I'm just wondering what people's beliefs are on the issue self-determination v's pre-destination are.
From the Islamic perspective we believe that Allah is the creator and planner of everything and predestination is one of the articles of faith in Islam. This isn't to say that we don't have free will. We can make any choices we want but Allah knows what these choices will be. I know that some Muslims struggle a bit with this and it can lead some people into having a fairly fatalistic world view.
Our free will exists in our choices everyday but whilst the consequences of these actions are often unknown to us they are always known to Allah.
Of course it's much more complex than this...
I'm sure that between us we have a fairly wide range of views so I'd love to hear other people's perspectives.
I believe that we have a pre-determinted fate (I think!) but the path we take to get there is entirely up to us. I do believe that alot of things happen for a reason. Life is just a series of choices really. We have the power to make our own choices in life from the little things as to what to eat for lunch to the big things like relationships, how we treat people etc and how we feel or more specifically it's our choice on how we react to situations and people. That gives us our free will.
My view sounds pretty similar to yours Chloe - I believe, though I cannot fully comprehend, in God's 100% sovereignty and man's 100% responsibility. God has EVERYTHING completely in His control and works it all according to His plan. And yet, people are completely responsible for the choices they make, and we believe that God responds to our prayers.
(just to preface, as usual, I'm coming from my Christian perspective)
To be honest, it's not something I try to think about too much - because firstly, I suspect it's one of those things that only God understands for sure, and also because I've seen people who are supposed to be united become divided because of issues like predestination.
Some people think (as far as I understand, in regards to salvation through Jesus) that God chooses who is saved. My thoughts are more that God knows who is saved, because he's outside of time, he knows who will choose him and who won't, and every other decision we make. Already he has knowledge of every single person who will know him, and who won't. I don't believe that God chooses some and not others, because the bible says (don't know where off the top of my head) that he isn't willing that any are lost.
I believe that anyone can make their own choices, that God gave us free will, and that we can choose to follow him and make other choices. I base that on verses that talk about salvation being available to all. (I'm talking about salvation, because that's what most Christian 'predestination' debate seems to centre around.)
Having said that, there are parts of the bible, like in the story of Moses where the bible says God hardens Pharoah's heart, and similar situations, that I find difficult to grasp, in light of aforementioned beliefs.
Which brings me back to my first statement. :P I'll never understand it fully, and understanding predestination is not critical to my relationship with God, and I've seen people go round and round in circles about this kind of issue, and lose sight of the important thing - the good news of Jesus, and loving God and others.
I believe the map is there and my route across it exists, but only to a certain extent. Like, if you think of a map of Aus and you on your feet - there's only so many places you can walk in a day. So i believe my potentials are mapped out already, but the path i take through them is mine to choose.
Self-determination/free-will V's predestination/fate
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