In a minute
How can God know everything, and be in charge of everything, and yet we be free and responsible? All three faiths hold both halves and then admit that the way they fit together is a mystery. All three have also seen long arguments between those who stress God's sovereignty and those who stress human freedom.
Shared ground
- Nothing outside God's knowledge. The Qur'an says "Not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it" (6:59, Pickthall). Jesus says of sparrows, "Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will" (Matthew 10:29, WEBBE). Proverbs says, "A man's heart deviseth his way; But the LORD directeth his steps" (16:9, JPS 1917).
- Real choice. Each faith also speaks of a choice that is ours.
We are asked to choose
I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life
Deuteronomy 30:19 · JPS 1917work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13 · WEBBELo! this is an Admonishment, that whosoever will may choose a way unto his Lord. Yet ye will not, unless Allah willeth.
Qur'an 76:29-30 · Pickthall- Free will is needed for justice. Maimonides argued that if God decreed a person's nature, the Torah and reward and punishment would be pointless. The Qur'an says "Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope" (2:286, Pickthall).
- Trust. Jesus teaches his followers to pray, "Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10, WEBBE). Muslims say in sha' Allah, "if God wills". Jewish tradition speaks of bitachon, trust in God.
Honest differences
Honest differences
- Judaism. "Everything is foreseen yet freedom of choice is granted" (Pirkei Avot 3:15, Sefaria numbering; a saying of Rabbi Akiva). Maimonides taught that free will is granted to all, and that everything is done in accord with God's will and yet we are responsible for our deeds (Mishneh Torah, Repentance 5:1-4). Fate in the Islamic sense of qadar is not a Jewish article of faith.
- Christianity. The great argument is over predestination. Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:4-5 speak of those God "predestined"; 1 Timothy 2:4 says God "desires all people to be saved" (WEBBE). The Reformed Westminster Confession teaches that some are predestined to life and others passed over, while insisting that God is not the author of sin and that creaturely liberty is not removed. Catholics hold that God predestines no one to hell (CCC 1037). Orthodox Christians speak of grace and human freedom working together. Christians still disagree, and they say so.
- Islam. Qadar is the sixth article for many Muslims (Sahih Muslim 8). Sunni teaching speaks of God's knowledge, writing, will and creation (see Islam: the divine decree). It also holds people to account: "Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts" (13:11, Pickthall). Early scholars argued. The Qadariyya and Mu'tazila stressed human freedom and God's justice, their opponents God's omnipotence, and the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools sought a middle way. Shia teaching says "neither compulsion nor total delegation" (amr bayn al-amrayn).
- The deepest parallel. Each faith has a "sovereignty" voice and a "freedom" voice, and the main body of each tradition keeps both.
Read next
- If God knows everything, are we free?, the fuller philosophical page
- Judaism: Covenant
- Christianity: Forgiveness and life everlasting
- Islam: Belief in the divine decree
Think of a plan that failed. What grew in its place?
Back to the overview.