Does God determine everything or do we have free will?

It all comes down to how we understand God to be interacting with the world. Through the centuries, and stemming back into our Jewish roots, it is a question with which theologians have debated and wrestled. What is God’s role with the world? Now, you may be wondering why such a question is important, or you may have thought that all Christians think the same about God’s interaction with humans and events of history. But, we don’t all think the same. And, it is helpful to figure out what we do think about God’s role with the world because it effects what we see as our role in the world and our responsibilities in the events around us. So here are the four basic ways of understanding God’s role in history and interaction with human beings – see which one is closest to your viewpoint: -God set it all in motion and is now hands off in terms of human history. -God punishes, rewards, and teases people according to God’s whim and mood. -God has decided and pre-determined everything that will happen and humans are along for the historical ride to learn what God has decided we need to learn. -God created humans to be partners in the creation of a peaceful, loving world, and in repairing the world when things go wrong. Where do you land in terms of how you see God in relation to the world?