLUDES HIS KNOWING THAT I WILL IN FACT MAKE THIS PRAYER. >IS IT THEN FAIR TO SAY THAT THE PRAYER IN THIS CONTEXT WILL SELECT AMONG POSSIBLE WORLDS AS TO WHICH IS THE ACTUAL ONE? >>YES. IN FACT, EVERYTHING I DO SELECTS AMONG THE POSSIBLE WORLDS AS TO WHICH IS ACTUAL. IF I RAISE MY ARM LIKE THIS, WELL, THEN ALL THOSE POSSIBLE WORLDS WHERE I DON'T RAISE MY ARM AT THIS POINT THEY ALL GET ELIMINATED. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ACTUAL. SO WHAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY DOING, YOU MIGHT SAY, IS NARROWING DOWN THE RANGE OF POSSIBLE WORLDS THAT CAN BE ACTUAL. >IF I COMMIT TO THE WESTERN ABRAHAMIC GOD I AM REQUIRED TO COMMIT TO CERTAIN DOCTRINES. IF THERE IS A GOD, THE CLASH BETWEEN GOD KNOWING THE FUTURE AND HUMANS HAVING FREE WILL IS A CLASSIC CONUNDRUM. NECESSARILY GOD'S BELIEF IS NEVER WRONG. THIS MEANS THAT IN NO POSSIBLE WORLD CAN GOD HAVE A FALSE BELIEF. BUT THE CONTENT OF WHAT GOD BELIEVES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT I WILL DO THIS OR THAT TOMORROW, MAY DIFFER RADICALLY FROM ONE OR ANOTHER POSSIBLE WORLD, WHICH IS THE LOOPHOLE THROUGH WHICH AL CAN SLIP IN FREE WILL. EVEN THOUGH, OF COURSE, ONLY ONE POSSIBLE WORLD IS THE ACTUAL WORLD. WOW. QUITE A CIRCUITOUS PATH TO AVOID DOCTRINAL CONTRADICTION. AL DIDN'T PROMISE THIS WOULD BE EASY. I NEED TO UNPACK THIS PROBLEM. I'M STILL IN NOTRE DAME'S PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT SO I SEEK OUT A LEADING EXPERT IN METAPHYSICS, PETER VAN INWAGEN. PETER'S A CHRISTIAN BELIEVER BUT IF YOU GIVE HIM A WEAK ARGUMENT HE WILL GIVE YOU NO COMFORT. >>IF GOD KNOWS THE FUTURE IN EVERY DETAIL, KNOWS IT INFALLIBLY, AND SO ON. KNOWS RIGHT NOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHEN YOU'RE STRUGGLING TO DECIDE WHETHER TO LIE OR TELL THE TRUTH AND GOD ALREADY KNOWS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LIE AND WHAT SENSE IS YOUR FREE CHOICE, IN WHAT SENSE CAN IT BE A FREE CHOICE? NOW YOU'LL HEAR SOME PEOPLE SAY WELL, LOOK, GOD JUST SEES YOU IN THE FUTURE LYING OR IS IT, MAYBE, TELLING THE TRUTH. THAT DOESN'T FORCE YOU TO GO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. THAT'S QUITE TRUE AND QUITE IRRELEVANT TO THE REAL DIFFICULTY. HERE'S THE REAL DIFFICULTY. SUPPOSE YOU'RE GOING TO LIE AND, OF COURSE, THEN GOD SEES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LIE. HE ALREADY BELIEVES IT. ARE YOU ABLE TO TELL THE TRUTH EVEN THOUGH THAT GOD NOW BELIEVES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LIE? WELL, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DID DO THIS THING, TELL THE TRUTH THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO. SURELY IF SOMEBODY SAYS THEY'RE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING WE CAN ASK WELL, WHAT WOULD THINGS BE LIKE IF YOU DID -- EITHER IT MUST BE THAT GOD WAS WRONG IN THAT BELIEF OR THAT THE PAST WAS DIFFERENT, THAT IS, THAT GOD BELIEVED SOMETHING ELSE BACK THERE IN THE PAST. NOBODY CAN MAKE GOD WRONG. IT SAYS SO ON THE LABEL, RIGHT? HE'S ALWAYS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING. ON THE OTHER HAND, NOBODY CAN CHANGE THE PAST WHETHER IT'S THE PAST HAVING TO DO WITH GOD OR WITH ANYTHING ELSE. THAT'S THE DIFFICULTY. >OKAY, SO WE HAVE THIS INTERNAL INCONSISTENCY, APPARENTLY, BETWEEN WHAT GOD FOREKNOWS AND OUR DESIRE FOR FREE WILL. I MEAN, YOU BELIEVE IN GOD. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT? >>WELL, THERE ARE VARIOUS POSSIBLE WAYS OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM. ONE VERY POPULAR WAY IS THAT GOD ISN'T INSIDE TIME LIKE THE REST OF US. HE'S OUTSIDE TIME, SO THERE ISN'T ANY SUCH THING AS WHAT GOD BELIEVED AT A CERTAIN TIME IN THE PAST BECAUSE HIS BELIEFS ARE TIMELESS OR ETERNAL. THE TROUBLE WITH THAT FROM MY POINT OF VIEW IS THAT ALTHOUGH GOD'S BELIEFS MAY NOT BE IN THE PAST, HE COULD REVEAL WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO SOMEONE IN THE PAST, TO A PROPHET, OR HE COULD HAVE CAUSED A STONE TO APPEAR WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING TO DO INSCRIBED ON IT. I CAN'T MAKE THE STONE HAD BEEN WRONG. I CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST THAT THE STONE APPEARED, OR IF A PROPHET PREDICTS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO, DIVINELY INSPIRED BY THE TIMELESS GOD, SO I DON'T THINK THAT POSTULATING A TIMELESS GOD REALLY HELPS WITH THE PROBLEM. THE ONLY SOLUTION I SEE IS TO SEE THAT GOD REALLY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE FREE ACTS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE, AND IF YOU SAY THAT THAT'S INCONSISTENT WITH THE DOCTRINE OF GOD'S OMNISCIENCE I MIGHT SAY WELL, IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU FORMULATE IT. AFTER ALL, MOST PEOPLE DON'T THINK THAT THE DOCTRINE OF GOD'S OMNIPOTENCE IMPLIES THAT HE CAN JUST DO ANYTHING. DOESN'T IMPLY THAT HE CAN DRAW A ROUND SQUARE, FOR EXAMPLE, OR BOTH MAKE IT RAIN AND NOT RAIN AT THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME BECAUSE THOSE STATES OF AFFAIRS ARE INTRINSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE, INTERNALLY SELF-CONTRADICTORY. WELL, SUPPOSING THAT GOD'S KNOWING THE FREE ACTS OF FUTURE CREATURES WAS AN IMPOSSIBLE STATE OF AFFAIRS, EVEN THEN AN OMNIPOTENT BEING COULDN'T FIND OUT WHAT CREATURES ARE GOING TO DO IN THE FUTURE, NOT WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO FREELY IN THE FUTURE AT ANY RATE. WHY NOT QUALIFY OMNISCIENCE IN A WAY SIMILAR TO THE WAY IN WHICH WE QUALIFY OMNIPOTENCE? WHY NOT SAY THAT GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT IS METAPHYSICALLY POSSIBLE FOR A BEING TO KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE, IT'S JUST NOT METAPHYSICALLY POSSIBLE TO KNOW WHAT FREE BEINGS ARE GOING TO DO IN THE FUTURE. >PETER BELIEVES THAT GOD'S OMNISCIENCE, GOD KNOWING EVERYTHING, CANNOT INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW, PARTICULARLY THE FREE WILL CHOICES OF RESPONSIBLE HUMAN BEINGS. I SEE WHAT PETER IS DOING. WEAKENING GOD'S KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE IN ORDER TO PROTECT TRUE FREE WILL, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR HUMAN MORALITY IN A GOD-GIVEN WORLD. PHILOSOPHERS WORD GAMES. WHAT CHOICE DOES A THOUGHTFUL BELIEVER HAVE? I'VE BECOME ANXIOUS IN MY SEARCH. I'M NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP MY HOPE FOR GOD, BUT I'M CERTAINLY NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP MY RELIANCE ON REASON. I HEAR TELL OF A NOVEL WAY BY WHICH GOD COULD KEEP ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE OF ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING AND STILL ENABLE THE FREE CHOICES OF RESPONSIBLE BEINGS. IT'S CALLED MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, AND IT SEEMS TO WORK LIKE MAGIC. ONE OF ITS LEADING PROPONENTS IS ALSO AT NOTRE DAME, CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHER THOMAS FLINT. TOM, HOW DO YOU RECONCILE GOD KNOWING THE FUTURE - AND GOD CAN'T BE WRONG - WITH US HAVING FREE WILL? >>WELL, I THINK THE BEST WAY TO RECONCILE IT IS BY STATING THAT GOD HAS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, OKAY? MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE IS GOING TO BE KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS BETWEEN WHAT'S CALLED NATURAL KNOWLEDGE, GOD'S KNOWLEDGE OF NECESSARY TRUTHS OVER WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL, AND HIS FREE KNOWLEDGE, HIS KNOWLEDGE OF CONTINGENT TRUTHS OVER WHICH HE DOES HAVE CONTROL. MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE WOULD BE BETWEEN THOSE TWO, KNOWLEDGE OF CONTINGENT TRUTHS OVER WHICH GOD HAS NO CONTROL WHATSOEVER. AND THE BEST EXAMPLE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THAT SORT WOULD BE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT'S SOMETIMES CALLED COUNTERFACTUALS OF FREEDOM, COUNTERFACTUALS STATING WHAT A FREE BEING WOULD FREELY DO IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT SITUATIONS IN WHICH THEY MIGHT BE PLACED. NOW IF GOD HAS THIS KIND OF KNOWLEDGE, IF HE HAS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, THEN HIS HAVING FOREKNOWLEDGE IS SIMPLY GOING TO FLOW OUT OF IT. ONCE HE DECIDES WHICH CREATURES HE'S GOING TO CREATE AND WHAT SITUATIONS HE'S GOING TO PUT THEM IN, HE KNOWS WHICH WAY THE WORLD IS GOING TO GO IN THE FUTURE. GOD'S OMNISCIENCE CAN INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T POSE ANY SORT OF THREAT TO OUR FREEDOM. >BUT I STILL FEEL THREATENED AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY. IF GOD, TODAY, HAS LOTS OF BELIEFS AND SOME SMALL FRACTION OF THOSE BELIEFS ARE THINGS THAT I AM GOING TO DO IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE'S A PROPOSITION THAT ROBERT WILL LEAVE NOTRE DAME TOMORROW MORNING AT 9 O'CLOCK. GOD KNOWS THAT TODAY, THAT PROPOSITION. NOW GOD CAN'T HAVE A FALSE BELIEF, SO I HAVE TO DO THAT. >>WELL, YOU WILL DO IT. I THINK THAT FOLLOWS. IF GOD KNOWS IT THEN YOU WILL DO IT. I DON'T THINK IT FOLLOWS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO IT. IT WOULD FOLLOW THAT YOU HAVE TO DO IT IF YOU HAVE NO CONTROL WHATSOEVER OVER WHAT IT IS THAT GOD KNOWS. IF YOU DO HAVE FREEDOM TO ACT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, THEN GOD'S KNOWLEDGE, GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE WOULD BE DIFFERENT, OKAY? SUPPOSE AS A MATTER OF FACT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ARRIVE HERE ON CAMPUS AT 8 O'CLOCK TOMORROW, BUT IT'S A FREE ACT ON YOUR PART. YOU COULD SIMPLY DECIDE NOT TO COME AT ALL TOMORROW MORNING. ASSUMING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO COME, THEN GOD KNOWS IT. BUT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE HAS IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH IS CONSTRICTING YOUR OWN FREEDOM. YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO NOT COME TO CAMPUS TOMORROW, AND IF YOU WERE TO DO THAT GOD WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT YOU WEREN'T GOING TO COME. >IT SOUNDS IN AND ODD WAY THAT YOU'RE ALMOST - I'M IN THAT SITUATION - ALMOST CHANGING THE PAST BECAUSE I'M CHANGING BY MY ACT, WHETHER TO COME TO CAMPUS TOMORROW MORNING, IS CHANGING THE FACT OF WHAT GOD BELIEVES TODAY. >>IT WOULD MAKE AN IMPACT UPON WHAT GOD BELIEVES. IT WOULDN'T BE REALLY A CASE OF CHANGING THE PAST BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO DO THAT, IF YOU WERE NOT TO COME TO CAMPUS TOMORROW, GOD NEVER WOULD HAVE BELIEVED THAT THING WHICH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, HE DOES BELIEVE. SO IT WOULDN'T BE SO MUCH A MATTER OF CHANGING THE PAST. IN EITHER OF THESE ALTERNATIVES GOD HAS ONE BELIEF, HAS IT ETERNALLY, HAS IT BASED UPON HIS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, HIS KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT YOU WOULD FREELY DECIDE TO DO IN THE SITUATION IN WHICH YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN TOMORROW. AND WHAT GOD KNOWS VIA HIS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE ARE THINGS OVER WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL BUT NOT THINGS OVER WHICH YOU HAVE NO CONTROL. >BUT GOD KNOWS THAT AHEAD OF TIME? >>HE KNOWS IT AHEAD OF TIME. THE QUESTION IS, ARE THESE THINGS WHICH ARE KNOWN IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT ELIMINATES YOUR POWER TO ACT IN A DIFFERENT WAY? THE COUNTERFACTUAL SIMPLY SAYS IF YOU WERE IN THIS SITUATION TOMORROW MORNING, IF YOU WERE TO BE IN THAT SITUATION YOU WOULD COME TO CAMPUS AT 8 O'CLOCK. IT DOESN'T SAY THAT YOU HAVE TO. IT'S A COUNTERFACTUAL OF FREEDOM, SO IT DOESN'T RESTRICT OR FORCE YOU TO DO ANYTHING. IT LEAVES YOUR FREEDOM COMPLETELY OPEN. YOU COULD BE IN THAT SITUATION TOMORROW, DECIDE NOT TO COME TO CAMPUS, THAT COUNTERFACTUAL NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN TRUE, GOD NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT, AND HIS FOREKNOWLEDGE WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT AS WELL. SO MANY IMPORTANT ISSUES COME TO THE FORE WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE RECONCILE FREEDOM WITH GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE. >MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, IF TRUE, WOULD PRESERVE GOD'S PERFECT PROVIDENTIAL CONTROL AND OUR PERSONAL FREE WILL. IT'S REALLY CLEVER. PERHAPS ONE OF THE CLEVEREST PIECES OF THEOLOGICAL REASONING, BUT TOO CLEVER. CONSIDER THE CONCEPTUAL COST. GOD KNOWING EVERY POSSIBLE ACTION OF EVERY POSSIBLE CREATURE IN EVERY POSSIBLE WORLD BEFORE GOD DECIDED WHICH POSSIBLE WORLD TO MAKE REAL. SURE. GOD IS SUPPOSED TO BE INFINITE BUT THIS SEEMS, WELL, RATHER EXCESSIVE. ASSUMING GOD'S EXISTENCE AND PROVIDENCE AND THE REALITY OF HUMAN FREE WILL, I DOUBT ULTIMATE RECONCILIATION BY SUCH STRATAGEM OR SOPHISTRY OR EVEN THAT WE HUMANS COULD EVER FIGURE IT OUT. FOLLOWING THIS TRAIL I PUSH DEEPER INTO THE DENSE FOREST OF JUSTIFYING RELIGIOUS BELIEF. I PUT THE QUESTION TO A NEW GENERATION PHILOSOPHER WHO BELIEVES IN GOD, DEAN ZIMMERMAN. DEAN, GOD IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE FUTURE AND YET I'M SUPPOSED TO HAVE FREE WILL. HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN? >>IT CAN'T. SHORT ANSWER. I TAKE THE VIEW THAT IF GOD KNEW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO THEN IT'S ALREADY SETTLED WHAT I'M GOING TO DO AND FOR ME TO BE FREE WHEN THAT EVENT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT OCCASION COMES UP I'D HAVE TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE PAST, CHANGE GOD'S BELIEFS AND I DON'T THINK THAT MAKE ANY SENSE. SO I DO THINK THAT BECAUSE GOD COULDN'T CAUSE ME TO FREELY DO THUS AND SO, THAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. HE HAS TO LEAVE IT GENUINELY OPEN IF HE WANTS THAT KIND OF FREEDOM TO BE IN THE WORLD AND THEN IT'S JUST NOT SETTLED YET, SO THERE'S NO FACT TO KNOW. >THAT CONTRADICTS VIRTUALLY ALL THEOLOGIANS AND PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGIANS IN THE LAST, I DON'T KNOW, THOUSAND YEARS. >>WELL, THERE IS A MOVEMENT. THERE'S AN UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT. PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES OPEN THEISTS, AND - >THIS IS LOOKED UPON AS HERESY. >>YEAH, THEY'RE RENEGADE THEOLOGIANS. FORTUNATELY I'M IN A PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT, SO MY JOB IS SAFE, YOU KNOW, I CAN SAY WHATEVER I LIKE. >OKAY, BUT LET'S UNDERSTAND. WHY, IF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING MAKES SENSE, DOES THE MAJORITY AND THE HISTORICAL TRADITION OF CERTAINLY A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY SAY OTHERWISE? >>WELL, CHRISTIANS, IN PARTICULAR, GET COMMITTED TO THIS ABSOLUTE IRON KIND OF PROVIDENCE WHERE GOD BRINGS EVERYTHING ABOUT. SOME ARE COMMITTED TO THAT. >YES. >>YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT COMES FROM PRIVILEGING THE NOTIONS OF GOD'S POWER AND HIS ABSOLUTE CONTROL. >AND ONCE YOU GET THAT YOU REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH FREE WILL IT SEEMS. >>NOW THERE'S A LOT OF MECHANISMS THAT PEOPLE HAVE INTRODUCED TO TRY TO MAKE THE FREEDOM OF THE ACTION COMPATIBLE WITH GOD'S KNOWING THE WHOLE SCOPE OF HISTORY AT ONCE. THE OPEN THEISTS, I NUMBER MYSELF AMONGST THE OPEN THEISTS, WE DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THOSE MECHANISMS WORK. >YEAH, WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS? >>WELL, SO ONE OF THEM IS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE, THE IDEA THAT GOD HAS SOME KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT INDETERMINISTIC, HOW VARIOUS INDETERMINISTIC EVENTS WERE GOING TO TURN OUT OR WOULD HAVE TURNED OUT IF THEY WERE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. THAT IS, BEFORE HE DECIDED WHETHER TO CREATE ADAM AND EVE, SO TO SPEAK, HE KNEW THAT IF ADAM WERE FREELY OFFERED AN APPLE BY EVE AND THE WIND WAS BLOWING LIKE THIS AND THE SERPENT HAD SPOKEN LIKE SO, THEN ADAM WOULD FREELY TAKE IT. NOW THERE IS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN SAY WHICH IS THAT THESE ARE JUST CONTINGENT FACTS ABOUT WHAT ADAM WOULD HAVE FREELY DONE IF HE'D BEEN IN THIS SITUATION, IF HE'D BEEN IN THAT SITUATION. THESE ARE CONTINGENT FACTS THAT GOD DOESN'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER. I'M SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THESE FACTS. I JUST DON'T THINK THERE ARE SUCH FACTS. >YOU'RE ELEVATING, PRIVILEGING IF YOU WILL, FREE WILL VERY SIGNIFICANTLY. GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE, GOD'S CONTROL, GOD'S PROVIDENCE ABOUT THE FUTURE AND ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS DIMINISHED. >>YES, I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT IT IS DIMINISHED. >SO YOU ARE DIMINISHING THE POWER OF GOD? >>OH, NO. I'M WAITING FOR A LIGHTNING BOLT HERE. WHAT I THINK IS THAT THERE IS A KIND OF LOGICAL INCOMPATIBILITY ABOUT FREEDOM OF WILL, FREEDOM OF CHOICE, AND DETERMINISM, GOD BRINGING IT ABOUT. THAT'S JUST SORT OF A MATTER OF LOGIC AND SO IF GOD WANTS THOSE KINDS OF CREATURES, IF THEY ARE WORTH MAKING, THEN HE HAS TO MAKE A WORLD IN WHICH IT'S NOT SETTLED AHEAD OF TIME WHAT THEY DO, AND THAT'S UP TO HIM WHETHER HE WANTS A WORLD LIKE THAT. >IF IT'S UP TO GOD WHETHER GOD WANTS A WORLD LIKE THAT IT'S UP TO ME WHETHER I WANT A GOD LIKE THAT. SO IF A CONSCIOUS KIND OF GOD DOES EXIST HOW COULD SUCH A GOD KNOW THE FUTURE? FOUR WAYS. ONE, GOD JUST FOREKNOWS THE FUTURE, SEE IT AS IT WERE, AND SUCH SIMPLE FOREKNOWLEDGE DOES NOT DIMINISH OUR FREE WILL. TWO, GOD IS TIMELESS SO THAT ALL TIME FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY GOD KNOWS IN AN INSTANT ASTOUNDINGLY ALL AT ONCE. THREE, GOD HAS MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT FREE CREATURES WOULD DO IN EVERY SITUATION AND GOD ACTUALIZES THE WORLD GOD LIKES DOWN TO EVERY DETAIL. FOUR, GOD DOES NOT AND CANNOT KNOW THE FUTURE ACTIONS OF FREE CREATURES. THE FUTURE IS OPEN. PERSONALLY, I PRIVILEGE FREE WILL. I HAVE REAL CHOICE. I FEEL THIS WITH ALL MY BRAINS AND BONES, SO I GO WITH OPENNESS. AS WITH ANYTHING ABOUT GOD I COULD BE WRONG BUT I DON'T IMAGINE THE WORLD IS A MOVIE. GOD DIDN'T DICTATE THE SCRIPT BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. UNCERTAINTY IS NO ILLUSION. UNCERTAINTY IS CLOSER TO TRUTH.
