Free Will: The Consequences of Our Choices May Not Be What We Expected

 

Choices

In any discussion of Free Will there is a tendency to confuse the availability and exercise of Free Will with the limitations and consequences of Free Will.   Let us clarify the issues.

The availability of Free Will simply refers to whether or not we are allowed to make choices. It is an issue of basic freedom.

The exercise of Free Will is in itself a choice we make. If we choose to do so, then our choices will be subject to certain limitations over which we may have no control. However, within these limitations we have Free Will. That is to say, we can make choices but we cannot dictate the circumstances that will affect the results of our choices. For example:  I can decide to go out into a storm, but I cannot stop it from raining.

After we make our choices, we are subject to the consequences of our decisions. They are the unavoidable consequence of what we decided to do (action) or think (mental conclusion). For example: I may have the freedom to decide to go out into a storm, but as a result I will get wet.

Thus, we may have Free Will, but our choices are made within certain limitations and subject to a natural result. We are not free to change the circumstances that affect the outcome of our choices, nor are we free to avoid the result. I may have the freedom to decide I will go out into the storm, but I cannot make the storm go away (the circumstances) and I will likely get wet (the result of my decision).

What about Christian Theology?

For the purposes of this discussion, let us first examine the subject of Free Will within the framework of our relationship to God. Within this context, the question of Free Will evokes two possibilities.

There is a God.

There is no God.

From a Christian viewpoint, the discussion of Free Will usually centers on our relationship with God; i.e. are we only predestined to a fate determined by God?  Or, does God grant us the freedom to make our own choices? Historical evidence suggests we have Free Will. God apparently encourages us to make rational choices that conform to the values he has taught us. Because they are based on long standing texts, ideas about right and wrong tend to be stable. If we stray from his values, we risk being ostracized by our peers, disliked by the community, punished by the police power of the State, or even by God – perhaps in unexpected ways.

Atheist discussion of Free Will tends to center on an individual’s status or position within a political social structure. From a socialist viewpoint, there is no God. Our perception of Free Will is derived from contemporary secular beliefs. Ideas about right and wrong tend to be unstable, influenced by fluid pop-culture social justice concepts, and often incorporate contentious political ideology. We are forced to exercise our Free Will within these constraints. If we ignore contemporary secular values we risk being ostracized by our peers, public media, public contempt, mob hatred, and the police power of the State.

Limitations and Exercise of Free Will

Our moral and physical behavior is unavoidably influenced by the limitations of the real world in which we live, no matter how “free” we think we are to act and think. Our deeds may also lead to self-destruction. Remember this verse ...

“We cannot break the natural laws of the Cosmos without exposing ourselves to physical or emotional injury. If we defile our being with drugs or alcohol, if we debilitate ourselves with too much stress, or if we ignore the wisdom of experience, we are doomed to suffer the consequences. In so doing, we create our own self-inflicted Hell.”

-        Summa 21

Our freedom to make personal choices is influenced, and modified, by our Cultural Ecosystem. The term “Cultural Ecosystem” refers to the cultural, economic and physical environment within which individuals and social groups function, and includes our emotional and intellectual interaction with other people. We may choose, for example, to have expensive tastes, but our ability to consume will be limited by our income. We can break the law, but we know the police power of the State will seek retribution. Free love sounds wonderful until it leads to a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and so on.

Thus while we have Free Will, which is the freedom to make our own decisions, our choices are limited by cultural, economic and physical reality.

Consequences

There is a certain truth to the “obey or be punished” concept. As pointed out in Summa 21, we cannot break the natural laws of the Cosmos, disregard God’s commandments, or ignore contemporary secular beliefs, without exposing ourselves to physical and emotional injury. The concept of Free Will not only means a personal choice, it also requires we accept the consequences of our choices. It is therefore our responsibility, each and every one, to make intelligent choices which elevate our moral character, mental health, emotional stability, intellectual development, and physical health;  ... else we risk the creation of our own self-inflicted Hell.

Christianity and Free Will

For Christians, the availability, limitations and exercise of Free Will are an integral component of Christian Theology and philosophy. We believe God gave us Free Will, the right to make our own choices. The Bible contains example after example of how we humans exercised our freedom to make choices and the consequences of those choices. We make good choices and we make terrible choices. But time after time, the text of the Bible shows we had the freedom to make them.

This fundamental belief in the freedom of Free Will influenced the development of the American Declaration of Independence and subsequent Constitution. The freedom to make choices has been a fundamental driver of national political rights all over the world. We humans usually prosper best when all members of our culture have the right to exercise Free Will.

The Christian concept of Free Will is one of the reasons Christian Theology is incompatible with the repression of socialism, communism, and other forms of dictatorship. Oppressive political systems add political, social and legal restrictions on the exercise of Free Will: freedom versus repression.

Conclusion

We humans have and are able to exercise free will but the choices we make are framed by physical and moral limitations.

If we do not believe in God, then we are likely to be influenced by transient moral beliefs. These may lead us to make negative, destructive and immoral choices.

If we do believe in God, the convictions of a 21st century Christian theology and philosophy encourage us to make positive, constructive and ethical choices.

The consequences of our choices may not be what we expected or even something we want; and yet – they are our responsibility.

Ron

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Where Is Hell ?

 

Each year there is a celebration of Halloween, mostly as an excuse to wear an uninhibited costume, party with friends, and take the kids on a Trick or Treat expedition. Contemplation of Halloween also elicits the specter of all the lore we have created over the centuries about the characteristics of Hell.

But that raises a logical question: Where is this place of unending suffering and degradation?  Human lore is filled with stories and images. But do we still believe them?

So I have a question:  Can we create our perception of Hell based on 21^st century knowledge?

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The Option

We could create wonderful concepts of Heaven and lurid details about Hell based on ancient sacred teaching; and many believers have chosen to do so. But we also have the option of basing our thoughts about the afterlife on the logical interpretation of available evidence. For a 21st century Christian, a belief in the afterlife shaped by observation and analysis is not only more realistic, it provides a greater sense of spiritual confidence.

Conventional Visions of Heaven and Hell

We tend to think of Heaven as “up there” and Hell as “down there”. Just as there are several levels (or places) where one may find the experience of Heaven, there are also several levels (or places) where one may experience Hell. 

Heaven is good, desirable, joyful, pleasant, peaceful, and beautiful. In Heaven one may find love, companionship, friendship, wisdom, and truth. 

Hell is bad, repellent, depressing, repulsive, painful, and hideous. In Hell one will experience hate, hostility, animosity, ignorance, and deception. 

In Heaven there is plenty. In Hell there is hunger. In Heaven one has good health. In Hell one must deal with the experience of debilitating disease and painful injury.

Within Christian tradition, we find many references and descriptions of punishment for acts against God and man. With great conviction, we are told Hell awaits the sinner in the afterlife. As an alternative, there are promising visions of a perfect paradise for those who believe and practice the word of God. Heaven is the reward for true believers.

These ideas may have been inspired by God, but they were written by men who had only a limited knowledge of the universe. We can forgive them for being influenced by their existing frame of reference. Superstitious, biased by the mythology of oral tradition, and motivated to explain Hell and Heaven in terms that would be familiar to their peers, these men would record their vision in the language of their age.

But we have gradually acquired a better understanding of our universe. We are compelled to respect the knowledge God has given to us. With it, we can express our understanding of Hell and Heaven in 21st century terms.

Both Hell and Heaven Exist.

The philosophical reasoning of the two dimension thesis is not complicated. We live in a bipolar universe. If there is a Heaven, then there must also be a Hell. If Heaven is paradise, then Hell must be a nightmare. If Heaven is a place of tranquility, then Hell is a place of constant mayhem. When we talk about paradise, our most perfect example is called Heaven. When we talk about severe physical and emotional pain, we often reference Hell in describing our experience.

Here on earth, in this physical universe, we have the intellectual and emotional capability of producing an existence that is closer to Heaven, - or nearer to Hell. We have a choice. We have free will. It’s up to us. Jesus wanted us to use our intellectual and emotional capacity to establish a paradise (often referred to as the Kingdom of God) on earth. He taught us the word of God provides us with the necessary moral blueprint to achieve our objective.

Heaven exists within a separate dimension of time and space. Here we find God, angels, and those who have learned, adopted and practice the wisdom of the Cosmos (the wisdom of the Holy Spirit). “Heaven is good, desirable, joyful, pleasant, peaceful, and beautiful. In Heaven one may find love, companionship, friendship, wisdom, and truth. ...In Heaven there is plenty. ...In Heaven one has (the feeling of) good health.” When we speak of going to Heaven we are contemplating the transformation of our energy – our Life Force (or soul) - from one dimension to another.

We must always remember this essential point. Just as there are physical laws that govern the natural physical universe, there are spiritual laws that govern the not physical universe. In this sense, when we wander from God’s canon, we deviate from the laws of the Cosmos. The more we ignore the word of God, the greater our sin and the probability we will create the conditions of Hell. On the other hand, if we learn and follow God’s commandments, we are more likely to create the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Updating Our Views of Hell

There are three problems with traditional Hell mythology.

It’s not “down there”.
There is no Hell beneath the surface of our earth. Geologists, seismologists, volcanologists, geophysicists, and oil field workers have never found any evidence of Hell under our feet. To reach the center of the earth we must descend through 62 miles of semi rigid crust, 410 miles of plastic upper mantle, 1392 miles of semi rigid lower mantle, 1367 miles of semi liquid outer core, and 378 miles of rigid inner core. To be sure, it is very hot at the inner core – about 12,600 degrees F. But we will not find Dante’s Hell. It does not exist

Hell would be too big to hide.
In order to hold all the sinners who have been sent to Hell by all the world’s religions, Hell would be a sprawling place with several hundred miles of tunnels, planes, and caverns. It would have to be big enough to hold over a billion people. It would be impossible to conceal a place that big. But despite exploring our entire globe by satellite and boots on the ground, we have never been able to find a physical Hell on earth – at least not in this dimension.

Death Creates a New Self.
When death overtakes us, our physical form is usually buried in the ground, or burned to ash. It does not matter when, where, or how we decease. Our physical remains do not vanish into the unknown. They remain where we put them until we move them again. Assuming we choose to believe there is an afterlife, the soul (spiritual self) obviously leaves the physical self, and becomes a new form of being.

Hell Is A State of Being

But if there is no Hell in the traditional sense, then we are confronted with several questions.

•       If there is no Hell beneath the surface of the earth, then where is it?

•       Is there any place where sinners suffer great physical suffering?

•       Is there a place of punishment, reflection, and repentance?

•       Does God judge us when we die?

The short answer: we are judged, hell exists, and there is suffering. 

Repentance is possible.

Let us start with the world we know.

Hell is actually easy to find. But we must understand the events and conditions we are observing. How often have we heard the phrase: “War is Hell”?  Going through a divorce is Hell?  It’s hotter than Hell?  These phrases describe the physical and mental suffering of our experience –

and they happen right here, in our life, on this planet.

Up until the late 20th century, it was assumed that one must live by a strict moral code. The Church told us that if we failed to abide by the rules, we would go to Hell. Other religions took a similar approach to enforcement. Obey or be punished. Although the direct moral influence of the Church has declined over the years, following the rules continues to frame our human activity and thought. We cannot break the natural laws of the Cosmos without exposing ourselves to physical or emotional injury. 

Because we have free will, we have the means to create our own personal Hell. If we sink into the abyss of moral decay, if we defile our being with drugs or alcohol, if we participate in perverted lust, if we are filled with vengeful hatred, if we are deceitful, arrogant or contentious, if we debilitate ourselves with too much stress, or if we ignore the wisdom of experience: we are doomed to suffer the consequences. In so doing, we create our own self-inflicted Hell; right here on this earth; in our lifetime.

If our rejection of God continues unto our death, then our destiny is annihilation. Upon our death, we cease to exist. That is the result of our willful rejection of God’s commandments, our refusal to seek to be one with God, and our denial of God’s love.

But wait. Does that mean we are always responsible for the creation of the hell we experience?

No. Unfortunately, we may have little or no control over the experience of hell in its many forms on this earth. Terrifying storms, floods, earth quakes, and forest fires inflict the destructive power of natural events. Human history is filled with examples of the hell created by people who use their political, economic or personal power to dominate others. Disease, injury, hunger, war, hatred, and grinding poverty are a constant source of suffering. Good people suffer injury and privation, beautiful children are murdered, mental illness destroys rational thought, people die of starvation and disease, and we are plagued by the fear of losing our economic well-being. The events and conditions of Hell are imposed on us from an almost unlimited number of sources. In these however, the genesis is frequently the result of human conduct. Unlimited greed, a lust for political power, military aggression, blind ideology, willful ignorance, visceral hatred, and so on. These are the failings of the human character. The result is physical suffering and mental anguish, often for both the sinner and the innocent.

We all become victims.

Yes, Hell certainly exists. It is a state of being, located on this earth, and in this life. But ...

We Make Our Own Hell, We Humans

While visiting with the Essenes, Jesus made friends with an old priest who helped to guide his thinking. In his conversations Jesus learned why spiritual healing is just as important as physical healing. He was also grateful for the chance to openly discuss his experiences with the older man.

“I have thoughts and dreams,” Jesus told the old priest “Sometimes when I dream I have unstoppable power over all I can see. I am invincible. But there is always death and fear all around me. I am powerful but afraid.”

“We are good and evil,” said the old priest “our dreams are a reflection of the conflict within our soul between wanting to help and wanting to dominate.”

“How do I know the difference?”

“That which is good in the eyes of the Lord is always constructive, positive and compassionate. Evil is bad because it is always destructive, negative and heartless. We become confused because to be good one must sometimes also be bad. That is why you must continue to develop good judgement; always focus on the ultimate truth of what you are doing.”

“Where does evil reside?”

The old priest looked sorrowfully at Jesus... “Within our minds, we make our own hell.”

Hell is a Place on Earth

The existence of hell is summed nicely in this verse.

When it comes to descriptions of Hell,
We have been very creative.
Fire, pain, and humiliation greet the sinner.
Our literature is littered with ghosts and devils.

Hell does exist. It is here.
We make our own, we humans.
With often ugly words and thoughts,
We descend into the abyss of hostility.

Hell exists on this earth.
It is both physical and spiritual.
Where else would one find human suffering?
Where else the stress of despair?

How else can one explain random illness?
How often strikes accidental injury or death?
Why do events and persons make us victims?
Why suffer malicious wickedness or wretched despair?

We are witness to the misery of Hell on earth.
Even the just may experience the pain,
Of failure, frustration, injury, or death,
Whether their own or someone they love.
 

Yes, this is Hell. It is here.
But mostly it is our own fault.
We become sinners when we break God’s law.
We are the creators of our own personal Hell.
 

War. Torture. Violent behavior. Vile words.
The sins of arrogance, conceit, fraud,
Drugs, alcohol, and perversion lead to
Misery, death, injury, disease and famine.
 

But we can avoid the Hell of human sin.
The Holy Spirit gave us the ability to think and reason.
God the Father gave us commandments to follow.
By these we are able to create God’s Kingdom on Earth.
 

Be aware of the Holy Spirit’s counsel.
Avoid the road to Hell.
Punishment follows the sinner.
Grace comes to the faithful.

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Theological text from "Summa 21" ... Story from "Am I Your Son" 

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