Atheistic confusion: “…if God is omnipotent doesn’t that mean that free will is nonexistent?”

Christian response…

Omnipotence has little to no correlation with free will concerning the angels or mankind. Generally, the atheist is adamant that God’s “omniscience” negates free will but as in most things in this life concerning wisdom and logic and truth, the atheist is incorrect.

Our Creator, Jesus Christ, has infused free will in both His angelic and human creation in order that love and relationship with Him can manifest in purity and authenticity. For some reason, God the Father desires relationship, true and loving relationship with His created beings; therefore, in order for love to manifest in purity and authenticity, one must possess the capacity to hate. In order for relationship to exist in purity, one must possess the free will to reject that relationship. In order for one to choose to do “good”…that person must possess the capacity to choose evil. If we’re programmed to act or think or respond in a predisposed-predestined manner, our actions-decisions and emotions are robotic and thus impotent and useless for God’s purposes.

I know my wife of 34-yrs with intimacy as I do both of my children. I can predict their decisions relevant to almost every choice they will make in this life. My ability via intimacy to know my wife’s or my children’s choices before they make them does NOT negate their free will to make those choices. God knows each of us intimately; in fact, He knows our thoughts before we think them (Psalm 139:2) but this omniscience does not negate our free will. God simply maneuvers through and around our decisions to accomplish His perfect will, His perfect Plan, which is immutable (Malachi 3:6).

God the Father desires that all men and women be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4) but He knows that “many” will reject Jesus Christ as Lord and die in sin (Matthew 7:13-14) but this knowledge does not negate our free will to choose to die in sin and Hell and God is faithful to allow our free will to reign supreme even if it means our own self-destruction by rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord for the mediation of our sin (John 3:16; John 8:24).