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If freewill is so sacred why does the OT and NT have so many examples of freewill being removed? Like in 2 Kings 1:10 and other places, if God is fine with free

If freewill is so sacred why does the OT and NT have so many examples of freewill being removed? Like in 2 Kings 1:10 and other places, if God is fine with freewill being ignored, and God never changes, then he can act, and if he can act would he not be considered unjust by Jesus words in Luke 18:1-8? Not a gotcha or academic question, just something on my mind recently.

tylershuster 7y ago
I'm not positive that the 2 Kings example is exactly free will being removed, because Elijah asks God for what happens, and God does respond to prayer (praying with faith is another issue). But I do see what you're asking — how God seems to step in more often in the OT. Thinking of all of human history from ~4000BC until now where Mankind "grows up" over time, the concept of God as Father works — parents put a lot of restrictions on their kids when they're young to keep them safe, and remove those restrictions over time. Even if the child does something unsafe at a certain point a parent just has to say "now that you know the consequences, you have to live with them."
- fellowniusmonk 7y ago
  I mean the people who got torched had their freewill removed without warning, death by direct action of God. The issue is not with boundary setting, the issue is with Jesus seemingly calling himself (God) unjust, since freewill doesn't seem like an inviolable issue, if God doesn't have a hard restriction on effecting freewill (which seems to be the case) then he is seemingly the same as the unjust judge? I understand the argument from Job that people aren't to question God because we are simple clay to him, or the argument that people are evil and deserve nothing less than eternal suffering, but since Jesus set the expectation and made the connection directly in Luke it seems like a non-upheld internal measure/standard of God's own?

tylershuster 7y ago

I'm not positive that the 2 Kings example is exactly free will being removed, because Elijah asks God for what happens, and God does respond to prayer (praying with faith is another issue). But I do see what you're asking — how God seems to step in more often in the OT. Thinking of all of human history from ~4000BC until now where Mankind "grows up" over time, the concept of God as Father works — parents put a lot of restrictions on their kids when they're young to keep them safe, and remove those restrictions over time. Even if the child does something unsafe at a certain point a parent just has to say "now that you know the consequences, you have to live with them."

fellowniusmonk 7y ago
I mean the people who got torched had their freewill removed without warning, death by direct action of God. The issue is not with boundary setting, the issue is with Jesus seemingly calling himself (God) unjust, since freewill doesn't seem like an inviolable issue, if God doesn't have a hard restriction on effecting freewill (which seems to be the case) then he is seemingly the same as the unjust judge? I understand the argument from Job that people aren't to question God because we are simple clay to him, or the argument that people are evil and deserve nothing less than eternal suffering, but since Jesus set the expectation and made the connection directly in Luke it seems like a non-upheld internal measure/standard of God's own?