Were you predestined to be who you are?

Question

And if so, does that negate your free will?

Wow, I'm amazed that some of you presume I'm not a Christian. I'm just asking a question here. You don't even know me.

Answer 1

Yes I am what I am by predestination, But that did not take away my free will, God gave us all a free will, But since God Knows the beginnning to the end, & by his foreknowledge as to what decsions we will make, Then based upon him knowing all things, then God can predestinate anyone based upon his knowledge as to what path we will take.

Answer 2

If I have ice cream in the freezer, my kids are going to eat it. Did I make them eat it? Nope, they used their free will. Did I know they were going to? Heck ya, I know my kids!

I put the ice cream there knowing they would eat it. Just because God knows what you're going to do doesn't mean he made you do it.

But, if there were no real choices, such as, if I arranged it so that no matter what they absolutely had to swallow ice cream whether they wanted it or not, then they would be predestined and their free will would be taken from them.

Don't get predestination confused with for-ordination. You could be for ordained to fill a destiny, and things might be arranged for you to walk that way, but you might not use your will to fulfill it. That would be your choice to give up that possibility.

Answer 3

I don't think predestined is the right word. And we all have free will. I think that because God can read the heart, he can determine some of the actions that that one might take in their course of life. And he does have his own timeline for this world as to what his will is. So if he needs to stick his finger in and stir, I'm sure he could do it without anyone noticing. His prophecies will come true.

Answer 4

I was predestined by the groundschools numbers to be a worker on the branch that doesn`t interest me or suit me at all. It has been a quite battle, but I have not given up, and it has become expensive for the country.

The "destiny`s" (or schoolsystems) power is strong, but not strong enaugh to overwrite me.

I never ended on that branch for more than few months at a time. Now im studing for the different branch.

Answer 5

Look at it this way "Yummy", God tells us He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and also that He is omnipotent"all knowing" so if that is the case He knows exactly yours and mine outcome. He knows how many will accept Him or reject Him even though we have the free will to choose or reject. He tells us in His word "God is willing that none should perish" but since He has given us our free will many will still reject God. Does that mean we should therefor say what does it matter what I do it's all predestined anyway, certainly not, we make our choice not wait to see what will happen. It still stands that if we do not accept Christ whom God has sent we will not spend eternity in heaven with God whom we have rejected.They are big stakes my friend, choose Christ and you choose an eternity in His presence, reject Him and you will not find your name written in the "Lambs Book of Life" and will go to hell for eternity, no second chances.

Answer 6

According to the word of God, yes I was predestined chosen by Him before the creation of earth and no it does not negate my free will...my will is His will. I choose to love, and serve Him.

Answer 7

Yes. I am right were I am supposed to be right at this moment. Everyone thinks that they have free will because they make choices but that is not so. The only way to truly have free will is to know the future in advance and then make your choice based on two different paths. But then again if you knew the future then you were probably destined to know the future and thus you will make the decision that you are supposed to make.

Answer 8

Considering there is no free will in the first place (a consequence that can rather easily be established with basic principles from physics, physical chemistry, biology, neurology, psychology, and computer science), the question is moot.

We made the choices we made because of the condition we were in and the inputs we received and all our past experiences. Put back in the exact condition, receiving the exact same inputs, with the exact same past, and we would 100% make the exact same choice.

That's not free will. Consciousness is an inherantly recursive process. As such, you can never escape your past; even if you reject your past and choose to change, you are still reacting to that past. You cannot choose to cure yourself of alcoholism if you've never been an alcoholic.

Since who we are is ultimately determined by computable, if stochaistic, rules of physics, we are in fact predestined, our futures as set in stone as are our pasts.

Answer 9

We prefer to use the term foreordained rather than predestined. God has a plan for each of us. We were sent here with something to accomplish. He expects us to do certain things during our lives. The question for us is to figure out what that mission is. We believe that if we seek to follow His word and will, the Spirit will guide us to not only discover our mission but to accomplish it as well. Each of us comes to earth with agency to choose to follow good or bad. We can negate our mission by choosing to do evil. We can also magnify our life's calling by choosing to do good. It is up to us. God will not force our lives. However, God also knows each of us and what we are likely to do in any given circumstance. That is why He doesn't give us more than we can handle. He does not set us up to fail. If we will call on Him for help, He will help us to meet our challenges. We will be challenged. It will be difficult but if we persist in following His lead, He will help us to get past our challenges.
So back to your question. We were selected to do certain things. We are who we are because God made us this way. Was Judas predestined to betray Christ? No. He chose to do that. God knew that he was weak and would likely do what he did. He didn't have to. Was a betrayal necessary to fulfill Christ's mission of being our Savior? Yes, in one way or another, it was necessary. So why was Judas punished for doing what was ultimately part of God's plan? Why was Satan punished for tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit when that was also a necessary part of God's plan. The answer is that there must be opposition in all things or else there is no agency to exercise. These bad things were part of the necessary exercise of agency. That doesn't, however, excuse the doer for having done them. God, who knows the end from the beginning, knows that we are going to make mistakes. They are necessary for us to learn the right from the wrong. We grow by learning to deal with our mistakes, improving on them and ultimately becoming what God intended for us to be. If we are diligent, we will become what God wants us to be. That is foreordained, not destined. We have the power to screw up our lives and some of us do it with panache.

Answer 10

Great question - but I think the free will thing only kicks in AFTER we're born, but I do believe we are predestined to be who we are.