Is there such a thing as "meant to be" or is everything just a coincidence?

Answer 1

What is all that crap about unanswerable?

1) Meant to be? Of course not! We have free will!

2) Co-incidence? Of course not! Co-incident with what?

Example:

(A real co-incidence):
"You were seen running away from the building at 4:00 pm., and interestingly there was a murder at just about that time! Was it coincidence"

(Something that is not a co-incidence)
"There was a murder at about 4:00 pm. Was it co-incidence?"

The question therefore makes no sense.

If someone wants to tell me that we don't have free will, let me remind of what you get from a wavefinction collapse carried outward by the lyapunov exponent. That's right - we have free will.

In summary, things are not 'meant to be', nor are they 'co-incidence' .... they merely ARE.

Answer 2

Actually, I believe strongly in synchronicity. I will post a link to a wikipedia article about it, because it's kind of hard to explain, but what it basically means is that things that happen to people can be seen as having an underlying cause which is part of a larger pattern, but that pattern may only make sense to the person or people involved.

When you look at things that way, you see that some things are, in fact, meant to be, while others are just coincidences. The reason why I believe in synchronicity is because I have just had too many experiences that point away from coincidence to believe that everything can be attributed to it. But that's just me, and how I perceive the world, and what I have reasoned out for myself. Others will have other opinions.

I can tell you this, however, I don't think that it's an either/or proposition either way. I do not believe that every single thing in life is "meant to be", and I don't believe that every single thing in life is coincidence. I think that sometimes forces outside our understanding place us in the right place at the right time for a reason.

Here's an article that explains synchronicity in more and better detail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity

Answer 3

When something happens we might say it was "meant to be." That is hind sight and an easy comment for people to make and not be glaringly wrong. It is also a romantic view of an incident - which tells more about the person who says it than the people who were "meant to be." That has nothing to do with the concept that everything is coincidence. We know that the order in the universe, e.g. the tide goes out and the tide comes in, etc., suggests an intelligence behind this whole design. In other words, that much of our lives will appear planned, although in a personal sense, that doesn't hold water. There are so many opportunities - random, coincidental opportunities - in our daily lives that we are forced to use our brains to choose what road we will take at that moment. These moments add up to a pattern of behavior that, by late teens, early 20s, will determine the pattern of our life. One doesn't work at designing a life, one will be designed for them. Prisons exist to cage people who never lifted a finger to earn their own way. Welfare is the culprit in designing a life of poverty for millions of black, brown and white poor - all of whom grow up believing that the government will take care of them cradle to grave. The black race, possessing every talent and personal quality to lead this country to a spiritual awakening, has been devastated by the welfare state and all that is attached to it. Black men have paid a terrible price these last two generations, especially fathers who are not needed in the home and who watch from afar as their children glory in gangsterism. Bill Cosby has it so right and Jesse Jackson, bless him for all his past work, has it so wrong in 2006. It is coincidence for the black community. I think not. You set the foundation a certain way and the rest is "meant to be."
Two different concepts. One takes planning and the other just happens. Our educated brains can build joy from either and both of the concepts.

Answer 4

The answer is neither.

Suppose there is a car crash and three passengers die while the fourth one survives. Some people might say that those three people were "meant to" die in accordance with their god's will, while the other was "meant to" live. Others might say that it's entirely coincidence that one survived while the others died.

But if you looked at the physics, the math of the situation, the position of the people in the car, the velocity of the car and the force of impact, it would be fairly easy to predict who would live and who would die. But that prediction doesn't mean there is some esoteric REASON for that occurrence. If you drop an apple and it falls to the ground due to gravity, it's not a coincidence that it fell, and it wasn't "meant to" fall or "preordained" to fall. It fell because you dropped it. End of story.

Answer 5

Everything happens for a reason I've seen everything good in my life unfold from the most horrible moments ... so yes i believe that whatever happens is meant to be .... everything seems to be in such a detailed order to be just coincidence

Answer 6

missy81,
I lean towards 'meant to be.' Coincidence in it's proper place. Where it only seems to be random, may indeed be random, but is the purpose hidden? Only God knows.

There have been and are prophecies that are in the Bible that concur at least with the knowledge displayed that is forseen. As if it was seen before the fact.

It is said that God sees history like a parade. What's in front, is already past, and what's behind, it still to come.

It's a thought provoking idea, but having diffiulty comprehending it doesn't make it not true!

Answer 7

Listen, "Missy" there is NO such thing as "meant to be" Each of us controls our OWN destiny. WE decide what is going to happen in this life.

But as far as "coincidence" goes, there is NO SUCH THING either!

You are NOT a dummy, You'll work it out.....

Answer 8

Everything is in The God's plan.
there is no such thing as coincidence or Luck.

Answer 9

Everything is a coincidence. Unless you believe in fate, which many people do, it is difficult to think that every quirk in the world was meticulously planned out. The coffee you spilled this morning, was it part of the grand master plan that will alter the world? I hardly think so. Also, who controls what you think, what you feel? You do.

Answer 10

nothing happens in coincidence. nothing is meant to be. we all have a unique pattern in living our lives, "meant to be" means we are highly or most likely to follow that pattern but it doesn't have to be so. we are still the ones making the decisions and change the pattern of our lives, and we can do so by change the way we think.