@prothero,
prothero;148105 wrote:If god already knows the history of the world from beginning to end and stands outside of time in eternity (the usual portrayal of omniscience) then it is hard to see how free will (defined as the ability to do otherwise) could also be true. .
Well, it may be hard to see, but nevertheless, to take an example from Leibniz, it is true that God new that Judas would sin, and it is also true that God knew that Judas would sin
freely, which is to say, of his own choice. The fact that God knew that Judas would sin is not inconsistent with Judas choosing to sin and not being compelled to sin. Naturally, had Judas not chosen to sin, and, therefore, not sinned, God would not have knows that Judas would sin. So, whether God knew that Judas would sin was up to Judas, and not up to God, just as whether Judas would sin was up to Judas and not up to God. God's knowing that Judas would sin did not force Judas to sin, but Judas's sinning forced God to know that Judas would sin. For, if Judas was going to sin, how could an omniscient God not know he would? So, it is because Judas would sin that God knew he would, and
not because God knew Judas would sin that Judas sinned.