Will or wills, that is the question

It's simple. Why haven't I thought of this before?  I was studying all things of the universe, you know...why can't I sneeze and hold my eyes open, and it occurred to me, there is either only one will or many. I'm not going to tell which is true, that you'll have to decide for yourself. My premise is actually quite simple, again, there is either one will or many. Oh...yes...I should define what I mean by will.

I think I mean, by 'will'; the desire to do something and the ability to act upon that desire. I'm not claiming having the desire means you attain the desire (though I will claim a unique aspect of that very thing, in a moment).  No, just for the moment think of 'will' as desiring something, specifically an outcome of a decision, and then the ability to act upon that desire.

Before we go any further, this is a philosophical and theological question. For I am proposing that there is either one will (and God would posses it...alone) or many (and God may posses them alone...or not). So this is not a question of God 'doing' anything (like predestination-though the implications will be just below the surface), no this is about the desire to do and the ability to carry out that desire.

Of course, starting with the simplest aspect of the argument, one side, so to speak, we have one solitary absolute (it would have to be) will. This would be possesed by God, of course. He wills something and it absolutely happens. There's not much to argue here.  If it is only one will, and it is God's, then we don't hinder or exacerbate its implementation. Jeremiah 1:5 seems to allude to this, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

God wills it, under the 'one-will' theory, and it happens. No other force could thrwart the implementation of His will. The problem, at least in my estimation, is that this means God 'willed' Adam and Eve to sin. If there is one will, and God's alone, it was the plan (His will) that they eat that fruit and plunge the world into sin, which would also be God's will. Of course, in the 'one-will' theory God's will was to bring Christ into the world to fix His plan of putting it into the sin He willed it to have.

Theologians throughout the ages have realized and proposed maybe there is 'multiple-wills'. This theory would propose that there is more than one will, they may be contrary or be agreeable, that would be another argument entirely. God may posses more than one will-in this theory. He may have what we could call an 'Ultimate-will', this would be a 'big-picture' sort of thing. We can see this in a passage like, 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  If the 'one-will' were true would not all be saved?  Of course you can propose that 'all' means all that He wills to be, which fits the 'one-will' theory nicely.

The 'multiple-wills' theory could open the possibility of us, human beings that is, possessing a will. I'll not use the usual terms 'free-will' or even 'libertarian free will' as this theory is not about the 'freedom' of the wills but the existence of them. In theory I could have a will, and not be free, it could be controlled or manipulated by another. God's 'Ultimate-will' (in the 'multiple-wills' theory) would be free, in the usual sense of the word. It would have influences, maybe just His other 'wills', but true freedom it would not be. A strictly 'free' will would only be possessed by God in the 'one-will' theory.

In the 'Multiple-wills' world I could have a will that desires certain things and an ability to reach that desire. God, in this theory, could work His 'wills' (as He would have to have multiple too) in opposition, conjunction, and/or perfect harmony with our wills. God's 'Ultimate-will' would never be in danger, as this would relate to 'big-picture' plans, for example; the plan of salvation, a created universe, and when this world ends. His other 'wills' would be moved by the other creatures (mostly us humans) 'wills'. For example, God would be able to adjust His 'will' for Israel as they rejected Christ as Messiah, Jesus seems to say as much, Luke13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!"  And yet, God's 'Ultimate-will' for Israel could still be carried out. Depending on your theology it could be restored or fulfilled by some other means.

This leads us to the idea of our will. Do we have wills?  It seems intuitive that we do, just choosing each word for this project seems an act of my will. Of course, if there is only one 'will' then mine is non-existent and I'm predetermined to do what I was willed to do. I'm only doing what I was willed to do, which is to propose that there may be a 'multiple-will' theory, but of course it may be that there isn't, so I'm just giving an illusion of me willing to do what I was willed to do. Some would argue that we have a type of compatibilism, our will doesn't over run God's. That implies 'multiple-wills' as well, we can just argue the freedom of those wills, which we won't do here. 

So, we are left with only one other option, an objection of sorts. What if there is a third possibility, some might surmise to be?  What if there is actual a 'no-will' world. What if there is nothing, no one, nada-a will-less existence. Nothing is deciding or implementing their desires (and of course nothing is 'no thing'). 

May I ask? May I wonder? I'm not sure if I'm willing or not?  You decide (well, you might not be able to, you know -if there is only one will!)!

#will #philosophy #Bible