Predestination @ MindSay

"We conclude that fallen man is still free to choose what he desires, but because his desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. As long as he remains in the flesh, unregenerate, he will never choose Christ. He cannot choose Christ precisely because he cannot act against his own will. he has no desire for Chrst. He cannot choose what he does not desire. His fall is great. It is so great that only the effectual grace of God working in his heart can bring him to faith."

 

Chosen by God, by RC Sproul. pg. 75

 

NDosch

To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Phillipians 1:21

Please everyone answer and tell your friends to respond as well.

What do you guys think about pre-destination? do you believe in it yes or no, and to what degree do you believe this to be true?

History, Elation, Repugnance, Misery.
Morality, Miserly, Putrescence, Indolence.
Fervor, Fuehrer, Tag, Grouse.
Impress, Imply, Awry, Astonish.
Admonish, Predestination, Punctuation, Allow.
Prow, Follow, Wallow, Existentialism.

I haven't looked back.

-Mitch

It only took me 3 days to write this.


Yesterday, a peice of my past flitted in and out of my life. As I firmly believe that everything occurs at that exact moment that it occurs for a specific and possibly preordained reason, the seemlingly insignificant moment of passing could very well be the stepping stone to something exceptionally significatn and bigger than any of us could imagine.

Now, I am sure that there are those scoffing right now. After all, who would want to believe that every single moment of your lide from your conception to your death is known and mapped out before it even begins? Is planned before it begins? Essentially, the entire theory implies that not one thing we do in our ENTIRE lives is by choice.  That I was meant to be (sort of) late for work this morning. That I am meant to be writing this at work right now with this red pen, as opposed to the black pen I normally use. And that later, if it is meant to be, I will be putting it into my blog, where you all are now reading it. (2 1/2 days later).

OK. So, that is a little bit ridiculous, isn't it? But, for a fatalist, it is completely 100% true.  "whatever will be, will be." aka "Qhe sera sera."  I do believe in fate. I do believe in predestination. I also believe int he concept and power of FREE WILL.  To clarify, I believethat there is an ultimate destination we are meant to reach in this life time. The choice we make, is how we get there.  For some, they make the "right" decisions at the pivotal moments thus enabling them to reach their "destiny" at an accelerated rate. Others may stumble along the path, perhaps taking a more scenic side route along the way.

There is a movie entitled "Sliding Doors" starring Gwyneth Paltrow that touches on this theory. A seemingly innoccuous event, her NOT bumping into someone on the stairs of the subway sets off and entire chain of events which result in her meeting a man on the subway whom she eventually falls in love with, and if I remember correctly, marries.  As you go through the story line, at some point, they switch to what would have happened, had she actually bumped into the person on the stairs and missed the subway train. The chain of events that follow are completely different in nature fromt he prior events. However, the movie ends with her stepping into an elevator, where she meets the man she WOULD have met in the subway had she not missed it in this alternate reality. The man she eventually marries, only she met him MONTHS later than she would have had she not bumped into the person on the stairs.

A favorite quote of mine that also references this topic, from "Ever After: A Cinderella Story"
    Prince Henry: Do you really think there is only one perfect mate?
    Leonardo da Vinci: As a matter of fact, I do.
    Prince Henry: Well then how can you be certain to find them? And if you do find them, I mean really the one     for you, or do you only think they are, then what happens if the person you're supposed to be with never         appears, or she does but you're too distracted to notice?
    Leonardo da Vinci: You learn to pay attention.
    Prince Henry: And let's say... God pus 2 people on earth and they are lucky enough to find one another, but
    one of them gets hit by lightening, well then what, is that it? Or perchance you meet someone new and marry
    all over again, is that the lady you're supposed to be with, or was it the first? And if so, when the 2 of them
    are walking side by side, were they both the one for you and you just happened to meet the first one first, or
    was the second one supposed to be first? And is everything chance? Or are some things meant to be?
    Leonardo da Vinci: You cannot leave everything to fate boy. She's got a lot to do, sometimes you must give
    her a hand.


Which brings me back to my point.  The eventual goal of where our life takes us and whom we will be involved with along the way is already preordained, it is merely the choices we make that determine how we get tehre or how soon.

Why so philosophical over a chance meeting with with the brother of an old friend? Although it sounds like a moment of very little import, several things about it struck me as quite out of the ordinary:
    1. I haven't seen Rich (my friend Jessie's older brother) since I was around 13 or 14.
    2. I haven't even seen Jessie in at LEAST 4 years.
    3. He recognised me, I didn't even know whom he was until he told me. Which is rather ironic, since he was my very first crush EVER. And what girl forgets her first crush? But I also don't thinkI look like I did at 14.
    4.  And lastly, he made a POINT of letting me know who he was. Now, I know no one likes to be forgotten, but honestly, I don't always make sure that when I recognise someone that they know me also.

Now, I just need to determine  why this event was significant.  Besides all the reasons I have previously states, the mere fact that it triggered the urge to write this makes it significant.  Of course,  it's entire "significance" may be that it prompted me to write this, which may in turn dramatically effect someone else's perception or beliefs. So the next time someone says inthat cryptic way; "Everything happens for a reason." or" There's a right time and place for evrything.", BELIEVE IT!