Divine Omniscience and Voluntary Action

This is a paper I wrote for my current grad class. It discusses an article by Nelson Pike entitled "Divine Omniscience and Voluntary Action." It's kind of nerdy so read at your own risk.

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Much of Pike’s essay centers on the example of Jones mowing his lawn. The primary argument is that, if God is omniscient, humans cannot have voluntary actions. In continuing to revisit this illustration, Pike reinforces the idea that, if God knew in the past what we were going to do, we would not have the choice to decide what we will do. With the example of Jones, Pike argues that, if Jones decided not to mow the lawn, then Jones would cause one of God’s beliefs to be false. In a sense, Pike’s belief is that God’s foreknowledge precludes us from having the choice to change because it makes God a liar.

I disagree with Pike’s assessment, because he appears to consider God a temporal being who cannot work independently of time. When we treat God as a human and give Him human limitations, we will see his power reduced and expectations diminished. Pike argues that, if a human changes her mind and avoids acting in the way “God knows,” then she is going to prove that God is not perfect.

I believe that Pike’s argument fails because he does not take into consideration the belief that that God functions in a way where time does not constrain Him. God’s knowledge 80 years ago about something today does not mean that it was going to happen. I believe that God’s knowledge exists outside of the boundaries of time.

This presupposition is what much of the argument hinges on. If we accept that God’s belief “80 years ago” is a belief constrained by the limitations of time, then it is true that Jones must mow His lawn or make God into a liar. However, if we can acknowledge that God ultimately exists and functions outside the limitations of time, then His beliefs are not from the past or in the future. They are eternal beliefs that reflect how the world is at a given time, not what God knows will happen. This is a very challenging concept to grasp, but I believe that God exists outside of time, but is able to work within time. Much like a two-dimensional world cannot relate to three dimensions, I believe that God is in a dimension beyond our comprehension. This is what makes this dilemma difficult to figure out or understand. However, I do think that God is able to relate to us in our limited comprehension. That is part of the miracle of God; while He is timeless, He finds ways to interact with His creation which is bound by time.

I believe that God is omniscient, but humans still take voluntary actions. Even if God knows tonight what I am doing tomorrow, that does not ascribe Him control over all of my daily decisions. Because God is the “I AM,” He is a being that exists outside of the boundaries of this world. His knowledge of past, present, and future events in our lives does not rob us of voluntary action. As a matter of fact, this type of knowledge allows God to be active in the world providentially.