Freewill -v- Destiny

[maddie]

I do believe that I have free will, but that God has a plan for me and my life. I think that I was put on Earth with some sort of purpose. I can choose to seek out the path that God wants me to take or I can choose to do as I wish.

That said, I do believe that there is some being that occasionally pulls strings so that certain things happen. I do not believe in coincidences. Too many things have happened in my life that have seemed to require somebody leading me toward them to let me believe otherwise. I don't believe in predestination and I don't believe that I have to take advantage of the strings being pulled for me, but I still think someone pulls strings on occasion.

[Uncle_Ed]

Hey! My thread re-opened! I knew this would happen! Er...

[Warbaby1943]

Hey! My thread re-opened! I knew this would happen! Er...

That's what's nice about new people joining the forums. they dig back and find something of interest. Glad to see this thread.

I believe we have the free will to make choices but I think the hand of God gently guides or helps us in those decisions.

[Uncle_Ed]

Now, of course, I start to point out that nothing we experience is in the present. As we are electro-chemical (soft) machines, by the time we register something, it's already past...

I have no idea how this ties in-what about you?

[Warbaby1943]

Now, of course, I start to point out that nothing we experience is in the present. As we are electro-chemical (soft) machines, by the time we register something, it's already past...

I have no idea how this ties in-what about you?

Me either but I have already forgotten what I was saying.

[TomOfSweden]

That's an easy one. Destiny is a contradiction. If everything is destiny then what's the point doing anything. Why not just go and hang yourself and get it over with. Destiny takes away every joy and sorrow in life, and just makes everything one long pointless journey to an inevitable goal. My experience is that people who say they believe in destiny really don't. They just use the concept for them to avoid having to think about cause and effect in life.

I'm not so sure about that we have free will either. Our brains are wired to react rapidly and powerfully to percieved dangers a lot more than what would be rational. Is that really free will?

[SheepishJaina]

okay, here goes... I believe that our path is already known. We do make choices. We chose what we want to do or not do. i think of it not as a set path. We don't do something because it's in a "script" but rather that the script for our lives has been written as though someone from the future were writing it out after we've left this world.

From my view, God wants us all to be believers, however if we really had no free will, we all would be already. He knows if we will accept or reject him already. We make that choice on our own, not because he has maliciously gone through a list and randomly checked names of who will or wont accept him.