Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract

Abstract: This paper explores the concept of theological compatibilism – the reconciliation of divine omniscience and sovereignty with genuine human free will – across major Abrahamic traditions and philosophical perspectives. We begin with a thematic summary of a Closer To Truth discussion, “Does God’s Knowledge Ruin Free Will?”, highlighting insights from philosophers Brian Leftow and Hugh McCann. Both thinkers defend compatibilist solutions: Leftow emphasizes God’s timeless knowledge that sees all of history at once, while McCann underscores God’s creative concurrence that empowers free human agency without coercion. We then examine how analogous ideas manifest in Sunni Islam, Catholic Christianity, and Protestant Christianity. Classical Jewish and Islamic sources famously declare that “everything is foreseen, yet free will is given,” capturing the paradox of predestination and moral responsibility. In Islam’s Sunni theology, scholars like al-Ghazālī articulated a “middle path” wherein Allah’s total sovereignty and human choice coexist by divine design. Catholic thought, drawing on St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, similarly affirms that God’s eternal plan “includes each person’s free response” to gracecatholicculture.org. In Reformed (Calvinist) Protestantism, confessional statements maintain that God “ordains whatsoever comes to pass” without violating the creature’s willcreeds.net. Supporting scriptural texts from the Qur’an and Bible, as well as Prophetic hadith, are presented to illustrate these compatibilist doctrines. We conclude with a reflective epilogue on the enduring appeal of theological compatibilism in resolving the tension between divine providence and human freedom across different faiths.