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Abstract

stion Him anyway?”</p><p id="5c61">But note this: it is Christians who say that God wants to create humans with free will, and having free will entails the possibility of sinning. It is the Christians who insist that free will and the possibility to sin are inseparable. So the onus is on Christians who choose option 1 to explain why they now think people can have free will and no possibility of sinning in heaven.</p><div id="ab55" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/problems-with-the-concept-of-sin-846c5da09dec"> <div> <div> <h2>Problems with the Concept of Sin</h2> <div><h3>It’s an attempt to shift blame from God to human</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*fK9eC0kziRes1OhUt5EKog.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="686f">Option 2: Humans don’t have free will in heaven</h1><p id="39af">Few Christians would choose this one. Those that do probably choose it reluctantly because option 1 simply makes no sense. Nobody wants to think of themselves as having no free will, not now, nor in heaven.</p><p id="412b">But if they hold so strongly that it’s not possible to sin in heaven, perhaps this is the only logical conclusion: people will have no free will in heaven.</p><p id="53f8">If you give this a second thought, what’s so wrong with having no free will? Do dogs have free will? Most Christians don’t think so. If dogs have free will, it means dogs can sin, but most Christians think dogs cannot sin.</p><figure id="b035"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*HkxzBGqEVGyH-HXP"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@amjay_7?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Alicia Jones</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="e60d"><b>But our relationship with our pet dogs is still meaningful without them having free will, right?</b></p><p id="62aa">In other words, we can still bond with other creatures who have no free will.</p><p id="d5eb">In that case, even if people in heaven are without free will, they can still have a loving relationship with God.</p><p id="0716">After all, if it’s God’s intention that people always listen to Him, always obey Him, and always worship Him, then it sounds like He does not want people to have free will.</p><p id="28a5">The question remains: <b>If free will is not that important, such that people in heaven will have no free will, then why didn’t God create Adam and Eve without free will in the first place?</b></p><p id="a241">Still a dead end.</p><div id="6327" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/nonbelievers-dont-choose-to-reject-god-166602e9811b"> <div> <div> <h2>Nonbelievers Don’t Choose to Reject God</h2>

Options

 <div><h3>For some reason, lots of Christians have trouble understanding it</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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    </div><h1 id="fb61">Option 3: No one ever has any free will; God predestined everything.</h1><p id="53f6">Some hyper-Calvinists would hold this view. They believe that it was God’s will that Adam and Eve sinned. It was God’s will that sinful nature passed to their offspring. Everything went the way God wanted it to be. People have no say and no free will.</p><figure id="ba38"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*pJQLcNQV3CcI7cvw"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@evanffitzer?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral">Evan Fitzer</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="baeb">In that case, God is responsible for our sins. There is no other way around this.</p><p id="a2df">The point of emphasizing free will is to get God off the hook of the responsibility of human sin. The sin must originate from humans, not from God. If humans have no free will, then all the bad things people do are God’s fault. Most Christians cannot allow that, so there must be free will.</p><p id="f371">Now some hyper-Calvinists come along and try to have the cake and eat it too. They want to say that God is the author of human sin, and it is still people’s own fault that they sin.</p><p id="0c51">It’s plainly absurd. I will just leave it at that.</p><h1 id="68ce">Conclusion</h1><p id="d329">It seems that all these talks about sin, free will, and heaven are all about serving the interest of believers. Christians want<b> </b>to go to a place of eternal bliss, so they MUST not allow the possibility of leaving or falling from that state of being. Christians want to have free will, so they bend backward and forward to rationalize and explain away all the problems that entail.</p><p id="3481">In the end, it’s just wishful thinking.</p><div id="e769" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://readmedium.com/its-god-s-fault-that-i-don-t-believe-he-exists-d0107c772c73">
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            <h2>It’s God’s Fault That I Don’t Believe He Exists</h2>
            <div><h3>The problem lies in divine hiddenness</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
          </div>
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    </div><p id="8cb6">If you are not a Medium member yet, please consider signing up using my <a href="https://medium.com/@sttsai/membership">referral link</a>. I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.</p></article></body>

Do People Have Free Will in Heaven?

In the Christian framework, there is no good answer.

Regarding the creation of human beings, Christians often say that God wants to have a meaningful relationship with humans who can reciprocate His love. If a robot is programmed to love God no matter what, such love is shallow and some may argue that it is not love at all. God does not want that, so He gave humans free will. Having free will means that humans can choose to love or reject God, and if humans choose to love God, they will form a meaningful relationship with Him.

So far so good, right?

Until people go to heaven (or Jesus comes back the second time to bring heaven upon earth).

Those who get to go to heaven will supposedly enjoy life in the presence of God forever. They will bow to God, sing worship songs to Him, and sin no more. (I bet Christians can’t wait to do that for eternity.)

Now, is there a possibility that people in heaven will disobey God?

The vast majority of Christian traditions say “No” because that would be a re-enactment of the narrative of the Garden of Eden. God would have to cast people out again. But the depiction of heaven in the Bible is nothing like that.

If disobedience won’t happen in heaven, do people in heaven have free will?

I bet many Christians have not thought of this issue before. So let me walk you through the two options.

Option 1: Humans still have free will in heaven

If humans have free will in heaven, that means they have the capacity to sin or rebel against God. But for some reason, they will always choose to obey God. But how?

Some Christians might say that those who are in heaven have been through the sanctification process in their life, and have “grown” in their faith, so they are capable of always choosing to love God and never sin.

But that’s not what the Bible says. In the process of sanctification, Christians never achieve perfection; they need to be “transformed” by God in the end to reach perfection (1 Corinthians 15:51–54). This process is called “glorification”.

Simply put, God will re-create some people so they will never sin, but still retain free will.

A glaring question arises: If it is possible for humans to have free will, yet have no possibility of sinning, why didn’t God create Adam and Eve in that state in the first place?

Now, you might be tempted to respond: “Isn’t it presumptuous to say God should do this or do that? Who are we to question Him anyway?”

But note this: it is Christians who say that God wants to create humans with free will, and having free will entails the possibility of sinning. It is the Christians who insist that free will and the possibility to sin are inseparable. So the onus is on Christians who choose option 1 to explain why they now think people can have free will and no possibility of sinning in heaven.

Problems with the Concept of Sin

It’s an attempt to shift blame from God to human

medium.com

Option 2: Humans don’t have free will in heaven

Few Christians would choose this one. Those that do probably choose it reluctantly because option 1 simply makes no sense. Nobody wants to think of themselves as having no free will, not now, nor in heaven.

But if they hold so strongly that it’s not possible to sin in heaven, perhaps this is the only logical conclusion: people will have no free will in heaven.

If you give this a second thought, what’s so wrong with having no free will? Do dogs have free will? Most Christians don’t think so. If dogs have free will, it means dogs can sin, but most Christians think dogs cannot sin.

But our relationship with our pet dogs is still meaningful without them having free will, right?

In other words, we can still bond with other creatures who have no free will.

In that case, even if people in heaven are without free will, they can still have a loving relationship with God.

After all, if it’s God’s intention that people always listen to Him, always obey Him, and always worship Him, then it sounds like He does not want people to have free will.

The question remains: If free will is not that important, such that people in heaven will have no free will, then why didn’t God create Adam and Eve without free will in the first place?

Still a dead end.

Nonbelievers Don’t Choose to Reject God

For some reason, lots of Christians have trouble understanding it

medium.com

Option 3: No one ever has any free will; God predestined everything.

Some hyper-Calvinists would hold this view. They believe that it was God’s will that Adam and Eve sinned. It was God’s will that sinful nature passed to their offspring. Everything went the way God wanted it to be. People have no say and no free will.

In that case, God is responsible for our sins. There is no other way around this.

The point of emphasizing free will is to get God off the hook of the responsibility of human sin. The sin must originate from humans, not from God. If humans have no free will, then all the bad things people do are God’s fault. Most Christians cannot allow that, so there must be free will.

Now some hyper-Calvinists come along and try to have the cake and eat it too. They want to say that God is the author of human sin, and it is still people’s own fault that they sin.

It’s plainly absurd. I will just leave it at that.

Conclusion

It seems that all these talks about sin, free will, and heaven are all about serving the interest of believers. Christians want to go to a place of eternal bliss, so they MUST not allow the possibility of leaving or falling from that state of being. Christians want to have free will, so they bend backward and forward to rationalize and explain away all the problems that entail.

In the end, it’s just wishful thinking.

It’s God’s Fault That I Don’t Believe He Exists

The problem lies in divine hiddenness

medium.com

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