What Do You Mean by “Free Will”?

C Michael Patton@ www.reclaimingthemind.org deals with the concept of "free will". He considers:

Do you mean:

1. That a person is not forced from the outside to make a choice?
2. That a person is responsible for his or her choices?
3. That a person is the active agent in a choice made?
4. That a person is free to do whatever they desire?
5. That a person has the ability to choose contrary to their nature (who they are)?

Does a person have the ability to choose against their nature?

Notice all these factors that you did not choose that go into the set up for any given “free will” decision made:

• You did not choose when you were to be born.
• You did not choose where you were to be born.
• You did not choose you parents.
• You did not choose your influences early in your life.
• You did not choose whether you were to be male of female.
• You did not choose your genetics.
• You did not choose your temperament.
• You did not choose your looks.
• You did not choose your body type.
• You did not choose your physical abilities.

However, we still have some massive difficulties. Here are a few:

• A neutralized will amounts to your absence from the choice itself.
• A neutralized will amounts to perpetual indecision.
• A neutralized will amounts to arbitrary decisions, which one cannot be held responsible for.
  

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’” Acts 17:26

In his conclusion, he suggests: "I encourage you to read J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig in their book Philosophical Foundations for a Biblical Worldview. They disagree with my thesis here, but they present a strong case for the other side".