> Okay, so we have some sort of supernatural basis for free will?

Yep.

> > According to the Bible, He created us "in our own image (Genesis 1:26). Using your analogy, he created more programmers, ones with limited programming skill. Our "programs" only contain instructions on how to program our lives, not what to program them with. That is free will.
> >
> > Hopefully that clarifies things.
>
> But what basis do we have for writing these programs? My contention is that humans have nothing to draw on for decision making other than physical influences. This is what observation of the way the brain works seems to suggest.
>
> Now, I'll grant the premise that there is a supernatural component to free will. But even do so, I can't imagine what it would be like. Either it's some kind of a priori knowledge, or an intrinsic nature, or... well, I don't know what else. Regardless, none of those things are under the control of the soul in question. My suggestion is that humans are more like programs than programmers. We're incredibly complex programs, and we may have some random elements to our decision-making, but our minds otherwise function in a mechanical fashion. They're capable of learning, but only based upon gathering new data. The program is complex enough to change itself from time to time, but it's still a program.
>
> Do you see what I'm saying?

Yes, but what I'm contending is that by creating us in his own image, our decision making process is a clone of God's decision making process. We have free will just like God has free will. Since he is a programmer in your analogy, so are we, not just a program.

> You're right. Here's what I meant:
>
> (2) Given: When he creates the intrinsic nature of souls, god has complete control over what that intrinsic nature is like.

Right, and he made it exactly like his.


> Do you believe instrinsic nature is capable of changing spontaneously over time? If not, then it's essentially hard-coded by god at creation, meaning that god is responsible for the way that soul will function. If god makes a soul with a bad intrinsic nature, it is his fault when that soul does bad things. Likewise, if I create a robot that's evil, it would be my fault when it went hay-wire and started killing people (as they all do).

This intrinsic nature is not what I mean by free will. The free will I'm describing is solely the ability to make our own decisions(make our program). Free will(the intrinsic nature) itself is a tool that God gave us, it can be used for good or evil.

> Stephen