maaaaaaaaan...i have had discussion about this with at least three different people about these two things within the last month or so...
the 1st was with my friend Wes...
2nd, my homegurl Jackie...
& 3rd...yesterday, my mom....
and it's amazing to me how everyone has their own idea of what exactly is the deal with these two things....
so now, i thought i'd share the topic with my hbcu fam :-)
it's hard to talk about fate and destiny without bringing the Almighty Creator into the equation....
but anyway...I'd just like to know....all of you....how do you feel about destiny and fate? do you even believe in either of them? to what degree?
Wes was saying that he thinks that certain things that happen in life are not of fate or destiny...but by chance, rather....
an example he used was someone winning the lottery....
HE says that the person wins by chance....
I say that the person wins by fate....because to consider the fact that millions & millions try the lottery ALL THE TIME....and of ALL of them, that ONE person actually made it....it might have been meant for that to happen...
but THEN...i asked him if certain things that happen between people....is fate/destiny or chance....and used the example of how we met....5 years ago....which was by a HAIR.......and he was like well....he thinks that was fate....so we agreed that at least perhaps fate/destiny pertains to how people meet...
but I don't know - I think it might go further than that....much further...
and the final question is....the SCARY question is....do you feel everyone's destiny is predetermined at their birth????
THAT was the REAL nitty gritty head-bumper....in all of the discussions I had.....
you'd like to think that, for example, maybe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was meant to do all that he did....God sent him here for a reason....Dr. King did what he came to do...and kept moving....
BUT....the individual who was responsible for having **** Dr. King....you would like to THINK...that God wouldn't put that person on this earth....to take the life of another...especially of someone so significant to mankind....
so with that said, how would predetermination work? was the person who **** Dr. King actually meant to do something positive with his life...but did this evil act instead?
in connection to the question of "predetermination," another one was often proposed: do we really have freedom of choice as human beings...only if believe our destinations in life truly are already predetermined?
the story of Judas from The Bible was introduced in me & Wes' convo...and I kept asking, "If Judas & the other disciples were told in advance that one of them would betray Jesus...wouldn't that the future was already written...and therefore, whoever it ended up being...really had no choice???"....also, the story of Peter denying Jesus...I was like, if Jesus had already told him in advance that he would deny him....what else could he possibly do? Jesus already said it was gonna HAPPEN!! It's not like Peter had the control of proving Jesus wrong...ya know? but anyway...
what do you all think...?
I believe that God has a plan for every person. However, if we choose not to follow his rules and what not we are not going to see what God has for us. God gives each person a choice. Some choose right and some choose wrong
the story of Judas from The Bible was introduced in me & Wes' convo...and I kept asking, "If Judas & the other disciples were told in advance that one of them would betray Jesus...wouldn't that the future was already written...and therefore, whoever it ended up being...really had no choice???"....also, the story of Peter denying Jesus...I was like, if Jesus had already told him in advance that he would deny him....what else could he possibly do? Jesus already said it was gonna HAPPEN!! It's not like Peter had the control of proving Jesus wrong...ya know? but anyway...
what do you all think...?
That was pretty deep. I never even thought about it like that. It makes a lot of sense though and supports eph. 1:11. I do believe in predetermination. We already have a predestinated purpose and path. When I look at things like when I meet people, like you mentioned in one of your paragraphs, and how I actually get on a certain path, the ways that I got the results that I did were so intricate and it's if I had made one small different decision, so much right now would change. for example the way that I applied to Howard. I was set to apply early action to two universities (norfolk and vsu) and my counselor said that I HAD to pick a third so I just unconciously blurted out Howard. The way that I have meet some people has been the same way. I remember earlier in high school when all the changes that I went through occured. It made no sense whatsoever. until I got to a point where I noticed how alllll of the small pieces intricately fit together to move me to a new level in life. Simple complexity.
the story of Judas from The Bible was introduced in me & Wes' convo...and I kept asking, "If Judas & the other disciples were told in advance that one of them would betray Jesus...wouldn't that the future was already written...and therefore, whoever it ended up being...really had no choice???"....also, the story of Peter denying Jesus...I was like, if Jesus had already told him in advance that he would deny him....what else could he possibly do? Jesus already said it was gonna HAPPEN!! It's not like Peter had the control of proving Jesus wrong...ya know? but anyway...
what do you all think...?
I believe that God already knows what we will do and God knew in advanced that one of them would make a decision to betray Jesus. So it wasn't as if one of them had no choice but to betray them but God knew that one of them would betray him in advance
He knew and also had apart in it. He sacrificed his only son so that we may live. That's just the way he set things up. Also, i do agree with what you said in the previous post. God does control our destiny.
the story of Judas from The Bible was introduced in me & Wes' convo...and I kept asking, "If Judas & the other disciples were told in advance that one of them would betray Jesus...wouldn't that the future was already written...and therefore, whoever it ended up being...really had no choice???"....also, the story of Peter denying Jesus...I was like, if Jesus had already told him in advance that he would deny him....what else could he possibly do? Jesus already said it was gonna HAPPEN!! It's not like Peter had the control of proving Jesus wrong...ya know? but anyway...
what do you all think...?
I believe that God already knows what we will do and God knew in advanced that one of them would make a decision to betray Jesus. So it wasn't as if one of them had no choice but to betray them but God knew that one of them would betray him in advance
I agree with that, but I also feel that God has a purpose for our life, but WE are responsible and control our own destiny. In other words, lets take MLK Jr. for example. I think we would all agree that he fulfilled his God given purpose which was to help break segregation, unite people, use non **** resistance, and a plethora of other things...Martin controlled his destiny because of free will and choice. MLK could have easily said no he wouldnt lead the march on Washington, no he wouldnt be the forefront black person to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, no he wont lead the Civil Rights Movement, so on and so forth. Martin could have easily said no to all those things, and his life could have taken a completely different turn and path. Because he said YES to all of those things he was destined to fulfill the purpose for his life. He still may have lead a righteous life, but he wouldnt have fulfilled his PURPOSE in which God created solely for him.
So basically God blesses us with a purpose to fulfill in our life, but we fulfill our purposes solely by our choice and I believe if we make the right choices we are destined to fulfill our purpose in life.
Thats my take on it.
I believe that God has a plan for every person. However, if we choose not to follow his rules and what not we are not going to see what God has for us. God gives each person a choice. Some choose right and some choose wrong
i can agree 100% to that...
my boys from High School... the made the wrong choices... ranging from leaving school to goin to prison...
then i have some peeps (including myself) who chose to do right by going to school, and working and doing what they can to better themselves...
J's hit it on the head... we have the choice to go on a path... and each path has its consequences...
I believe that God has a plan for every person. However, if we choose not to follow his rules and what not we are not going to see what God has for us. God gives each person a choice. Some choose right and some choose wrong
i can agree 100% to that...
my boys from High School... the made the wrong choices... ranging from leaving school to goin to prison...
then i have some peeps (including myself) who chose to do right by going to school, and working and doing what they can to better themselves...
J's hit it on the head... we have the choice to go on a path... and each path has its consequences...
I believe that God has a plan for every person. However, if we choose not to follow his rules and what not we are not going to see what God has for us. God gives each person a choice. Some choose right and some choose wrong
Amen!!!! I agree! And I heard this statement on Oprah (yes I watch it lol) : When a person makes a mistake, their life isn't ruined...it's just altered. I agree with this TOTALLY
like i told mista J on AIM yesterday....i basically agree with what all has been said...especially what Mila said, but....
what about when it comes to people? people and certain things that happen (like, winning the lottery was the example i used)??
is that fate/destiny or chance? do we REALLY meet people "for a reason"? is life really set up a certain way so that we meet those particular people? or does it just happen to fall that way...and you could have just as easily met someone else instead and never actually met the person you thought you were meant to meet....in the first place...?
and for things like winning the lottery....or on the flip-side, becoming ridiculously homeless and poor...
either of those two things happen for a reason? or it's just really good/bad luck....?
and thanks to all who have replied so far....i really did want as many people's takes on this topic as possible....because like i told Jimmie, I don't find the issue of destiny/fate to be simple....on the contrary, i find it to be quite complex....
but anywayz....
