Divine Intervention vs Free Will

[Accountable]

Yesterday (Thanksgiving Day) I was listening to my favorite talk radio station. On one show, Michael Medved gave a 3-hour prerecorded lecture on the many ways God has intervened in American history to steer it in the way He wished it to go to fulfill His Plan. In my layman's opinion - trying not to put too fine a point on it - that's crap. He sounded like one of those conspiracy theorists, only on the side of Good.

Somebody help me out here. How can we possibly have Holy Intervention, God's Will in specific individual circumstances, etc. and still claim free will? If we don't have free will, what's the point in trying to be good?

If God can allow us free will until our free will doesn't match up with His Will, isn't that just like the gov't allowing us to "own" our land until it finds a better, more lucrative use for it, then takes it via imminent domain?

[Suresh Gupta]

Thanks Dear for introducing such a nice topic for discussion.

This point can be easily explained by the theory of Karma as explained by God Himself (Krishna) to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurushetra. I will soon post the details.

[Galbally]

I don't believe in an interventionist god, you cannot petition the lord with prayer, but instant kharma's gonna get you.

[Suresh Gupta]

Originally Posted by Galbally

I don't believe in an interventionist god, you cannot petition the lord with prayer, but instant kharma's gonna get you.

"Interventionist God", yet another name for God. How many names people will give to God?

Petition does not fit in the concept of Prayer. But a devotee can force the God to come to him in his need. There are many such instances in Hindu Mythology where God came to his devotees to help them when they needed Him.

[chonsigirl]

Originally Posted by Galbally

I don't believe in an interventionist god, you cannot petition the lord with prayer, but instant kharma's gonna get you.

Oh, I did hear the music when I read that!

I do believe in an interventionist God, who answers prayer. Since I have seen it take place many times, I know that it is real.

The concept of Free Will can be defined many ways. I will await Gupta's response before responding.

AC, many speakers, I assume this might have been an evangelical speaker, do like to illustrate historical events with with Divine Intervention. Yes, it is a twist on the Conspiracy Theories, and gives a bad rep to many good evenagelicals. (of which I am one)

[Galbally]

I think there is a god, but he doesn't reveal himself in human affairs. I find the buddust/hindu/kharmic philosophy interesting and pleasant, but again it seems that a philiosophy that basically asks you to accept all and question nothing is too passive for me, the universe is far too interesting to just focus on your own happiness.

[BTS]

My 2 cents:

I think if you are in-tune with the "Holy spirit" you can receive divine intervention in your decisions. This still leaves you with free will.
I think we all can hear a whisper if we listen whether you are religious or not. I believe it is there for all of us. I believe our founding fathers were in tune to this energy. I also believe most of our greatest discoveries were from this intervention. I think when the spirit was ready for man to have new technology it was shown to the person who "Tuned In". Now how man used(s) it is another matter as we do have "Free Will" and some will use it in bad ways and some in good ways.

[SOJOURNER]

Free will is choice. We are not puppets on strings.

The choice is not between God's will and "our" will. It is a choice of obedience to God. To not obey God's will is disobedience. All the Bible stories relate to God's blessing on those who obey his commands.

[Galbally]

To people who question whether we have free will I would say this, if you went out and horribly murdered someone, do you think god would stop you? No. You might argue that "well he must have put the idea in my head" well, fine, if thats the case then everything we do is nothing to do with us at all and the idea of human morality is pointless. Also, if thats the case, why would a god create me, a being who questions him in the first place, but I wouldn't be questioning him myself, he would be questioning his own existence through me, this argument very quickly becomes a non-sequiter.

To me its obvious that god does not intervene at any point, that if he has an intrinsic morality it is vastly different from any human idea of that concept, and that in this life at least, he expects us to look after ourselves.

[SOJOURNER]

Originally Posted by Galbally

he expects us to look after ourselves.

He says He will be with us always.

We are charged to love one another. We are to care for each other.........