Was the Bible written to give people the chance to make their own decision?
439211
YES BUT WHAT MAN WOULD NOT WANT TO BE WITH OUT GOD HE IS THE ANSWER NO MAN CAN TELL ME DIFFERENT AM A BLACK WOMAN AND I HAVE STRONG BELIEFS IN GOD I WILL TELL EVERYONE WHO WILL LISTEN THAT GOD IS REAL
719669
"God" if there is such a thing is not/could not be encompassed by any book written by humans.  If one truly studies all the scholarly research regarding the Bible, one can see that the various writers each had their own biased agenda and are therefore suspect.\n\nEach woman must make her own choice with her own best ethical understanding.  The society has an obligation to offer her the highest education (not the excuse for education we now offer)she is able to attain in order to have the fullest use of her own faculties with which she may decide matters of importance. The only role anyone else should have in it is making it so that she may exercise her choice in a legal safe environment.  Whether she chooses to abort or to carry to term, the society has an obligation to care for her and support her decision to make her own choice.  \n\nThe Bible has instances of justified infanticide and incest. Of course the definitions vary according to the society and time period. Each of these issues is a social construct, usually designed to have men control women.  This has clearly not been a good plan for anyone.
698809
People have the free will to chose for him or herself.  Those who can be "helped to convert" are spiritually weak to begin with.
691604
God gave us free will to make our own choices.Hitler had the same free will we all have.What he chose to do with it, was his free choice. I might guess that God was not liking what was happening, but had to allow it to happen.
357445
People are free to make their own decisions in the area of religion and personal philosophy. That keeps this subject simple and trouble free.
1067573
I am not exactly sure if the Bible says " you do or do not have freewill" specifically. But I believe that we do not have freewill, and the definition of freewill is "lack of internal compulsions". it talks in Romans nine how every intentional act is predestined to happen by God, and how even the evil doers, are used to accomplish his plan. this is why we "End up doing what God wants anyway." I believe that bad things happen for a reason as well and that they are Gods plan for our life. We may not be able to see the reason and we may never be able to, but that does not mean it was not his plan. And any suffering we endure is Gods will, and it may not seem fair or just to us, but Paul says in Romans who is the clay to question the potter, I fully agree with this, who are you and I to question the creator of the universe, and our heavenly father? I encourage you to read, "The Christian view of Man",  I cant remember the authors first name but his last name is Machen. Also Romans Chapter Nine, and parts of Hebrews.
434239
If the destiny is already written then where is the free will.\n\nWe make our own destiny.
975283
I suppose he had his own authority since he founded his own church.  But I agree, the Deuterocanon should not have been taken out of the Bible.  I have pointed out on this site more than once that Protestants would be much better off to read them, regardless of whether they believe in them or not.
276159
Hmm...this is an interesting question. \nI suppose I believe that everyone has been chosen, both by God and the Dark One. They both have work for us to do and a purpose. The question, I suppose, would be who we choose to follow. At one particular point or another, a person reaches a "fork in the road," and has to decide which way to go. It's all a part of Freewill.
613831
ABSOLUTELY NOT! GOD DOES NOT FORCE HIMSELF UPON US! Whom ever is doing this needs to go back and read the bible again. We  have the right to choose how we live. Good or bad. In the end we alone are left with our own end results.
161703
haha male chicken. i like that!\nActually, it was a bit of both. The bible says, "those he foreknew, he predestined, to become children of God." meaning, he does know, but at the same time, we are not puppets. We have a choice to do right or wrong. A free will.Peter chose wrong, was sorry for it later,and was forgiven.
688439
I understand what you mean- most people choose to believe only what agrees with them. If something written says what they are doing is wrong they then decide that specific passage is not correct. They want to be seen as perfect so they pick and choose what they want to benefit them. I believe the Bible in its entirety- If you do that then you can't go wrong!
1068341
Modern textual analysis of the Bible leaves little doubt that it is a human document produced by the work of many hands who have been editing, adding, and changing (and, plausibly, deleting) over the centuries.  The Book of Revelation was not intended to scare the crap out of people; it was written during a difficult time of persecution in the Roman Empire and was intended to bolster the faith of believers who, given the violence being done to Christians, were beginning to lose hope in the final victory of Christ's return.\n\nYour final question is the tough one.  It's tough because it requires one to know the mind of God in order to answer it correctly.  I, for one, don't presume to know the mind of God.  I DO believe, however, that God loves us; I also believe that faith in God saves us from the doom of which you speak.  So why the free will - why have we been given the power to reject God's love?  If I think about it from God's perspective, it makes sense - we all want to be loved because someone CHOSE to love us, not because that's the only way that person is programmed to think or to act.  Love is by definition an act of free will - we cannot truly love until we CHOOSE to love.  Choosing not to love God dooms us to an eternity without a relationship with God - perhaps not the fire-and-brimstone of popular myth, but an eternal emptiness, a void that can never be filled.  That is an eternity of our own choosing.  I hope this makes sense - I don't even know if it makes complete sense to me, because it is a tough subject.
1045700
I totally agree. People should read the Bible if they are going to question it, praise it, or reject it. Then they are basing their decisions on what they KNOW rather than what they think they percieve.
253179
Your question sounds very skeptical.  Free will means that you are able to choose if you want to do what is God's will or not.  The bible teaches that following God's guidance is for our benefit, it is not a burden.  When you get a through understanding of what is that God requires of you you find this to be true.  Unfortunately many religions put heavy weights or burdens on the arms of people because they do not teach using the bible as the basis for their teaching.  If you do not follow God's commandments then you are using your free will to disobey and therefore you are sinning.  As you see, free will is being able to make your own decision: "will I serve God or will I disobey him?". You will have to respond for your actions when judgment comes.
131559
Simply that there are two things at work, here. Firt of all, Humans have Free Will, and their own free will can lead to problems, the natural consequences to their choices and their behavior. \n\nSecond thing is random chance, not a Gd who condemns and where every little thing is a result of some punishment, or, for that matter, a reward:::\n\n            ""Ecclesiastes 9:11  I returned, and saw under \n            the sun, that the race is not to the swift, \n            nor the battle to the strong, neither yet \n            bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of \n            understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; \n            BUT TIME AND CHANCE HAPPENS TO THEM ALL.""
74554
Because God wants us to have free will, the choice between doing right and wrong.