Do humans have free will or are we merely biological machines determined by our genes,

environment and other factors of which we have no control?

Would the world be a better place if we got

rid of the idea of free will? Today we will talk with our Talbot colleague

professor and philosopher Greg Gansl, about these questions,

and the new book that is out called Determine,

A Science of Life Without Free Will.

I'm your host, Sean McDowell.

I'm your co-host Scott Ray.

This is Think Bibically, brought to you by Talbot School Theology

by Ola University.

Greg, this is a lot of fun, but looking forward to this for a while.

Thanks.

We're going to dive right in and maybe frame this question for us. Some people might be thinking, an entire episode on

free will, we don't mean the biblical theological question, we mean philosophically, but why does the question of whether or not humans have free will matter?

Well, one of the strengths of this book that we're talking about is that

Saipalski actually realizes that if there is no free will then there is no moral responsibility.

Free will and moral responsibility are closely tied together.

I mean how can I be blamed for something that's not up to me?

And if his position is right that we are determined by our biochemistry or in our environment and all of these factors, then none of my actions are

really up to me. So he consistently argues then we should get rid of not just the idea of free will but the idea of moral

responsibility so that's one big thing now for Christians well actually for

...