From: utzoo!decvax!microsof!uw-beave!cornell!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!5941ux!dje
Newsgroups: net.religion
Title: Re: Re: Foreknowledge => Determinism, no - (nf)
Article-I.D.: 5941ux.245
Posted: Tue Apr 19 10:57:28 1983
Received: Fri Apr 22 08:51:36 1983
References: inuxa.197

A comment in response to the question of whether God can know what you will do
if your choice is to be based on the outcome of a random future event (such
as the flip of a coin):

First, your choice is still your choice, since you are setting the rule that
the coin toss will determine your course of action.  (You can still break
your own rule and take the "heads" action if the coin comes up "tails.")

Second, we mortals are constrained to a linear flow of time.  The future is
inaccessible to us until it arrives.  Can we know for sure whether God is
similarly constrained?  (an aside:  Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" gave
a whimsical view of a person who slipped out of the linear time constraint.)

			Dave Ellis
			Bell Labs, Piscataway NJ
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