How can christians believe in free will and destiny at the same time?

Question

christians say that people sin because they have free will and it is the sinner's fault for sinning. But at the same time they believe in prophecy and destiny, which are arguments for determinism. You can't have it both ways. Either you believe that everyone is completely free to make their own decisions at every moment in time, or you believe that every life story has already been 'written' and it's just a matter of fufilling what has already been planned out. You can't believe in both. That's a gigantic contradiction.

Answer 1

And you don't think the Bible is equally filled with contradictions?

Answer 2

Well, it's quite simple really. Each person has many paths laid out before them. We have the choice of which one we take, and when, though sometimes we're forced onto a different path because of someone else's choice. For example, someone chooses to set off a bomb where you work.
It isn't because it was "supposed" to happen, it's just because...it did. Because we all have free will. God just knows what we're going to choose. It doesn't mean we don't have a choice.
Now, prophecy is a completely different thing. Usually only prophesies with a large impact are made, e.g. the birth of Christ, the end of the world as we know it. It just means that these are things that ARE going to happen, and that's all there is to it...but they're still because of choices that people make.

Answer 3

It may seem as a contradiction but its not.

Every human's destiny is to worship God and Be in His kingdom - John 3:16-17 Tells us that he loves the entire world and gone to prepare a place for us (all). Heaven can hold everyone - our destiny is heaven.

However, free will allows us the option to not choose that destiny that God has planned for us all. Destiny doesn't necessarily means that you have to do it; you are presented with the option to follow your destiny or not. Even some of the corny movies that speak about destiny shows the actor having to make a decision to take the mantle and follow his destiny or not.

I really do hope though that you choose your destiny planned out by God who knows best and not self that is subject to sin and Satan.

Answer 4

The idea that God has set for each of us an individual destiny, and he also throws obstacles...I mean, it's hogwash and almost an entirely American idea.

The Bible espouses a LARGER UNIVERSAL justice that sometimes, unfortunately, leave individuals as meal for the grindstone. In other words we are part of a larger system that has a balance, and even in our darkest hour, when everything seems turned against us, we can take some solace in that there is that UNIVERSAL justice that serves the will of God.

Because someone is lucky and rich doesn't mean God condones them, and because someone gets cancer, it doesn;t mean God is punishing them.

Americans have even taken the system of Buddhist Karma and adapted it for the instant gratification culture. Karma is a concept of UNIVERSAL balance, not balance for your actions in your own life, but rather your NEXT life.

The idea that God wants us to do something but yet makes it almost impossible to do is to believe in a God that either is testing us for some outside purpose, or is a psycho.

If he is testing us, who says we should care? Let him make his judgement and do what YOU think is right.

Answer 5

You're right. They can't. And yet they do.

Some people will say 'God has written your path; it's up to you whether you choose to take it' - which is not predestination. Some will say 'God already knows what you will do, but it's still your decision whether or not to make it', which is not truly free will (as I see it).

If you deny free will, however, then you deny the Church the ability to legislate morality. If you deny predeterminism, you deny the Church its long-term importance to the world. So claim both and tell people to be quiet if they have too many questions.

If that doesn't work, tell them that the Lord moves in mysterious ways.

If that doesn't work, tell them that they don't have the Holy Spirit within them so thay wouldn't understand.

And pat yourself on the back for 2000 years and counting of manipulation.

Answer 6

I'm not a Christian; I'm a Baha'i; but, I believe that from my perception, I have free will; but, from the perception of God; He already knows the choices I've made/am going to make; because in the spirit world, there is no such thing as space and time; there is only here and now. It's like I'm an actor, playing a part and I have free will to make my choices; but, since there is no such thing as time, God, has already seen the movie, and knows the choices I made/am going to make. I don't believe every life story has already been written; I am making my own decisions; it's just that since there is no such thing as time; God already knows the decisions I've made/going to make, even though I'm confined to space and time, and, don't know the choices I'll make in the future. I believe God has a determined plan for the world; but, it's up to us whether we're going to play a negative or positive part in that plan. I can either be the flower, or the fertilizer the flower grows in that allowed that flower to become so beautiful. We can make it easy on ourselves, or difficult, but the plan of God, His will, will be done. So, collectively, our future is determined; but, individually, we have free choice in determining what role we'll play in that future.

The world is destined to be united, as Christ promised--the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, the brotherhood of man. We can either work toward that Kingdom, or against it; but, it will happen just as Christ and all the Divine Prophets of God--Sabean, Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad and The Bab promised.

Answer 7

'Omniscience' is logically incompatible with 'free will'. 'Omniscience', all by itself, is sufficient to put the lid on 'free will'; omnipresence and omnipotence are irrelevant.

If we really DO have 'free will', then an omniscient god is logically excluded. The logical fallacy lies in the premise that if god is omniscient, all outcomes are already known to god... everything that you think, decide and do... and everything that you will think, decide, and do.

For an omniscient being, all of existence over all of time is laid out as a tapestry before him... past, present and future, down to the smallest detail of material, of thought and of deed, and all is constantly in his awareness. There is no past, present and future... there is only an eternal 'now'.

If that is the case, since god already knows everything that will happen, then everything is already decided... and as we go along through life, we are merely doing what has already been seen by god. Since god knows and sees everything that will happen, nothing that we think or do can be contrary to what god already sees and knows. We might think we have free will... but since we are merely acting out what god already sees and knows, this can be no more than the illusion of free will.

Put another way, if you come to a point of decision, you have no choice but to take the path that god already knows you will take... there is no other option. That works all the way down the path of cause-and-effect... and, along the way, it even casts doubt on the validity of the concept of cause and effect. I don't want to get into that, though... it makes my hair hurt.

So, either god is omniscient OR we have free will. It is quite impossible for both of these conditions to coexist.

The only way out of this logical dilemma is to limit god's power; i.e., start taking away things that god can see and know, until we get to a point where free will becomes a possibility. But when we start doing that, then be ceases to be omniscient... and thus ceases to be a 'supreme being'.

So, you have two logically consistent choices:

* If you insist that you have free will, then you are (logically) obliged to acknowledge that god can not be all powerful, all knowing, etc. (This does not preclude the notion of 'god'... it just means that he can't be as 'supreme' as one might think he is... or wish him to be.)

* If you insist that god is all powerful, all knowing, etc., then you are (logically) obliged to give up the notion that you have free will, and you are (metaphorically speaking) nothing more than a piece on god's eternal game board; and, thus, "... man is not responsible for his actions."

There are no other logically valid choices.

It is unfortunate (for desert monotheism) that the concepts of god were solidified as dogma a few thousand years before the philosophical discipline of 'logic' was dreamed up by the Greeks. Those that concocted the religion were apparently not equipped with the intellectual tools to realize that they had 'screwed the pooch' with respect to assigning god's impossible attributes. It wasn't until the 4th century that this logical impossibility garnered serious attention, and churchmen got their theological 'dancin' shoes' on, trying to weasel their way out of the logical dilemma.

They did not succeed, and this issue continues to be debated even 'til this day. This logical dilemma (and the resulting 'cognitive dissonance') was a key element in some of the various 'heresies' that were spawned in the early days of Christianity.

However, the simple observation that these impossible beliefs still exist shows that this does not seem to have been a very big hindrance, under the simple expediency that "There is no problem so big that we cannot ignore it, until it will go away." Too bad for them, though... it DOESN'T go away.

Corporate religion is helped along by the fact that most 'believers' do not employ logic or critical thinking skills; heck... that's why they're believers in the first place. If they employed logic and critical thinking, they would not be believers. So, even though these concepts are a logical impossibility, it does not seem to present a significant problem for them.

Answer 8

Prophecy is God's spoken word, delivered through his prophets in the Bible, When the Bible's works were finished so was the Word. However the only destiny we can be 100% sure of is that because we are born into sin we will die.

Answer 9

I disagree....I believe it's destiny that certain people will come in and out of your life....you are destined to follow a chosen path...However, there are obstacles and bumps along the way...the forks in the road if you will that lead you astray....it's all a matter of the route you choose and the decisions you make along the way that determine how easy or difficult your path to your destiny will be.

Answer 10

I've known devout Christians who never fail to read their horoscopes first thing every morning. Apparently it's possible to believe that God is in charge while also believing that the stars control your destiny.

It reminds me of the "Through the Looking Glass" character who always believed six impossible things before breakfast.

Answer 11

From a biblical standpoint predestination doesn't abdicate one of free will. In actuality it reinforces it. The offer of eternal life through Jesus is given to all that all might be saved but God is willing to risk rejection and allows man to choose. They work unilaterally. Predestination "for God so loved the world he gave his one and only son that whomever shall believe on him will have eternal life". Humanity has free will to choose to believe or not to believe that does not detract from the offer extended to all mankind by God. Understood in context it makes sense God offers a benefits package that includes a nice retirement cottage. John Doe opts to buy into that package John Smith chooses to reject that package entirely. As they both age and approach retirement John Doe cashes in his packet and heads for his reward. John Smith looks at John Doe and says that's not fair why can't I have a cottage. Both John Doe and John Smith were offered the same package eternal life through Jesus but both exercise free will regarding that offer. It makes perfect sense within the Christan gospel. If God were to judge mankind for doing what he predestined them to do while suspending free will there would be no justice. God is not in a power struggle with man he need not suspend their free will to prove the merit of his offer. John Smith can't have the cottage because he choose to reject the offer made to everyone and therefore God has respected his free will. The apparent contradiction issue comes in when discussing why he rejected God's offer. With the freedom to make choices comes the responsibility of living with those consequences and this what most people want to blame God for. The message with God is come to me and be reconciled to your creator through any number of mediums.