From: BKF@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta
Subject: Re: Free Will and Satan
Date: 16 Apr 92 05:22:36 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

In article <1992Apr15.201512.7843@news.nd.edu>, Brennan.J.Murphy.53@nd.edu says:
>
>In a Philosophy of Religion class I am taking the question arose whether
>the devil could become good again.  My professor thinks that the answer is
>"no"  because the devil's will has become so flawed to the point where
>it cannot change its course.  My question is what things have to occur for
>a person to lose their free will?   Is it possible to use your free will
>to altrer the nature of all future uses of your free will.  Is the reverse
>true, could I use my free will in such a way as to ensure that all future
>uses of my will will only be towards the good.

In my view, free will is each enitity's birthright.  We learn via
experience.  Even a serial killer, a Hitler, can learn from their
experiences and then choose a wiser course. Now, I am speaking from the
point of view of the immmortality of the entity or "soul," ie. one learns
over time and this time is not limited to one human biological life.

Secondly, the Christian idea of a Devil is bullshit!  There is no primal
evil force in the Universe, but there may be in your own life, if you
*believe* there is a primal evil force.   Most people who believe in
a devil interpret acts of ignorance by humans as acts of the devil.
In the absence of knowledge, without knowledge, humans are *in* a
state of ignorance, and will thus engage in the behaviours of ignorance
that could be misinterpreted as acts sourced by a demonic force.

Giving up your free will begins when you accept what someone else says
instead of exercising your own faculties of perception and discrimina-
tion.  Shakespeare said it well "to thine own self be true."  Be true
to the genuine, unique self that is you, and you will automatically,
naturally, say *no* when you mean NO and *yes* when you mean YES.  This
is the key to self-power, ie. free will.  If you allow yourself to be
programmed by the dictates of society, the church, the hometown, the
country, you will give up your power with every symbol and aphorism
you believe in.  I've been through it,  I know from where I speak.

To get in touch with your free will in a way that will not leave you,
you have to start trusting yourself and your faculties of perception,
discrimination and choice - no matter what.  Don't be afraid of failure or
success.  Learn by your own chosen experiences, and the results, and
you will find yourself not only self-empowered (the result of operating in
free will) but in posession of some amount of wisdom (the gem of experience.)

From your post, your professor sounds brain-dead already.  Keep your
wits about you.  Here's a question you might ask him, "Given that
we are attempting to be good and avoid being bad, and, given that
knowledge tends to lead to good results (what we are attempting to
be or achieve) and that ignorance tends to lead to error (what we call bad
and want to avoid), and that evil is bad, why did God throw Eve
and Adam out of the garden for eating a plant which gave them
knowledge of good and evil? ? ? "  A puzzle here.   Sounds like "God"
wanted Adam and Eve to be *kept* in a state lacking knowledge, ie.,
ignorance.  But I thought ignorance was the domain of Satan?  Aaahh!
Some major cognitive dissonance here for Christians.

I suggest you read "The Gods of Eden" by William Bramley, (1989, Dahlin
Family Press) for more info on the Genesis +++ stories.  You will be
surpised and perhaps shocked.  Bramley's onto something.  It's good.

For free will - trust yourself, believe in yourself, love yourself,
think for yourself, listen to yourself,  follow your inner urges,
do what nourishes you, what fulfills you, what serves your life, be in
harmony with your body, and know that you are not "it", but you are a
part of All.  The freedom in the term "free will" belongs to you.  It is
yours.  It is your birthright.  You are allowed to *live* it.


Perhaps this helps in some way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bob Funkhouser               | My views do not represent those of my employer
 bkf@slacvm.slac.stanford.edu |-----------------------------------------------
 Menlo Park, CA               | "An unlived life is not worth examining"
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Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta