Christianity has debated human free will forever. Some argue that if God is sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscience, how can we humans have free will? The Bible constantly details how God is involved in our world so if God decides on a certain course of action, how can we humans resist?
However, there is evidence that free will does exist. One argument I read recently states that if we are made in the image of God, then we must have free will because God has free will. [1] Also the first chapter of Genesis tells us that God made humans the ruler of all creation. Humans must have free will if they have control or dominion over the rest of creation. If Adam and Eve had the free will to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or not, then God must have created us with free will.
What fuels the continuation of this debate is because there are arguments on both sides. I believe the Stoic philosophy makes the most sense. Their conclusion is that reason tells us plainly we have free will in certain instances and not in others. We do not totally control our life in regards to our health, wealth, friends, and time of death because the genetics we inherit, and the culture and family into which were born greatly influence these aspects of our lives. What we do control is our will, our judgment, and our moral choices.[2]
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[1] Michael S. Heiser. The Unseen Realm. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015, p. 267.
[2] Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, New York: Penguin Books, 1964, p. 17.
