Free Will in Heaven: An Insoluble Trilemma for Believers?

In discussions about the existence of suffering in a world created by an all-good, all-powerful, and all-knowing God, a common defense is based on the concept of free will. The argument suggests that God granted humans free will, allowing them to make choices, including the possibility of evil. According to this view, true freedom requires the ability to choose between good and evil, and without the potential for immoral decisions, humans would lack genuine free will. As philosopher William Lane Craig explains, it is logically impossible for God to allow true freedom without also permitting the possibility of suffering. Thus, the existence of evil and suffering is seen as a necessary consequence of the gift of free will.

While this is a widely accepted defense, it raises several questions, particularly when considering the problem of natural evil (such as natural disasters) and potential tensions between free will and God's omniscience. One argument that I find especially thought-provoking and compelling remains largely unaddressed in most discussions. I have yet to encounter a convincing response to it, and would be interested to hear any counterpoints.

Is There Free Will in Heaven?

This argument presents a trilemma for believers. A trilemma is a situation where one must choose between three options, each of which leads to problematic or undesirable consequences. It is similar to a dilemma, but with three choices instead of two.

The question is: Does free will exist in heaven? Believers must choose one of the following three options:

Option 1: Free will exists in heaven, but so does evil

In this scenario, humans retain their free will in heaven, but that also means evil can exist. For many Christians, this is unacceptable because heaven is supposed to be a place free of evil.

Option 2: No free will in heaven, and no evil

In this case, there is no free will in heaven, but also no evil. This raises another issue: if God chose to create heaven without free will and without evil, why didn’t He make that choice from the beginning on Earth?

Option 3: Free will exists in heaven, but there is no evil

This option is appealing to many Christians: people retain their free will in heaven, but evil does not exist. However, this raises the same question as option 2: if God can create a world with free will and no evil in heaven, why didn’t He choose to create a world like that on Earth from the start?

As we can see, all three options present problems. This shows that the free-will defense does not adequately address the problem of suffering.