Do you Believe in Predestination or Free Will of Man?

Question: Do you Believe in Predestination or Free Will of Man!?

Do you believe that man was predestined before time by God to lead and live a life directed by Him, or that man has the free will to choose what he will do!? Explain!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The notion of "will" is actually obsolete!. At the time of
Kant and all of those guys, people had the notion that
there was "thought" turned into action via "will"!. For
example!. If you raise your arm deliberately, then you have
the thought in your mind, and your "will" executed a
sort of mind over matter operation which elevated your arm!.
So, the notion of "free will" is that anything you can think,
you can used your "will" to actuate!.

One of the problems with the notion of God, and all
of that is that most definitions of God include omnicience
as well as omnipotence!. So, if God is all that smart,
then it must be that he already knows all of the outcomes,
and thus, what is the whole punishing of sin thing, since
he already knows who is going to heaven and hell
from the time of the beginning of the universe!.

I tend to think that the philosophical justifications and
apologetic rationalizations fail to fix the problem, so
this fundamental tenet of most modern god oriented
religions fail!.

So, then we are left with a sort of deist version of God,
who sets up reality, punches the start button, and sits
back and enjoys the show!. But why!? What is the point!?
The deist notion of god then falls by the wayside!.

Ultimately, I tend to think that the notion of god does
not really carry us anywhere!. I would have to say that I
would have to stand pat, and say that unless you can
deliver me really hard evidence that I need to believe
in God, I really don't see much to be gained from the idea!.

So, no I don't believe in "free will" because I don't believe
in "will"!. I don't believe in predestination, because I don't
believe in a Predestiner!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Could easily be either way!. Personally, I believe in the free will of man-- people have the ability to shed their skin, to morph, change, shape their lives and re-shape their lives!.!.!. there seems to be no limit to what a human will is capable of!. At the same time, I would not be surprised in the least if someone told me that all this self-reflection, determination, and re-invention were just the playing out of some higher being's script!. I suppose a very religious Christian would argue both!. That's possible to!. It's all a matter of faith or a matter of openness!. It's a matter of believing in a certain God and what that God calls truth or not believing in any particular God, never accepting or rejecting any of them!. So I guess if you believe in one chances are you believe in both!.

So, in short, I don't know-- I do not believe in either!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I believe that human nature is essentially programmed to believe in their independance and self-control, but as we discover more and more about the human body and its brain, people are starting to wonder if we really control as much as we had thought!.

It's very plausible to predict that someday we will, whether it be moral or immoral, be able to accurately deduce a child's future behavior and attitude based on analysis of their brain!. I'm not saying that this should happen, but I believe we will have the capability relatively soon!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I believe God gave man free will, and that's how we see ourselves!. But God is so mysterious, that predestination should it be truth, is beyond our understanding!. God certainly has grand plans for us all!. You can see this in the everyday lives of people!. Things happen to us all that we sometimes can't explain, and I know God has something to do with this!. God gave us free will, the freedom to make choices in our lives, and the freedom to make mistakes as well!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Human beings' will is as free as their abilities to exercise control over this universe!. The rest is left to the laws of nature!.

In that light, predestination is a misnomer because it appears that human beings have not evolved enough to acquire that ability individually or socially!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I believe that it's a combination of both (exept i don't believe in god i'm an athiest)!. Everything is already written but you make your own decision!.!.!.another way to look at it and understand better what i mean is: you make your own decisions but those decisions were already written!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

actually a little of both, i believe we are all set on a certain course but do have the power to alter it!. example, a man growing up in the ghetto will likely end up in trouble and go nowhere, but his decisions can alter that fate as i often does, both good and bad!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Man has free will, other wise we all would believe in GOD and believe in the same things!. We have the right to chose our direction and fallow our own path with god or with out him!. If we choose him he runs our lives, if we choose not to believe in him we run our lives!. CASE CLOSED!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Free Will for certes, even if i were to believe in the supernatural, i couldn't reconcile the personality of God with the actions of humans!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

both!. i'm free to choose what path i'll take; however, there are some events in my life that will happen to matter what i do!. even if i could change the path i took, certain event will happen no matter what i do!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Im an atheist and believe we live by what we chose to do, people who say they live by what god chose have someone to blame when their life goes askewWww@QuestionHome@Com

Free Will!. How and where I ended up is so strange that He couldn't have come up with it!. No way!

And life is far from over!. Ask again in 10 years!Www@QuestionHome@Com

In what way does God knowing what you will
choose limit your freedom in choosing it!?

Didn't you know some-one was going to say that!? : )Www@QuestionHome@Com

Humans need a system higher than God!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

A bit of both!.!. I think there is a certain path we are put on- such as we don't choose who are parents are!.!. but we can definitely make our own decisions on how we want to deal with things!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

both!I bealive god gives you a path that he will help you follow but that its you respnsibility to ge ton that apth!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

As a Catholic, I believe in free will!. God knows our outcomes, but he doesn't direct our lives or predetermine them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

free will
though neither can be proven
whatever life you got is what you have!.!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think we have free will, but there's some chaos in there tooWww@QuestionHome@Com

Like Forrest Gump, I believe it's both!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

there is no god, so predest is out!. We generally have free will!. not 100%, but more than any other earth animalWww@QuestionHome@Com

Could be either!.!.!.we have no way of finding outWww@QuestionHome@Com