Why do we have so big problems figuring out whether or not we have free will, or if the universe is determined?

I think it is because all that fundamentally exists is God, and therefore God is at the root of all things. If God cannot be defined, because he lacks attributes and form - his nature is ineffable, then at their core - at the root of all things - is that very same lack of form and attributes.

Concepts, such as free will and determinism, are in a sense "form". Something we use, to describe something which seems "just so". But these concepts too, are like a human being. A mask, which God wears.

Everything you see around you, is like that. Even an atom. It seems we know what an atom is, but if you go really deeply into it, you will see that you do not in reality know. You know what it looks like, what it behaves like, you can explain all of the combinations of atoms which form different materials and molecules, but when you ask "Yes, yes but what IS an atom", you do not know.

Because it cannot be defined, it lacks properties and attributes at its core.

It is the same with free will and determinism. It seems as if it is this and that, it behaves so and so, but at the root - you do not know it.

All that exists, is God. All that we see and feel, is the masks God wears. We can know the masks, but we should not confuse them for what they really are. This is much the same as knowing a human being. You can know a human being intimately, but at the core - you cannot define it. You can never really know what a human being really IS. Can anyone ever truly know you? No, your mask is known. But "you" are not. At the heart of everything, there is an ineffable singularity that cannot be fully grasped or defined, not because it is evasive, but because it transcends the very tools we use to understand it. "Free will", "Determinism", "Human", "Atom" are such tools.

So - my view is that the universe is neither free nor determined because "free will" or "determinism" are but concepts we use to describe something indescribable. It is God, which seems to me to be a singularity - which lacks all form and attributes - from which all forms and attributes emerge.

For those willing to consider reality as fundamentally rooted in the ineffable, this approach not only resolves the debate but also renders it unnecessary. It invites a direct experience of the unity behind duality, where concepts like free will and determinism are seen as provisional, useful but not ultimate.

This view is less about "winning" the debate and more about transcending it, which is perhaps the most effective resolution possible.