Freewill, Jimmy Stephens

Libertarian Foreknowledge

Jimmy Stephens recently stated something that I have been arguing with J. C. Thibodaux. Here is a relevant part of the conversation:

TheQuestioner:

In a discussion with a fellow believer, I brought up the fact that Jesus declared to Peter that He would deny Him as an example against the PAP. I said that because Jesus knew in advance what Peter would do, Peter couldn’t have done otherwise. They said that this doesn’t suggest that Peter couldn’t have done otherwise, but would not do otherwise. Would you say that God’s knowledge of what we will do means that we could not have done otherwise? Or can we still have done otherwise?

 Jimmy Stephens:

By itself, no. That is, God’s foreknowledge by itself without any analysis is insufficient to use this way. The problem is that libertarians and Calvinists have different views of foreknowledge. This turns into a grounding objection. On Calvinism, Jesus knows because of what the Father tells him, and the Father knows because God determines the matter. On libertarianism, God knows not because of His determination, but because God knows timelessly.

On the libertarian model, God’s knowledge of future events is either mysterious (e.g., Michael Brown), based on brute facts (e.g., Plantinga, Craig), or caused by created facts.

TheQuestioner:

What does it mean for something to be caused by a created fact?

Jimmy Stephens:

I mean that it is in virtue of the creature’s choice that God knows what will happen, not vice versa.

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