Dear Linda:

The doctrine of Free Will is probably the most confusing and misunderstood doctrines within the Church. It can be difficult to understand yet it is the fundamental ontological reality that not only makes us human but is the basis of all else that we do.

We all have free will and that free will will never be thwarted by God. God has given us this free will as part of the image of God to which He has created us. This allowance of free will is an act of love. God loves us so much that He has given us the capacity to love and to choose. Love must be chosen, it cannot be forced. Free Will gives us that ability to choose. Without it we would be mere animals enslaved by instinct and reactions to environmental stimuli.

That is a quick and dirty explanation of Free Will itself, but what about the scenario you propose?

If a person breaks into my house and attacks me, am I thwarting his free will by protecting myself and fighting back? No.

The attacker has made his choice to attack me. I made my choice to defend myself. Both his and my free will are operative. If I prevent him from harming me then the actions of my will overpowered his. His will has not been thwarted, only the intended effect of the attacker has been thwarted.

If the attacker succeeds in harming me, then his actions of will overpowered mine. This time my will has not been thwarted only the effect I was hoping for was thwarted.

Will and action are two different things. Will cannot be thwarted, actions can. People can make whatever choices they want, but if they act on those choices they may find others trying to resist or prevent their actions.

If God Himself intervened in this scenario and saved my life from the attacker, He would do that by means that does not intrude upon free will. For example, God may give me the confidence to defend myself, or even give me the knowledge spontaneously to know how to defend myself, give me extra strength to overcome the attacker. God could send an angel to stand between me and the attacker. As a result the attacker may change his mind about attacking me. God may inspire me to leave my home and go to the store thus not being home when the attacker arrives.

This last one happens a LOT. Many people on 9/11 found themselves late for work, cars not starting, etc., which saved their lives. My own daughter had an experience like that during the Oklahoma City bombing.

God may send an angel to puncture the tires of the attacker's car to delay him from coming to my house. Perhaps in the delay the attacker will change his mind. Perhaps God will cause the gun to misfire causing a delay in the attacker's intention that may give me the opportunity to run away, or perhaps in that delay the attacker will change his mind.

But God will not force the attacker to change his mind. God can try to persuade the attacker to change his mind, but will not force him. To do that would be to destroy Free Will for all mankind.

The question now becomes, "Why does God not step in to thwart the action, or to cause everyone's car not to start on 9/11, etc."

Well, there are probably two reasons for this:

1) If God interfered with all negative actions of people, or did something like cause everyone to oversleep or cars not start on 9/11, then Free Will becomes only lip service and not an actionable reality with real consequences. For Free Will to be real it must be more than an ability to choose, it must also include a general ability to act out on that choice and to cause consequences. God, in his wisdom, can interfere with actions here and there, on an individual basis, for His own good purposes, but to do that for everyone at all times would be to make Free Will ineffectual and non-consequential.

So why does God choose to interfere with the actions or results of some people and not others? Why was my daughter spared from being killed in the Oklahoma City bombing while others were not?

Only God knows that answer, but in any event, we must remember the second reason below.

2) God has a different point-of-view than human beings. Good can come out of any evil. There is no such thing as an evil (lemon) that God cannot turn into good (lemonade). God's primary concern is for our soul, not for our bodily well-being. What good is it to be whole in body and life and go to hell?

Regardless of any evil that becomes us, our soul is the main concern. God knows what we need for our soul. He knows what will help us grow in spirit. And God will NEVER allow anything into our lives that go beyond that. He will not allow anything into our lives that we cannot handle. If something happens to us we can KNOW, even if we do not feel, that we can handle it because God would not allow it into our lives otherwise.

This might sound like a contradiction, but when God promises this, He fulfills that promise without violating anyone's free will.

For God, had my daughter and 3 day old granddaughter been killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, He would have created good from that tragedy. Their deaths would not be the sad thing for Him as it would be for me. My daughter (hopefully) and my granddaughter would be with Him in paradise. That is a wonderful thing. Those left behind, such as myself, will grieve, but the tragedy can result in good somehow for me and my family. We need only look for that good and we open to it.

For some reason, my daughter overslept and missed her appointment at the Federal Building. The sound of the bomb awoke her. Her oversleeping saved her life and the life of her daughter. This may have been a coincidence, or it could have been a divine intervention where God allowed her to sleep. Why? I have no idea. Why was my daughter and granddaughter spared and the others were not? There is no way to know, but God has his reasons. Maybe my granddaugher will grow up and discover the cure for cancer. Maybe she will not do that but a great, great, great, great, granddaughter will. Only God knows the reason. But in this story no one's free will was intruded upon. People made the choices they made. The alarm clock malfunctioning did not intrude on my daughter's decision to get up in time for the appointment.

God will not intrude upon our ability to choose, but He can, when it serves His will, intrude on the effects and perhaps arrange a coincidence like the alarm clock not going off for my daughter, or a miracle like a bullet mysteriously missing my head even when the attacker shoots me from point-blank range.

How does God decide who receives this extraordinary intrusion upon effects? Only God knows. Maybe God has a mission for the person that has not yet been accomplished. Perhaps God knows that the person needs to be saved from harm because his family cannot handle his death at this time. (remember, God will not allow anything into our lives that we cannot handle).

Why does God allow others to be killed, for example. Well, first, such things are the natural result of a fallen world; it is a natural consequence. God normally allows the natural consequences to happen unless His will demands an extraordinary intrusion.

It can also be the case that in those cases God knows that the family can handle it. Perhaps the death will cause people to get closer to Him. Perhaps it will cause others to go into a faith crisis that will eventually bring them to great faith. Who knows?  Only God.

I do not know if any of this makes sense. Perhaps I have only muddied the waters even more. But, these are my thoughts on the matter.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary