What is God, free will or destiny's facade
Some say Deity is all knowing, leaving no choice in what we do or where we're going
If it's his choice we would have no shame and being just, he could not ascribe blame
With our free choice he could not know, what we'd do or where we'd go
If he doesn't know don't you think it odd, that having no control, he could not be God
Don't you think it a shame that either there is no God or no blame
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Author:
sorenbarrett (
Offline) - Published: September 15th, 2026 03:39
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 93
- Users favorite of this poem: Paul Bell, Tristan Robert Lange, jarcher54
- In collections: Philosophy, Religion.
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Comments16
I'm sure the theologions will enlighten me, but I would say God didn't get off to a good start with Adam and Eve.
The blame game started immediately it seems. As for Kane and Abel, it sure went right down hill there too.
Maybe that was the idea though, it exposes human fraility
Thanks Paul I appreciate the read and comment it has never seemed to work out well but then what do you expect when the building material was mud or clay and a stolen rib.
Need Orchi to explain it all, certainly better than me. As long as the water into wine is true, I'm happy.
Pass the bottle
thought provoking write
Thanks so much Norman not meant to offend or influence merely a musing my fiend.
There’s a timeless philosophical knot at the center of this, wrestling honestly with the collision between divine omniscience, free will, responsibility, and the very meaning of God. The final couplet is the keeper for me because “either there is no God or no blame” reduces an enormous theological problem to one sharp, unsettling dilemma and leaves the reader sitting with it.
Thank you my friend I deeply appreciate the read and understanding of this piece. Although not philosophically sound it is logical. Your words mean a lot.
Yes, this struck me as a succinct wrap-up of a thousand late-night discussions. Keeper for sure.
Thanks
Interesting write!
Thank you Friendship I appreciate your read and comment my friend
it's a pretty short piece but you managed to make it really thought provoking, nicely done!
Thanks so much for the review and comment your encouragement is most appreciated
you're welcome
Good write SB. I'm not one for rushing in to try to shed some light on theological problems, as sometimes I may not know what I'm on about (and Fido tells me, No change there then. lol). Or at times I am unable to sustain an 'argument' in the sense of 'giving reasons to support a belief, idea, etc'. I mean that 'argument' does not mean having a row, in this sense.
But could it be both? God knowing all things, omniscient; and Him giving us free will.
Have lay down, now Fido advises - all that thinking! lol.
Thanks Orchi for the read and comment. Many would say yes and I had prepared another stanza for that option but it began to become to philosophical and got murky loosing its punch so I discarded it. Better to stay black and white than pull in the grey. Besides it was not meant to offend or convince but rather to raise a point. Presbyterians tend to go with determinism while others side with free will but all believe in a hell for those that disobey and yet Catholics believe in forgiveness easily gained at confession that tells me not all pay for their sins. Just a thought.
Well, that's my 3 brain cells exhausted for today. Will you say: 'Awww apology for making you use all 3 cells?!' (apology not needed really. lol). And 'apology' has a more technical meaning too, not only in the sense of 'saying sorry'.
No my friend how about mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Or forgive me.
Bit of French there - mea wotsit! lol.
A terrible joke in 'paying for one's sins' is - Oohh, I'm not going to that Catholic church; can't get me sins forgiven; they charge $100 a time; can't afford 'em!
I stopped paying for mine a long time ago when they stopped taking my IOU's
All seems a bit dodgy to me, this Catholic Confession lark.
The old conundrum. Like the beginning of a Circle. Or if I went back in time, and killed my Grandfather: Would I still exist?
God being God should have known how we would have turned out. No surprise.
A fave here .
Thank you Kevin for the read and comment yes you would think he would have known. Appreciate it my friend
My Pleasure as always.
Well, this is easy for me because I am my own grandpa!
A poetic conundrum of the highest order (highest – geddit?). Fun. But seriously all speculation re this God on high and his ways is something I cannot engage with, Soren. Not that you will feel put down or sad about that as I think I know your actual views well enough.
On the general subject of God I say, and have often repeated, if someone can derive some comfort from this hard world with a belief in a god figure, then good luck to them.
But where does this God reside in the mist of Infinity and Eternity? And surely he is ripe for a pension by now?
Thanks Dave can't help a little devilish fun my friend. I suppose he would have taken the penthouse in that tower of Babel and by the look of things down here he retired a long time ago.
Soren, the connection between responsibility and divine knowledge is what caught me here. Knowing an action and determining it are not necessarily identical, yet explaining how freedom survives complete foreknowledge is no small task. Excellent food for thought. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
Thanks Tristan I appreciate your read and input on this one. When I posted this one I knew it was a breeding ground for controversy but decided what the hell and took the chance. Its poetic charm is not the best but the idea itself is like steel on rough stone.
Intriguing words soren but we all have our own god and believe in differing ways.
Andy
So true Andy and I suppose that beliefs seldom have to do with philosophy and sometimes logic anyway. Your words are most appreciated my friend.
Jesus saved my life as a child...His power literally changed what is unchangeable by any other means...God loves us and exists...and yes, he has no control over us...not because he isn't capable of controlling us it's because he gave us free will and if he controlled us he'd be violating his own law he set for himself, which is impossible...He basically chose to have no control...He gave control to us humans so because of that if we act in certain ways we have ourselves to blame for misusing our free will....respectfully, i dont think it's actually an All or nothing, black and white situation, it's more complicated than that
My friend I was raised believing that same thing and respect your views this was not meant to offend but to simply ask a reasoning question to which you seem to have provided an answer.
i apolaize if my answer was intense, i was certainly not offended I just mwant to share my thoughts, and yes, thanks for the thought-provokinh answer...i admit i may not be totally right in my response....there are times i have experienced being controlled by God...but it didnt feel like a violation of my free will
No need for apology you are most appreciated
A thoughtful philosophical poem exploring the tension between divine omniscience, free will, and moral responsibility. The poem presents these as opposing possibilities, while I believe free will and determinism are not necessarily absolute opposites; our choices can be influenced by circumstances, upbringing, and biology without eliminating all personal agency.
Thanks so much Soheil for your read and take on this issue. In posting this I have violated the old maxim of never ask a question you don't know the answer to and in so doing have opened a can of worms and Pandora's box. The can of worms determinism vs free choice and Pandora's box religion. My father told me never talk about politics, money or religion but being the rebellious type I did. I would have to agree with you all things seem to be gradations that the human mind to understand categorizes. Certainly many things have influences and it is the sum total of all that makes prediction so difficult that we call impossible at present but quantum computing may make easier. I deeply appreciate your comment my friend
My friend, I have always thought there is something wonderfully human about asking questions even when we do not yet know where the answers will lead us.
The tension between determinism and free will really makes us think about causation, consciousness, and what we mean by choice. We naturally put things into categories such as free or determined, chance or necessity, matter or mind. But perhaps those divisions say more about the limits of how we think than about reality itself. Maybe existence is better understood as a continuum of influences and probabilities.
That may also be why prediction is so difficult. Every event comes from an enormous web of conditions, many of which are beyond our ability to observe or calculate. Something may be unpredictable not because it has no causes, but because there are simply too many causes for us to comprehend.
Quantum computing may eventually push those boundaries, although perhaps greater computational power will uncover as many mysteries as it resolves.
I greatly appreciate your thoughtful perspective. In the end, the questions themselves may be more valuable than the answers we find.
I must agree with you
That's why God gave us free will so we know the difference between what's right and wrong evil exists because he allows it to exist I love the way you write thank you beautiful
Appreciate the read my friend you are very kind.
There is only will power.
Thanks so much for the read and comment it is probably true.
playful treatment of deep thoughts! You have a gift!
Thanks so much for the read and comment my friend it is most appreciated.
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