I’m not clear on your point Richard. Perhaps you’re saying that what freedom to choose that we have can never be counted on as an entitlement? I would agree with that.
This is great point that touches on something I’ve been thinking about for a while. When looking at things done in history that we find morally disagreeable we might like to think that if we were in that situation we would have done differently. But would we? If we were born in that time and experienced that person’s life, education, and upbringing? Chances are we probably would have done the same. That doesn’t mean that the act is not morally disagreeable, or even excusable, it just means that people are complicated and the choices they make are rarely simple. But also, that if you took baby Napoleon away from his mother and time travelled him to family in 1980’s California, he’s probably not going to grow up to be like the Napoleon of history. Does that make any sense?! 
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All I am saying is that the ability to choose is not constrained. If there are consequences or physical obstructions they are part of the choice not a prevention of it. You can choose to walk in front of a bus. Its not sensible but there is nothing to stop you doing it.
Richard
It does to me. That is why in talking about what is lost in death I always think it is primarily what sets us apart as individuals, and in dialing out to imagine a world in which I am no longer present that doesn’t seem tragic.
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This is more Nature v Nurture. If someone is a born meglamaniac they will attempt to fulfill it in the circumstances they have.
Richard
Maybe so, but they still have any influence on the choices we make.
That said it does not make the choices any less free. Influence affects the decision not the freedom to make the decision
Richard
Sorry Richard, but that seems a little too convenient to me. To each his own.
Seems likely to me, people choose differently between all these difference philosophical options because their own experience of free will is so varied and their awareness of all the possible effect that people can have on their actions and choices are likewise varied.
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?
To me that is a non sequator.
What are you trying to say? Are you claiming that knowing the outcome of a decison will somehow affect your freedom to choose it? Like I said above, if you walk in front of a bus you know what will happen but you are still free to do it it (or not). That is free will.
Richard
The only point where I think that is correct is afterwards. As a sum of our choices, the person who chose differently would be a different person. But I do not agree that the person before the choice was made could not have chosen differently.
Even that same baby in his own time and place, growing up to be Napoleon of history wasn’t very probable.
I don’t think this choice of causes is the summation of the situation. I think the same nature and nurture can have different results because most of the time neither are sufficient to determine our choices.
All kinds of things affects how free our choices are, with awareness at the top of the list. We cannot choose things we are not even aware of. Though lack of awareness does not necessarily erase our responsibility because awareness is often a product of many other decisions we have made. But this does not apply to all the influences and things affecting our choices. People are victimized in many different ways by other people, other living organisms, and other environmental conditions.
At the same time, it does not follow that every action is determined by environmental conditions or even by some inborn nature. Free will exists even if it is not universal or absolute.
But this is wrong. It is not always the case that the person knows what will happen or that they are still free to do it or not. I certainly think that free will exists. But don’t think that anyone knows the extent of another person’s free will and God is the only person who can judge correctly.
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Nope just my opinion. As this is yours:
Have a good evening, Richard.
Nope. You are overthinking. Free will is the ability to make a choice. It has nothing to do with whether you know the outcome or not. It is just the ability (and freedom) to make that choice…
Richard
correct.
correct.
correct.
incorrect.
Methinks you are being pedantic…
We may not know precisely what will happen but we know what actions will be set in motion dependant on precisely what the driver of the bus sees, and is able to react to and how your body reacts to the impact…
Yes there is still a variety of exact results, but…
RIchard
Thank you. I do try. Precision is a necessity for science no matter how annoying it may be for politicians, preachers, and used car salesmen.
The point was… No, you cannot judge what knowledge or free will a person has in a particular situation. Only God can. No it does not follow that a person stepping in front of a bus knows the likely results, nor does it follow that the person has free will in such a case. You do not know their circumstances or the condition of their mind or body. There is nothing universal, absolute, inviolable about free will, even if we are correct in our belief that it does exist.
Ah, but unlike Orwell’s pigs, not all opinion is equal.
Wait, am I the pig or is it just that my opinion is less equal than others? If my opinion is less equal, I find that curious since the pigs got the position of ‘more equal than others’ through lies, trickier, and abuse of power.
However, if I am like the pigs, then truth be told I am slightly offended, Klax. I thought you see as being like Moses the Raven, what with my unwavering commitment to the tales of Sugarcandy Mountain where all the good animals get to go when they die. 
Pretty bold to assume that . We dont know what and as i said above scientists really have come to a different conclusion
How do you know that this comment right here was my choise and i wasnt predestined to write it?
It is a bold statement to say that there is no free will in heaven. I think there is no logical reason why there could not be at least some amount of free will.
Our wrong decisions are often reflections of the desires we have in this mortal body. When this body dies and we get a spiritual body, we get rid of many factors that may motivate us to do wrong things.
Another factor affecting our choices is lack of knowledge. I have done many wrong decisions simply because I did not know or understand something. I believe there will be better knowledge and understanding in the new life.
The third factor is the influence of God. In the presence of God, we can experience deep peace and love. This affects the motivation so that we want to live close to God, doing His will. The presence of God may affect us so that the set of realistic choices becomes narrower but this is not far from the observation that our history and the conditions where we live limit the set of choices we can select.
We do not know much of our life in the new world or ‘heaven’. We have to wait until we see what happens.