Why Bother With the Future When Your Life is Predestined By God?

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   ngurecoposted 14 years ago

   Why Bother With the Future When Your Life is Predestined By God?

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   rented_haloposted 14 years ago

   This seems similar to wondering if we have free will because all things are preordained by God.  What I understand of this is that since God exists outside of time and location, and is omnipresent and omniscient and omnipotent it is not that God decides how things are to be, but that God is present at all points of time and space constantly and has already seen what you are going to do.  Now it is also troubling that all things happen as God wishes them to as well, but if it is God's will for you to waste your time playing video games, or by spending your time doing charity work - I suppose that is what you will do...  God has not decided what you and I will do with our future, but has instead already seen it which means that whatever we decide to do is what God already knew to be true as we exist in time, and God is not subject to it...  This is what I recall from my philosophy classes - I hope that it is helpful...  IMO I don't really tend to believe in a God, and that's made my life a lot simpler   Cheers.

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   GoGrannyposted 14 years ago

   Because each life has a purpose that will be revealed in time. We are all subject to a 'calling'. Recognizing and carrying out one's personal humanitarian mission is the intention for living a life. Whether a person lives 1 day or 100 years there is a purpose for that human being. Honoring God for specifically given gifts, talents, and time by using them for the good is all he expects in return.

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   cromestringsposted 14 years ago

   The cosmic laws work bit differently... What we call physical all good and bad happening with you is your "Karma". and what you call path of soul is different. everyone has its own purpose and there are choices in life which you need to make. Some Ancient Indian Texts like "Upanishads" have described this.
   Simplest book is "Autobiography of a Yogi"  It has simplified all this. It can answer some of your questions.
   
   You can also read the book "Krishna the man and his Philosophies" by OSHO. It will tell you about the society and other things.

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   doubleeposted 14 years ago

   rented halo explained very well. God has not predestined your life - in the sense that he is determining everything you do. He gave us a free will. We can always make a choice. That's best demonstrated by Eve in the Garden of Eden. She chose to follow Satan's suggestion, even though she knew God had asked her not to.  If God had made us his "robots", we would not be capable of Love. God wants us to Love him because we choose to do so.
   
   Yes, he does know whether you're going to choose him or not, but he doesn't force you too.

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   hubhub2posted 14 years ago

   If a person typically thinks only casually about what the Bible has to say on the subject, it surely is a difficult topic to comprehend.  The keys to understanding come in a few ways.  1), 'God is not willing that any will perish'... so 2) Jesus went to the Cross to make our Salvation possible.  3)  We do indeed have Free Choice so... 4) as doublee has noted, God did not make us robots.  5)  Also 'key' is that God is entirely in control of The Way He has planned toward The End so He ensures that all human maneuvers are in one way or other structured toward it's accomplishment.  That means He will employ both you and I in one way or other to give people we come in contact with a chance to think about life in perhaps a different way than we might now be.  He'll employ us to be of benefit toward others - even though most of the time we have no clue.
   
   When any question similar to the one you posed comes to mind, I first think of Pharaoh and Judas.  I do that to help me bring things back into focus.
   
   Yes, God did 'raise them up' and employed them on His behalf for the purpose they fulfilled in His overall plan.  But, He did not turn them into robots for that purpose.  He simply chose the people He did because their personally chosen propensities of life had already prompted their life's path (thoughts, emotions, goals, actions,et al)  in the direction they chose...  and He at that moment in time required.  God simply employed their own chosen propensities to further the fruition of The Plan He had instituted.  If you or I were Pharaoh or Judas - given our propensities - the example of our life - would of course have also differed from Gods - we'd likely blame God stressing the concept He 'raised us up' so it's not our fault.  But in fact, at any point in our lifetime we could have changed our propensities.  God, then, would have simply employed someone else who had also chosen to differ with His Standard to bring about that part same of His Plan.  After all, there are evil and less than Godly people everywhere. 
   
   Remember - God is not willing that any should perish.  But inasmuch as we are not robots and there is a world full of people that can use a change of thought toward the better...  whether we perish or not is entirely up to our own Free Choices in life.  We choose God or we have a propensity to choose ourselves...  and decide it's not our fault because 'He made us that way'.
   
   Good luck.

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   msorenssonposted 14 years ago

   Of Free Will and God's Design
   That there is a straight line between two points is a Mathematical truth. Free will allows us to take as many loops as we like to get from one point to the other. The straight line is the shortest but it takes a strong will and a lot of discipline to get there. Regardless, all roads lead to God.

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   Deborah Sextonposted 14 years ago

   Though scripture says we are predestined to become the sons of God..meaning we were created to become his sons..God does not determine our fate. He gave us free will. That is why it says "WHOSOEVER WILL"
   
   Scripture says God has no respect of person..so he wouldn't give some a great fate and others a bad one.
   In Genesis God gave man dominion over the earth..this is how man runs it. with a lot of heartache, pain and suffering....Fate is in his own hands.

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   tucholskicposted 14 years ago

   God has foreordained everything that shall come to pass. Think Genesis 50:20; Job 42:2; Proverbs 16:4, 19:21; Isaiah 14:24, 27, 46:8-11; and Lamentations 2:17.
   
   We have FREE will. We do not have AUTONOMOUS will. There's an important distinction that seems lost on most people. We are not independent of God's will.
   
   Given those terms, I like to imagine an archery range. God's purpose is the target (not necessarily the bull's eye). When God fires the arrow, human free will decisions may alter the trajectory of the arrow somewhat so that it doesn't hit the bull's eye, but the arrow will ALWAYS strike the target; it won't hit the white area around the target, nor will it ever miss.
   
   God's plans may not always come off without a hitch, but neither can they go awry. You might say that God can never lose.
   
   This isn't the same as fatalism. In fatalism (which is prevalent in Greek mythology and some philosophies contemporary with early Christianity), the outcome is the same NO MATTER WHAT. Depressing thought, isn't it? That isn't the case with God's predestination. Our free will choices can alter the path of events, significantly in some cases, but we'll never thwart God's overall purpose.

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    Dave Mathewsposted 14 years ago

    I do not bother with the future. I live each and every second of every day while I am permitted to be alive in enjoying that day, whether it is by going to work to earn money to enjoy time, or picking up my Bible to read and learn, or watching a movie or a program on TV, or whatever. I have never planned out anything for something in the future, as I never know the moment, God is going to end my time on earth.
    
    Anybody who thinks that they can do otherwise, is a fool.

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