Human Free Will vs. God's Omniscience

How Can Human Free Will Coexist with God’s Omniscience?

Almost all religious people believe simultaneously in God’s omniscience and human free will. Here’s the problem: If God already knows what I’m going to do (His omniscience), then how can my actions be free?  Either we have free will and God is not omniscient; or we don’t have free will and God is omniscient. Choose one and stick to it. You can’t have it both ways. Most people who believe in God’s omniscience also believe that God has a plan for the universe, which includes us. If God has a plan, then everything that happens is part of that plan. Most believers would agree that since God made the plan, He must know the future. It follows then that if humans are part of God’s plan, He knows our future. It also follows that since he knows our future, then our paths are set. Therefore, with God’s omniscience, humans cannot have free will, although it certainly appears as though we do. See Chapter 10 on Freedom for my detailed take on free will.

Many believers try to reconcile this dilemma by claiming that although we have free will, God knows how we will choose in every situation. I don’t buy it. Knowing what we are going to do means to me that our choices are already set as part of the big plan. What if God dabbles in quantum physics, as I would expect any competent God would do?  In the multi-verse model, there are an infinite number of me’s and you’s. In this universe, I choose vanilla ice cream, but in another universe, I choose pistachio instead. Now, let’s say that our omniscient God knows every choice of every me in every universe. Does this solve the problem?  If I am able to make different choices but only in completely different universes, does that constitute free will for me?  This still does not solve the problem for me. First of all, there’s really no evidence yet that these proposed other universes actually exist. And even if they do, they appear to be independent of each other, since we have no contact or input from our other selves, like, for example what kind of ice cream I like.

What’s wrong with having one or the other?  Which one is more important to you – God’s omniscience or human free will?  Maybe God really isn’t all-knowing. Maybe He set things in motion but doesn’t know how things are going to work out. I bet, though, that most believers couldn’t accept the idea of a God with limited power, and if they had to choose, would feel better with humans not having free will.