Free Will vs. Freedom From Suffering

[Paul of Tarsus]

Many apologists argue that we must suffer in order to have free will. It's a trade off that even God must bow to--we can either be morally free or free of suffering, but we cannot have both. We are told, for example:

...God can create people who are not morally free. Such a person would never harm anyone else, never fail to do good in any setting, and always be a beacon of right behavior. However, that would be more a machine than a person. A machine is neither good nor bad; it just does as it is programed to do. For people to be capable of genuine good deeds they must also be capable of evil deeds.

The implication here is that free will is the greatest good for us; to have free will is better than to be free of suffering. Or to put it another way, free will is so wonderful that it's worth the cost of sadness, fear, hatred, pain, sickness, dying and death, of course.

I'm not so sure, but what is your preference and why? Which would you choose if you could?

A. Free Will Along with the Attendant Suffering
or
B. A Happy and Peaceful World Full of Robotic Beacons of Light
or
C. A Combination of A and B

[Paul of Tarsus]

I'm not sure what 'robotic beacons of light' means, exactly, or how it works in this situation. I don't agree with 'to have free will is better than to be free of suffering', as suffering can build a person more than a 'cakewalk life', so to speak.
I think free will means you're free to do as you please, not that you're free to do as you please without consequence. How that interplays within Christianity is, I guess, up to the Christian asked. On that regard, I don't much care. I don't equate morality with God solely, if that make sense.
Thus, I'm unsure how this fits into your provided choices.

I'm sorry if I confused you, so let me see if I can clarify the options:

What is your preference and why? Which would you choose if you could?

A. Free Will Along with the Attendant Suffering (The World as Is)
or
B. A Happy and Peaceful World Full of People Who Have Wills They Did Not Determine
or
C. A Combination of A and B

An example of C might be people having the wills to do good without the wills to needlessly harm others, and freedom from suffering is the icing on the cake!

[nobspeople]

I'm not sure what 'robotic beacons of light' means, exactly, or how it works in this situation. I don't agree with 'to have free will is better than to be free of suffering', as suffering can build a person more than a 'cakewalk life', so to speak.
I think free will means you're free to do as you please, not that you're free to do as you please without consequence. How that interplays within Christianity is, I guess, up to the Christian asked. On that regard, I don't much care. I don't equate morality with God solely, if that make sense.
Thus, I'm unsure how this fits into your provided choices.

I'm sorry if I confused you, so let me see if I can clarify the options:

What is your preference and why? Which would you choose if you could?

A. Free Will Along with the Attendant Suffering (The World as Is)
or
B. A Happy and Peaceful World Full of People Who Have Wills They Did Not Determine
or
C. A Combination of A and B

An example of C might be people having the wills to do good without the wills to needlessly harm others, and freedom from suffering is the icing on the cake!

Option C, as that would combine the 2 options listed

[Paul of Tarsus]

I'm sorry if I confused you, so let me see if I can clarify the options:

What is your preference and why? Which would you choose if you could?

A. Free Will Along with the Attendant Suffering (The World as Is)
or
B. A Happy and Peaceful World Full of People Who Have Wills They Did Not Determine
or
C. A Combination of A and B

An example of C might be people having the wills to do good without the wills to needlessly harm others, and freedom from suffering is the icing on the cake!

Option C, as that would combine the 2 options listed

So it looks like you prefer free will along with peace and happiness. I think I'd choose the same. Contrary to what apologists argue, we can have some free will and be free of suffering. God evidently doesn't understand what we can understand.

[Avoice]

[Replying to Paul of Tarsus in post #1]

We have free will whether we suffer or whether we do not.

We have free will. Period.
Free will is free will. And suffering is not required for free will to exist.