A recent struggle that I have been dealing with is the issue of Free Will and Destiny/Fate.
As a person who does not believe in Pre-Destination (or Pre-Determinism) I find it hard to accept this thing called Fate. I also think that Fate and Destiny are terms that can be used interchangeably (but others tell me otherwise).
To me Fate and Destiny are the same, because both refer to an end result of something that is going to happen, no matter what you do. However, a new friend of mine says that Fate is the end result and Destiny is the process by which one achieves his/her fate. Though they are different, I still think that they are too close to separate. If I had to give different definitions for each I would say that Destiny is refers to an end result, an unchanging point of one's ultimate purpose and that Fate refers to an outside force that has progressed one towards (or away from) their Destiny. I come to this conclusion based on the context in which people use the word Fate. For example, "It was fate that caused them to meet and get married one day." Whereas an example of Destiny would be, "It is his destiny that he will ascend the throne and inherit his father's lands." After writing these examples I cannot help but think that they could be used interchangeable again.
Ok, so after all of that I looked up their definitions to settle this once and for all. Fate is "the finality of events as they have worked themselves out." Destiny is "participating in achieving an outcome that is directly related to itself." And it turns out I was half right about the interchangeability of fate and destiny: "Used in the past tense, "destiny" and "fate" are both more interchangeable, both imply "one's lot" or fortunes, and include the sum of events leading up to a currently achieved outcome." I got this from Wikipedia.
There is one last piece to the puzzle before I reveal the dilemma (if you can't already figure it out) I believe 100% that there is a God out there who is All-Loving, All-Knowing, and All-Present. People at my church talk about "God's Will" and that "Everything happens for a reason".
So now keeping this in mind, here is the issue: Since God is All-Knowing, then he knows what I have done, what I am doing, and everything I will do.
The context which I hear "fate," "God's Will," and "Everything happens for a reason" make me believe that they are all the same. This equates God's Will with Fate which means that I am powerless to "Fate." I'm OK with God's Will; He is much bigger and more powerful than I can ever be, He knows everything that was, is, and will be. I guess what it comes down to is, does God have the power to control what happens to us? I would say no, because he gave us Free WIll, the freedom to make our own decisions. Since God cannot chose our futures, He does not control Fate, thus fate is separate from God's WIll. Here's what I think about Fate.
I think that people use fate as an excuse, a crutch, or a reason. An excuse to engage in destruction behaviors or settle for the minimum. A crutch to fall back on when things get tough. A reason to feel helpless and lazy. Fate has become this sort of invisible power that controls peoples lives. People become complacent with their mediocrity because of this invisible power. Have they no choice? I believe they do, but they are too lazy or uninformed to make a choice. When faced with the power of fate, people feel helpless against it, that's why they feel they can do nothing to prevent the "inevitable" because, "Oh well, it's gonna happen anyways." These examples perhaps only show a negative side. When things turn out well, whatever it may be, fate becomes this uniform understanding of the universe. When people agree that fate caused something nice to happen, it satisfies them because they feel they have some power by knowing about fate, like it is some sort of secret.
The bottom line is that I do not accept the notion of Fate. I believe that by having Free Will, Fate cannot exist. Free Will gives me the power to choose whatever I want. There is no pre-determined future for me. It is in my hands. I am the product of my choices and decisions. Sometimes our lives are affected by the choices of others. Whether positively or negatively, that is OK because it is impossible for us to get everything we want. My Free Will allows me to work hard to attain my goals. I do not settle for the minimum because of some outside limitation which I have no control over commonly known as Fate.
I think it is time that everyone take the Free Will they have been given and use it rather than feel subjected to an uncontrollable concept of Fate.
As a person who does not believe in Pre-Destination (or Pre-Determinism) I find it hard to accept this thing called Fate. I also think that Fate and Destiny are terms that can be used interchangeably (but others tell me otherwise).
To me Fate and Destiny are the same, because both refer to an end result of something that is going to happen, no matter what you do. However, a new friend of mine says that Fate is the end result and Destiny is the process by which one achieves his/her fate. Though they are different, I still think that they are too close to separate. If I had to give different definitions for each I would say that Destiny is refers to an end result, an unchanging point of one's ultimate purpose and that Fate refers to an outside force that has progressed one towards (or away from) their Destiny. I come to this conclusion based on the context in which people use the word Fate. For example, "It was fate that caused them to meet and get married one day." Whereas an example of Destiny would be, "It is his destiny that he will ascend the throne and inherit his father's lands." After writing these examples I cannot help but think that they could be used interchangeable again.
Ok, so after all of that I looked up their definitions to settle this once and for all. Fate is "the finality of events as they have worked themselves out." Destiny is "participating in achieving an outcome that is directly related to itself." And it turns out I was half right about the interchangeability of fate and destiny: "Used in the past tense, "destiny" and "fate" are both more interchangeable, both imply "one's lot" or fortunes, and include the sum of events leading up to a currently achieved outcome." I got this from Wikipedia.
There is one last piece to the puzzle before I reveal the dilemma (if you can't already figure it out) I believe 100% that there is a God out there who is All-Loving, All-Knowing, and All-Present. People at my church talk about "God's Will" and that "Everything happens for a reason".
So now keeping this in mind, here is the issue: Since God is All-Knowing, then he knows what I have done, what I am doing, and everything I will do.
The context which I hear "fate," "God's Will," and "Everything happens for a reason" make me believe that they are all the same. This equates God's Will with Fate which means that I am powerless to "Fate." I'm OK with God's Will; He is much bigger and more powerful than I can ever be, He knows everything that was, is, and will be. I guess what it comes down to is, does God have the power to control what happens to us? I would say no, because he gave us Free WIll, the freedom to make our own decisions. Since God cannot chose our futures, He does not control Fate, thus fate is separate from God's WIll. Here's what I think about Fate.
I think that people use fate as an excuse, a crutch, or a reason. An excuse to engage in destruction behaviors or settle for the minimum. A crutch to fall back on when things get tough. A reason to feel helpless and lazy. Fate has become this sort of invisible power that controls peoples lives. People become complacent with their mediocrity because of this invisible power. Have they no choice? I believe they do, but they are too lazy or uninformed to make a choice. When faced with the power of fate, people feel helpless against it, that's why they feel they can do nothing to prevent the "inevitable" because, "Oh well, it's gonna happen anyways." These examples perhaps only show a negative side. When things turn out well, whatever it may be, fate becomes this uniform understanding of the universe. When people agree that fate caused something nice to happen, it satisfies them because they feel they have some power by knowing about fate, like it is some sort of secret.
The bottom line is that I do not accept the notion of Fate. I believe that by having Free Will, Fate cannot exist. Free Will gives me the power to choose whatever I want. There is no pre-determined future for me. It is in my hands. I am the product of my choices and decisions. Sometimes our lives are affected by the choices of others. Whether positively or negatively, that is OK because it is impossible for us to get everything we want. My Free Will allows me to work hard to attain my goals. I do not settle for the minimum because of some outside limitation which I have no control over commonly known as Fate.
I think it is time that everyone take the Free Will they have been given and use it rather than feel subjected to an uncontrollable concept of Fate.