Does God Know What We Are Going To Do

[awyers]

I have been having a life long debate with my father over this one. I believe that God does know what we are going to do before we do it and yet we still have free will. He says that God cant know or else we wouldnt have free will.

Can someone please help me explain this to him. Any resources like CCC etc. would be greatly appreciated!

[Pontifex]

God does know the choices that we are going to make because he exists outside of time. (St. Augustine) He is the beginning and the end, therefore he can see the beginning and the end.

God's knowing (omniscience) doesn't take anything away from our free will. Just because I know which direction you are going to turn while driving on the road doesn't mean you are not exercising your free will to turn the wheel and drive the car. Knowledge of events and happenings is not the same as orchestrating those events and happenings to the detriment of free will.

Many theologians have articulated the view that God sees of the world from two aspects; one is from his transcendence, being able to see and know all. The other is from his immanence, where he exists and operates from the view of the world as it plays out in time. We see this aspect played out in the life of Jesus as he agonized in the Garden, and as he wept over Jerusalem. In his transcendence he knew that Jerusalem would reject him as the messiah.

It really is not debated in the Catholic tradition as to what God knows. He knows it all, past, present and future. However, there is some debate as to the knowledge that Jesus had as he lived his human life. "Pio Nono" has written a great article about this very topic, using the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Maybe I can get him to post it here at phatmass.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Pontifex

[cappie]

I can remember something in St Thomas' Summa but I can't put my hands on the references right away maybe someone else???

In the meantime:

God exists outside of time.
so, everything that you did, everything that you'll do and everything that
you're doing is happening "right now" for Him.

so "did God know" is an invalid question, because "did" implies past for Him.
your past, your future and present are occuring "at the same time" for him.