The Rule of Free Will

So, in my mind ... I'm legit just waiting at this point. And I'm convinced that soon enough, most of it won't matter. Well, at least not in the immediate sense. Sometimes things are on my mind that are acknowledgments of a thing existing, or hints at where my mind is at - but nothing that should be taken too seriously. It might seem serious - and I'd try to do my best to take it seriously; But at the end of the day there's only so much I can seriously do.

That leaves room for improvement further down the road. And this is one of those instances.


Regarding 'the Riddle of Sorrows', I had a bit of a moment today. Talking back and forth with a friend, someone who's also emotionally invested into the politics of the day, he - I'm not sure what triggered it - pivoted into matters of faith. I suppose it's "the usual" stuff - the type of issues the average believer who's trying to spread the word might encounter. But it wasn't me initiating it. So, he wasn't asking in defense; And I wasn't trying to "get "it" through" to him.
And I suppose it's fair. I mean - now I know that I'm not alone with this feeling. Looking at the world ... feeling like only divine intervetion could save us at this point.

So, I'm not sure what the question was - but, as I tried to explain my perspective to him, I came to formulate it in a way that might just be the right answer here. The easy and simple answer.


God gave us free will.
[And "that's it". Well, not really - but I have a hard time recollecting what I said. Right now I'm a little stuck because, that statement is also like a starting ground for all sorts of questions and rebuttals. To that end:]
> In the old Testament, 'the Fear of God' was a guiding principle. Subsequently there's the matter, or demand, for Obedience. "But God doesn't want that" - so the (right-minded) Christian thinks, as within the new Covenant the focus is shifted towards compassion.
The key statement however, or primary "figure", is that when our compliance is enforced - as by whatever that would have us be fearful of God - it is no longer our free will.

So, free means free. We can do whatever we want - within the confines of our abilities - and that also ends up being the problem.
[A part of me used to think that with things going the way they were foretold, we are able to see how evil some of us are. I also like to find ways to disarm that statement. To make it less judgmental. To blame circumstances or unfortunate conditions. But those ideas lose their meaning the further up we go in the "food chain". Best I can do is assume that they're really trying to do good, but ... people who actively work towards making it more and more difficult for us to have reasonable conversations ... they're also thereby cancelling themselves from that excuse.
At this point then, we're witnessing the "late consequences" of a power dynamic. One everyone should be pretty familiar with. Goodness is Weak, Evil is Strong. The paradoxon of Tolerance, some might call it. The Narcissist taking more and more - until someone might rise up to stop them, to then get pissed about it because they're a Narcissist. And maybe they just play the game better. They act like they're censored when people disagree - like silently wiggling the "don't judge" finger - while moving forward on consent they like "legitimately earned". Well, they're being criticized from a perspective of broader concerns. Be it humanitarian, scientific or whatver - but that has also kind of created an ecosystem in which the strength of the left is almost entirely built upon the transgressions of the right. I guess we can formulate the rule as: "Consolidate and don't Engage. Talk to walk, don't walk to talk."
So, why it is a problem should be clear; And "why God won't do anything about it" is "the usual" reaction. Well, it's what my friend was coming back to. To that I can only respond with prophecy. Saying how to me it's kind of scary how much of the words of the revelation that used to be empty or mysterious make sense now. So, to me it came down to statements as in Revelation 18:19 that speak of a swift end ("it happened within an hour") - seeing it as "like in an Anime" where things get more and more tense towards that end until somehow "Boom". And I'm sure that some people have that privilege of being merely bystanders. I myself would be on the other side of that - and I must wonder. Like, what's my part there? Do I just have to wait, or is there something I must do?
TLDR: The problem however is also the point.

I suppose that "they" might get a raise out of having "gamed the system" - like mining salt just to pour it into our wounds. We on the other hand fail merely by trying to do the right thing. We focus on the problem, try to comprehend it - but the problem, fundamentally, is the freedom granted to us. Which, sure, amounts to a lack of freedom for a lot of us; But as that's the final conclusion, the solution would appear to be that of "ending their freedom/free will". It may seem a little counter-productive even, to just focus on using our own in a productive capacity, when it means to turn away. But it is from turning towards different things that we learn that we can be flexible. Uh ... ]

It may seem like we're asked to "choose slavery" - but what is really asked from us, well, is best taken from God Himself. This is yet another pitfall or dead end ~sortof~ that we may end up in. But, maybe try to reduce what you think the demands are to as little as possible.

But yea. That's it. Until "the day to come" - things are the way they are. Some may feel emboldened believing that God is dead or whatever - but that is their choice.
They may argue that it isn't - like that there is no choice - but ugh, that's way tooo deep down the rabbit hole. A stinking cave of a rabbit hole.

But yea, "the Plan (of Salvation)" eventually falls apart when certain things are just allowed to continue. And as certain things were foretold, there's also an ending that was foretold. It's like ... plain and simple. Some time ago people that were down a dark path could have argued that they only did what was right by them - but as things have escalated, that eventually ends being a valid excuse.


Uhm, OK. Hitting the Breaks. And so it goes on and on. I threw in the first note because ... there's a certain kind of skepticism we've kind of been conditioned to have. But it's like ... "the oldest trick in the Book". Like, maybe even literally.
I mean, 'the Oldest Trick in the Book' would be to be Loyal to God. To trust Him. That's at least what separates the wise person from a fool according to the Old Testament. Sure, worse case scanario would be a Martyr's death. And if you were good at being a good person, it might even be a gruesome spectacle - rather than a quick death somewhere in the shadows. And when it comes to that kind of stuff ... I don't really want to talk them into a thing. So, I'm reserved when it comes to that. What one is willing to die for ... that's like ... a personal thing. Deeply so.
But focusing on the extremes - to whatever degrees of absurdity - is like a standard defense. To get one to halt by saying "But have you considered this? Do you want your babies to be turned into Hamburgers? And what about Dragons?".
So - I'm not sure if me rambling on about it helps anyone. But I feel like it's death-spiral.

So, let's and that also ends up being the problem ... though it is a strong rhetorical device I find to get the point accross. I mean, regarding the riddle of sorrows. I mean, that's just the answer, right there. And that it needs to be disregarded - is also the conundrum with it. We may call it "the paradox of salvation". Yea, kind of doing the whole "duality shtick" - like, no pain no gain or what comes to mind - but more like ... "the pickle" or "an anomaly" (Matrix Reference, where in some aspects the Machines are like the Good guys. Works for the monologues - though it's not an absolute thing).
But - there's also no going back in time. Like, if you're reading this ... it's more of a 'choice' like one would expect. So, free will and choices - I think - are often seen as virtually the same, but in reality the freedom of our mind doesn't stop existing between the instances where we have to choose.

Well - I suppose there's still some work that needs to be done.
So, in short - for now - the problem isn't a 'thing' as much as it is an area on the spectrum of 'a thing'. Where you are, where you want to be and where you "have to be" on that spectrum - that's life. The inescapable reality of existing with this freedom "given" to us. I mean, it may be worth noting that we're not 'given' freedom like ... it's a special gift. We're born free - as that is what exalts us within creation. The true "extra" would be if it were taken from us. And yea, this world is a little extra like that. It is at the very least different from "raw reality" - in that this world was created with a certain intent and all that. So, we're less free as the laws of nature inhibit us. But we're also more free in that we can extend beyond that which is merely on our mind.

One trick I learned is to basically second guess my expectations. Which is why I'm not comfortable with just extrapolating a conclusion from that while technically there's still other possibilities. My belief in God doesn't hinge on a particular outcome, though my faith does. But the more I want 'it' to happen, or the more I think I need 'it' to happen the more I establish an expectation. On the other hand, having no expectations doesn't really seem good either. But again ... they don't really have a bearing on how I should live my life. I believe. Maybe that means that 'faith'/religion seems a bit ... empty at times. Maybe even cynically so. And ... I don't think I have to explain that to you. I mean, I suppose that everyone is intimately familiar with the matter. And what agency you think you have due to ... whatever ups or downs come with it ... doesn't change the fundamental reality of good and evil. If you want to be evil due to some personal reason ... I kind of get it. But once others are like dragged into it ... that's when a line is being crossed. That is just so. You can't argue that away!

"Did you find this helpful?"