The Doctrines of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom: A Logical Analysis

Abstract

This paper focuses on the logical tense between two Christian doctrines which are considered to be fundamental, i.e. the doctrines of divine foreknowledge and human freedom, respectively. It has often been argued that the combination of these two doctrines gives rise to a logical contradiction, and that at least one of the two doctrines therefore has to be dropped. This claim will be investigated and a number of possible solutions will be considered. The analysis will be based on ideas from the temporal logic originally suggested by A.N. Prior (1914-69).