messianicdruid
7th August 2010, 07:28 PM
We were discussing "freewill" on another thread, which was kinda off-topic, so here goes:
Free Will and Backward Causality by Jo Anne Mead
For those of you who have read Dr. Bruggeman’s Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God, you might be interested in an article that appeared in the April 2010 Discover magazine titled, “Back from the Future, Does the universe have a destiny—and could the laws of physics be pulling us inexorably toward our prewritten fate?â€
If you believe as I do that God’s sovereignty is total and that He controls every aspect of our lives, then it appears that science is now bumping up against the idea that perhaps we do not have “free will†after all—that the future—destiny—is affecting our present.
Believing in God’s sovereignty for the past twenty plus years, I have wondered about His control over my decisions and actions. I have blithely imagined that He looked upon me much like a pawn on a chessboard. I thought that when He wanted me to make a particular decision or perform a particular action, that He simply created the desire within me to decide or to act in accordance with His objective.
However, it now appears that science is challenging my simplistic concept of how God influences us. Corroboration of God’s sovereignty has suddenly come from an unexpected source. After reading of the experiments conducted by physicists Jeff Tollaksen and Yakir Aharonov in the above referenced article, it appears that His influence over me extends down to the smallest cellular particles of my body. Quoting from the article, “Tollaksen’s group is looking into the notion that time might flow backward, allowing the future to influence the past. By extension, the universe might have a destiny that reaches back and conspires with the past to bring the present into view. … On a personal scale, it may make us question whether fate is pulling us forward and whether we have free will.†These experiments in quantum mechanics (the theory that governs the motion of particles in the subatomic world) have prompted them to term this phenomenon as “backward causality.â€
To give you a brief idea of how backward causality works, Tollaksen and Aharonov experimented with radioactive atoms. “Tollaksen says, ‘Take two radioactive atoms, so identical that “even God couldn’t see the difference between them.†‘Then wait. The first atom might decay a minute later, but the second might go another hour before decaying. … [this] can really be seen in the laboratory. There is nothing to explain the different behaviors of the two atoms, no way to predict when they will decay by looking at their history, and—seemingly—no definitive cause that produced these effects. … Nature is trying to tell us that there is a difference between two seemingly identical particles with different fates, but that difference can only be found in the future.’â€
Tollaksen and Aharonov carried out some upside-down experiments in which outcome was determined by events occurring after the experiment was done. They ran experiments that had three steps, and in each step, they measured the spin in a set of particles at separate pre-set times. To quote from the article: “First the physicists would measure spin in a set of particles at 2 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m. Then on another day, they would repeat the two sets, but also measure a subset of the particles a third time, at 3 p.m. If the predictions of backward causality were correct, then for this last subset, the spin measurement conducted at 2:30 p.m. (the intermediate time) would be dramatically amplified. In other words, the spin measurements carried out at 2 p.m. and those carried out at 3 p.m. together would appear to cause an unexpected increase in the intensity of spins measured in between, at 2:30 p.m. … Just last year, physicist John Howell and his team from the University of Rochester reported success. … Searching for backward causality required looking at the impact of the final measurement and adding the time twist.†This and many other tests were run, and the results confirmed their findings.
“For Tollaksen, the results are awe-inspiring and a bit scary. ‘It is upsetting philosophically,’ he concedes. ‘All these experiments change the way that I relate to time, the way I experience myself.’ The results have led him to wrestle with the idea that the future is set. If the universe has a destiny that is already written, do we really have a free choice in our actions? Or are all our choices predetermined to fit the universe’s script, giving us only the illusion of free will?â€
Exactly! Dr. Bruggeman had written: “In very fact, man’s free will is an illusion. But the astounding irony of it is that it is an illusion necessary to the Plan of God! ‘Surely not,’ someone is thinking. ‘Does God deceive us?’ Yes, God deceives us! ‘Isn’t that a sin?’ No. It is not.* God keeps men in ignorance of His Plan lest they not play out their predestinated roles. He allows men to think and believe that they are doing their own will, while all along they are precisely carrying out their parts of His great Plan. Once again, we refer you back to our two primary examples [in the Bible]...†[from Chapter 5: Do We Have Free Will?, pp. 113-114, Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God] The footnote (*) says: See Appendix 1 for more examples of where God deceives man and further discussion of God “sinning.â€]
As I pondered the ramifications of these experiments, it appeared to me that the results of these tests revealed that “backward causality†described the actual mechanics of how God predestinated all things. In other words, rather than simply creating a desire within me to decide or act one way or the other, He controls the subatomic world of my cells and has caused His predetermined outcome – the future – to influence the behavior of those cells. The cells within my mind have worked in concert with each other to create a desire that determined – and continues to determine – my course of action. With each cell having a predetermined future, and when multiplied by the number of cells within my body, that raises the level of His control beyond my calculation and comprehension.
This leads us philosophically and theologically to the questions of our personal responsibility and liability for sin, and how could a just God condemn anyone to an eternal hell fire if all our actions were “set in concrete†before we are even born! Dr. Bruggeman addresses these questions in Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God.
The article in the April Discover is far too technical for me to do it justice in this brief discussion, but it certainly gives Christians food for thought.
http://www.stonekingdom.org
Free Will and Backward Causality by Jo Anne Mead
For those of you who have read Dr. Bruggeman’s Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God, you might be interested in an article that appeared in the April 2010 Discover magazine titled, “Back from the Future, Does the universe have a destiny—and could the laws of physics be pulling us inexorably toward our prewritten fate?â€
If you believe as I do that God’s sovereignty is total and that He controls every aspect of our lives, then it appears that science is now bumping up against the idea that perhaps we do not have “free will†after all—that the future—destiny—is affecting our present.
Believing in God’s sovereignty for the past twenty plus years, I have wondered about His control over my decisions and actions. I have blithely imagined that He looked upon me much like a pawn on a chessboard. I thought that when He wanted me to make a particular decision or perform a particular action, that He simply created the desire within me to decide or to act in accordance with His objective.
However, it now appears that science is challenging my simplistic concept of how God influences us. Corroboration of God’s sovereignty has suddenly come from an unexpected source. After reading of the experiments conducted by physicists Jeff Tollaksen and Yakir Aharonov in the above referenced article, it appears that His influence over me extends down to the smallest cellular particles of my body. Quoting from the article, “Tollaksen’s group is looking into the notion that time might flow backward, allowing the future to influence the past. By extension, the universe might have a destiny that reaches back and conspires with the past to bring the present into view. … On a personal scale, it may make us question whether fate is pulling us forward and whether we have free will.†These experiments in quantum mechanics (the theory that governs the motion of particles in the subatomic world) have prompted them to term this phenomenon as “backward causality.â€
To give you a brief idea of how backward causality works, Tollaksen and Aharonov experimented with radioactive atoms. “Tollaksen says, ‘Take two radioactive atoms, so identical that “even God couldn’t see the difference between them.†‘Then wait. The first atom might decay a minute later, but the second might go another hour before decaying. … [this] can really be seen in the laboratory. There is nothing to explain the different behaviors of the two atoms, no way to predict when they will decay by looking at their history, and—seemingly—no definitive cause that produced these effects. … Nature is trying to tell us that there is a difference between two seemingly identical particles with different fates, but that difference can only be found in the future.’â€
Tollaksen and Aharonov carried out some upside-down experiments in which outcome was determined by events occurring after the experiment was done. They ran experiments that had three steps, and in each step, they measured the spin in a set of particles at separate pre-set times. To quote from the article: “First the physicists would measure spin in a set of particles at 2 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m. Then on another day, they would repeat the two sets, but also measure a subset of the particles a third time, at 3 p.m. If the predictions of backward causality were correct, then for this last subset, the spin measurement conducted at 2:30 p.m. (the intermediate time) would be dramatically amplified. In other words, the spin measurements carried out at 2 p.m. and those carried out at 3 p.m. together would appear to cause an unexpected increase in the intensity of spins measured in between, at 2:30 p.m. … Just last year, physicist John Howell and his team from the University of Rochester reported success. … Searching for backward causality required looking at the impact of the final measurement and adding the time twist.†This and many other tests were run, and the results confirmed their findings.
“For Tollaksen, the results are awe-inspiring and a bit scary. ‘It is upsetting philosophically,’ he concedes. ‘All these experiments change the way that I relate to time, the way I experience myself.’ The results have led him to wrestle with the idea that the future is set. If the universe has a destiny that is already written, do we really have a free choice in our actions? Or are all our choices predetermined to fit the universe’s script, giving us only the illusion of free will?â€
Exactly! Dr. Bruggeman had written: “In very fact, man’s free will is an illusion. But the astounding irony of it is that it is an illusion necessary to the Plan of God! ‘Surely not,’ someone is thinking. ‘Does God deceive us?’ Yes, God deceives us! ‘Isn’t that a sin?’ No. It is not.* God keeps men in ignorance of His Plan lest they not play out their predestinated roles. He allows men to think and believe that they are doing their own will, while all along they are precisely carrying out their parts of His great Plan. Once again, we refer you back to our two primary examples [in the Bible]...†[from Chapter 5: Do We Have Free Will?, pp. 113-114, Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God] The footnote (*) says: See Appendix 1 for more examples of where God deceives man and further discussion of God “sinning.â€]
As I pondered the ramifications of these experiments, it appeared to me that the results of these tests revealed that “backward causality†described the actual mechanics of how God predestinated all things. In other words, rather than simply creating a desire within me to decide or act one way or the other, He controls the subatomic world of my cells and has caused His predetermined outcome – the future – to influence the behavior of those cells. The cells within my mind have worked in concert with each other to create a desire that determined – and continues to determine – my course of action. With each cell having a predetermined future, and when multiplied by the number of cells within my body, that raises the level of His control beyond my calculation and comprehension.
This leads us philosophically and theologically to the questions of our personal responsibility and liability for sin, and how could a just God condemn anyone to an eternal hell fire if all our actions were “set in concrete†before we are even born! Dr. Bruggeman addresses these questions in Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God.
The article in the April Discover is far too technical for me to do it justice in this brief discussion, but it certainly gives Christians food for thought.
http://www.stonekingdom.org