Copan's Alternatives
In Paul Copan's book, That's Just Your Interpretation, he discusses the issue of evil and free will in heaven. Copan is to be credited with at least recognizing that his arguments about why evil is an unfortunate consequence of free will on Earth leads to the question as to why it doesn't do so in heaven. On pages 107-108, he discusses possible methodologies ("alternatives") as to how this question might be handled. This page quotes Copan's "alternatives" in their entirety:
Alternative 1: If heaven is a place where human beings no longer have the capacity to choose to sin but only to do good and where sin cannot take place (compatibilist freedom), then a more robust freedom (incompatibilist) is an earthly prerequisite before our choices are "sealed." Our final state is the fruit of our choice to move toward or away from God on earth. To think about sin as a possibility in heaven seems troublesome. It appears that heaven (or, more accurately, the new heavens and the new earth) must be sin-free. But if this is the case, then there cannot be robust (libertarian) freedom in heaven. But isn't such freedom essential to who we are as humans? If this is so, we have a dilemma, and neither alternative looks appealing: (1) preserve human freedom and open the real possibility for sin in heaven or (2) preserve the pristine environment of heaven but remove significant human freedom. How do we go about resolving this matter?
If sinning is essentially impossible in heaven (and our freedom in heaven would merely be compatibilist freedom), then the kind of freedom we have on earth (incompatibilist) is not essential to our humanness. In heaven we are not free to sin, although we will carry out what we desire—namely, the good.
If libertarian freedom is not essential to us as humans, that is, it is a kind of freedom we can live without in a heavenly state, how do we bring together both heavenly sinlessness and a reasonable understanding of human freedom in a coherent way? One possible scenario is this: It is on the basis of the robust (libertarian) freedom to sin while on earth that the redeemed finally become "sealed" as a result of their directedness toward God. That is, we live in light of the choices we have made and in which we have become entrenched. Our final state is ultimately the outcome of the choices of (robustly) free agents who have chosen (while on earth) to embrace God's loving influence or to resist it freely.
While on earth we freely make choices that affect and shape our character and spiritual condition. We make free choices that move us toward or away from God, that determine our heavenly (or damned) status. Our final bliss (or condemned status) is the result of freely made choices that have shaped the direction of our lives and our destiny. "The choices made for good or evil are directly relevant to the eternal destinies they determine for us. As we form our characters, we set our spiritual compass for that location in which the lives we desire for ourselves are most fully and naturally realized." By transforming the character of the redeemed into Christlikeness in the afterlife, God simply gives us the desire of our hearts.
According to this view, there must be the possibility for evil in order for the heavenly, sinless state to be realized. Libertarian freedom on earth cannot be avoided, even though it can be bypassed in heaven.
Alternative 2: It could be that God simply foreknows that no one in heaven will freely choose to sin; God, therefore, can guarantee heaven's pristine sinlessness. Some may feel that the freedom we experience on earth must continue in heaven, as such freedom is essential to who we are as human agents.
We must always have the ability to choose to act either selfishly or Godwardly. Such freedom is part of our human essence or nature; without it, we would not exist, some libertarians might argue.
A satisfying solution for those taking this view might be that God foreknows that no one in heaven will actually choose to sin or act selfishly, just as he foreknows that rebellion against him in hell will freely continue forever. What will preserve heaven as an unspoiled and untarnished realm is not some divine force or permanent sealing of God that prevents the redeemed from sinning. The redeemed just simply will not sin, and God, being who he is (a Being who innately knows all truths, including ones pertaining to our heavenly future), knows this. He knows that sinning will not even come to mind as something the redeemed would act on.
Alternative 3: To strengthen alternative 2, we could add that any consideration of the possibility of sin will be gloriously overshadowed by the joys of our union with God and the Lamb. Our magnificent experience of the unmediated presence of God and Christ will so flood our hearts that not sinning will be a “no-brainer”-- even though it remains a possibility. My ten-year-old son, Peter, knows more about reptiles and amphibians than most adults I know. When he is near a body of water or a wooded area, I know he will be so preoccupied with observing the natural world and with catching snakes, frogs, and salamanders that he just won't get bored. While boredom is theoretically possible, his mind is so filled with his exciting surroundings that boredom just isn't realistic!
How much more mind filling and glorious to be with the Being who is more interesting than anything else that exists! God is omni-interesting. To be in a sin-free condition, finally transformed into the image of Christ, and experiencing God's direct presence through union with him will far surpass what our Edenic ancestors experienced before the fall. In such a glorious condition, sin—even if it is a possibility—will not enter our thoughts as something viable.
We must note that this wonderful environment and relationship with God will not cause us to refrain from sinning. We will just be so preoccupied by the pure bliss and enjoyment of the gaze of God that we will not think of sinning.
Alternative 1: If heaven is a place where human beings no longer have the capacity to choose to sin but only to do good and where sin cannot take place (compatibilist freedom), then a more robust freedom (incompatibilist) is an earthly prerequisite before our choices are "sealed." Our final state is the fruit of our choice to move toward or away from God on earth. To think about sin as a possibility in heaven seems troublesome. It appears that heaven (or, more accurately, the new heavens and the new earth) must be sin-free. But if this is the case, then there cannot be robust (libertarian) freedom in heaven. But isn't such freedom essential to who we are as humans? If this is so, we have a dilemma, and neither alternative looks appealing: (1) preserve human freedom and open the real possibility for sin in heaven or (2) preserve the pristine environment of heaven but remove significant human freedom. How do we go about resolving this matter?
If sinning is essentially impossible in heaven (and our freedom in heaven would merely be compatibilist freedom), then the kind of freedom we have on earth (incompatibilist) is not essential to our humanness. In heaven we are not free to sin, although we will carry out what we desire—namely, the good.
If libertarian freedom is not essential to us as humans, that is, it is a kind of freedom we can live without in a heavenly state, how do we bring together both heavenly sinlessness and a reasonable understanding of human freedom in a coherent way? One possible scenario is this: It is on the basis of the robust (libertarian) freedom to sin while on earth that the redeemed finally become "sealed" as a result of their directedness toward God. That is, we live in light of the choices we have made and in which we have become entrenched. Our final state is ultimately the outcome of the choices of (robustly) free agents who have chosen (while on earth) to embrace God's loving influence or to resist it freely.
While on earth we freely make choices that affect and shape our character and spiritual condition. We make free choices that move us toward or away from God, that determine our heavenly (or damned) status. Our final bliss (or condemned status) is the result of freely made choices that have shaped the direction of our lives and our destiny. "The choices made for good or evil are directly relevant to the eternal destinies they determine for us. As we form our characters, we set our spiritual compass for that location in which the lives we desire for ourselves are most fully and naturally realized." By transforming the character of the redeemed into Christlikeness in the afterlife, God simply gives us the desire of our hearts.
According to this view, there must be the possibility for evil in order for the heavenly, sinless state to be realized. Libertarian freedom on earth cannot be avoided, even though it can be bypassed in heaven.
Alternative 2: It could be that God simply foreknows that no one in heaven will freely choose to sin; God, therefore, can guarantee heaven's pristine sinlessness. Some may feel that the freedom we experience on earth must continue in heaven, as such freedom is essential to who we are as human agents.
We must always have the ability to choose to act either selfishly or Godwardly. Such freedom is part of our human essence or nature; without it, we would not exist, some libertarians might argue.
A satisfying solution for those taking this view might be that God foreknows that no one in heaven will actually choose to sin or act selfishly, just as he foreknows that rebellion against him in hell will freely continue forever. What will preserve heaven as an unspoiled and untarnished realm is not some divine force or permanent sealing of God that prevents the redeemed from sinning. The redeemed just simply will not sin, and God, being who he is (a Being who innately knows all truths, including ones pertaining to our heavenly future), knows this. He knows that sinning will not even come to mind as something the redeemed would act on.
Alternative 3: To strengthen alternative 2, we could add that any consideration of the possibility of sin will be gloriously overshadowed by the joys of our union with God and the Lamb. Our magnificent experience of the unmediated presence of God and Christ will so flood our hearts that not sinning will be a “no-brainer”-- even though it remains a possibility. My ten-year-old son, Peter, knows more about reptiles and amphibians than most adults I know. When he is near a body of water or a wooded area, I know he will be so preoccupied with observing the natural world and with catching snakes, frogs, and salamanders that he just won't get bored. While boredom is theoretically possible, his mind is so filled with his exciting surroundings that boredom just isn't realistic!
How much more mind filling and glorious to be with the Being who is more interesting than anything else that exists! God is omni-interesting. To be in a sin-free condition, finally transformed into the image of Christ, and experiencing God's direct presence through union with him will far surpass what our Edenic ancestors experienced before the fall. In such a glorious condition, sin—even if it is a possibility—will not enter our thoughts as something viable.
We must note that this wonderful environment and relationship with God will not cause us to refrain from sinning. We will just be so preoccupied by the pure bliss and enjoyment of the gaze of God that we will not think of sinning.
