Ask a Pastor Column

Q: How can people really have free will if God knows everything and is all-powerful?

A: An important question! Are human beings morally independent? Can we make choices and are we accountable and responsible for those choices? No one talks about punishing computers for following their programing, but the whole concept of crime and punishment rests upon the idea that people are able to make decisions, can learn from their decisions and ought to be punished when their decisions are wrong. But is free will a reality and how does it line up with the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful God?

This m...