Religion:  I am a Christian but am having a problem with predestination. Was our life decided before we were?
140224
God told Jeremiah (in Jer.1:5) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  But Jeremiah still had the option to do otherwise.  We all have freewill to make our own decisions.  Where you go from that point I'm not sure.  God knows the future and all, so to me that means all the different directions you could take your life in are known to God.  Hope this helps.
1010158
Sometimes we are so focused on waiting for our ship to come in, that we ignore the bus and the taxi that were sent for us.\n\nLook around you, see all the trees in the forest, start walking down the entire path, enjoy all of it.\n\nThis question is in the religion section, so I am going to tell you to first get saved.  If you believe you have, then get to church and rededicate your live to Christ, live for him and not yourself, lay your human burdons at his feet, and when you get up, do NOT take those burdons back with you.  If you find that you did take some of them back with you, go right back and put them back at  his feet.\n\nYou will be doing this the rest of your life, but everytime we leave a bit more of our worries at his feet, we can walk closer to GOD with more and more of the weight lifted off from us.
143582
For Christian people, Jesus is the model of perfection, toghether with his virgin mother Mary.\nIt's not a matter to "plan" your life, but to have an integrity of intentions and of action.\nMaking mistakes is human and no one is perfect; that's why in your religion (I'm from another one) there are spiritual guides (the priests) which can help you find again your right path when you have lost it.\nYou should better concentrate on which are the consequences of succeeding in living a religious life, and think positive, and behave positive.
341347
Well are you saved???? Have you ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins? If not, then that is what you need! If you have and he did save you, maybe you just need to move closer to God! Is there sin in your life that you are not asking God to forgive you for? Are you reading your Bible? Studying? Praying? Going to church? \n\nI know that before I got saved I was not happy at all and then after I got saved I was happy, and I still am, but sometimes I let things get in between me and the Lord and that hinders my happyness.
352847
It is not sensible to believe that if you once recieved Christ and then want to back out that you can't.  Why anyone would want to, I don't know.  The very idea of free will must give us that option.  It is like saying that God will force you to go to heaven, when you have changed your mind..  I think he will send you where you want to go.
1100655
Ok, prepair yourself.  Before God even began creating the earth he has known EVERYTHING.  He knew that you would ask this question and that i would answer it.  God's choice is more God's will, and we are all in God's will.  If he wills it, it IS. \n\nIts easier to think of as a destiny.  He has the path set and we follow it.  Eventhough we are making our own desicions they are not new to Him.
452572
Show me the verse where it says that your life down to the minute is predetermined. The Bible says that the hairs on your head are numbered, and this is in reference to how much God pays attention to you, not to how he planned how much hair you would have. There are several verses and passages in the Bible that hint at something - God is not omniscient (all knowing) in the way humans have made Him out to be. For example - He will forget our sins, He told Abraham that NOW He knew that Abraham truly feared God, He will tell some on judgement day "I never knew you." Is he all-powerful - yes, in that He can do anything that is good (he cannot, for example, lie). If He is all powerful, then can He not, as the examples I listed suggest, choose to know or NOT know whatever He pleases? He certainly does know quite a lot, but for His reasons, there are things He chooses not to know. In the interest of preserving our free will, I think He chooses not to know all the choices we will make. Were we created with a plan for our lives, a purpose, a mission? Yes, but we still have the option to refuse to accept it.
319309
Get saved..Jesus loves you and you need to go to church and read the bible and get saved and the whole world would be a better place, but I'd also mention this is my opinion, everyone has the right to make there own decisions, I don't shove this religion thing down peoples throats just because I believe in it...God bless
941763
As a Christian, do you believe in predestination?\n\nYes, I do believe in predestination. I believe in predestination because I read about it in my Bible. In Ephesians 1:3-6 we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”  Here we see in this text, an excellent reason as to why we should believe in predestination. The reason I’m thinking of is not that it is biblical (although that’s a good reason as well) but that an understanding of predestination should result in the offering of praise unto God – which is honoring to God, and therefore good to us. The passage says that in love God the Father predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ. Predestination is a very good thing!  The Scriptures say that God did this “according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”\n\nPredestination is a part of God’s plan and He gets all the glory in it. Romans 8:28-30 says it this way, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Here in Romans 8:28-30 we see another text for predestination. Briefly, I want to point out here that what is described here in this text only applies to those who will come to trust in Christ or are trusting in Christ. \n\nForeknew means simply knew (or loved) beforehand. Compare this with the phrasing of Ephesians 1:3-6 when it says, “In love he predestined” The same idea of foreknew found in Romans 8:28-30 is in Ephesians 1:3-6 wrapped up in that phrase “In love”.  The Scriptures say, “those whom He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” So those who were foreknown were also predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. That’s a definite. I don’t believe God can foreknow and predestine someone to salvation and them not come to saving faith. I don’t believe that’s going to happen. I believe that if God the Father gives one to the Son that they will be saved. Jesus speaks of this some in John 6:37-40. Jesus in verse 37 says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” So all those who will ever be saved are only saved because the Father gives them unto Christ. That’s what the Scripture says. If you are a believer, God chose you before the foundation of the world in Christ. He predestined you for adoption in Christ, and his choice (despite some opinions here) was not based upon anything you would do in the future. We know this because, as Romans 9:16 says, “it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” Take the example of Romans 9:11-13 with Jacob and Esau. This passage is a passage addressing predestination and here is what it says, “Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call – she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” We were not chosen because of what we would do, or who we would be, but we were chosen purely by grace. Jesus emphasizes this in John 15:16 when he said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and
981633
For the Christian, God knows all. He knows what we will do and even think. But we don't. He has given us free will. So whatever decisions I make are new to me; I don't know the outcome, but God does.
645920
The case of free will vs. predestination has everything to do with whose eyes you look through. Yes, because God dwell in eternity and sees the end from the beginning, He already knows the outcome of your decision. He looks at the earth's timeline, then chooses those who choose Him. However, to have true children and not robots, God gave us a free will to choose. We can choose to love God, we can choose to hate Him, or we can choose to exchange the concept of God for only what we can see within our puny science. If free will truly did not exist, God would provide a world with only one choice and provide tons of evidence to MAKE you believe. But He does not do that. He provides just enough evidence to allow you to think beyond the physical and into the eternal. But you must decide for yourself. But do not be surprised if God knows your decision the moment you make it. \n\nYes, God sees our life as a done deal. Yet, we ourselves do have free will to choose. It would be like I could go back in time, meet with George Lucas while attending USC film class. I would know everything about what he would write and the companies he would start. Does he have freewill to write Star Wars? Yes. Would my knowledge change the fact that Darth Vader will be Luke Skywalker's dad? No. It's a done deal because I am not bound by time. \n\nSo what is the big deal about free will? Well, those of us with children understand that there is a big difference between programming our computers to wake you up in the morning with "good-morning father-I-love-you" and having your little son or daughter jump on your bed at the crack of dawn yelling "Good morning daddy! I love you!" The Almighty God has a myriad of angels proclaiming "Holy, holy, holy"--but they have seen Him, so it is easy. Think what it means to God, having NOT seen Him, yet lifting your arms and proclaim, "Good morning Lord! I love you!" \n\nBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1
286214
Good question. This is a big controversy in the church. I believe Gods word and it says that He chose us before the foundations of the earth and that we are predestined.\n\nRomans 8:30 \nAnd those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.\nEphesians 1:11\nIn him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, \n\nPlainly we are told that we are chosen and predestined. But the Bible also tells us that we have to make a choice. Its really hard to merge these ideas together. But if you give God the credit He deserves its much easier. God already knows what your choice is. He will not intercede and force you to go against your will of your choice. For example; those who are unsaved, He already knows where you will spend eternity. He predestined according to the choice He knew you would make where your place in eternity would be. So why are some chosen and not others? He, who knows all, past, present, and future, knew which ones would trust Him and which ones would not. He chose to save those who trust Him and choose to be with Him. He chose to give those who do not trust him or want to be with Him their wish and seperate Himself from them resulting in hell. So we are predestined according to our choices that may or may not have even been made yet. We are merely in the process of acting out our choices to arrive at the outcome. \n\nPlease know that God didnt draw names from a hat to decide who would be punished.\n\nI hope this helps. It is impossible to comprehend without faith and trust in the Lord.
945716
I do not believe in fate, but rather just follow the path God has set before me. I feel that everything in my life has happened for a reason. The hard part, at times, is not knowing the reason until further down the road.
243274
Ummmmmm No, I don't.\n\nGod let's you choose to make choices in your life, and you choose.  Life DOES continue to go on outside your realm - for example people dying....that's not something God DOES TO YOU, that's a decision God made for the person that died.  We are supposed to rejoice death because we know our loved one is with God.  \n\nSo at the end of the day, my heart says absolutely not in reply to your question.
584448
hmm... this was years before Christ.. how could you blame Christianity? Ever hear of Sodom and Gomorah? The flood?these are old testament judgements against the world. The wages of sin is death. But through the sacrifice of Christ all men who accept him can have eternal life.Some things in the bible have spiritual meanings and call for greater understanding than many here are ready for.and some things can be taken out of context. Read the bible pray about it have faith in Jesus and God will show you many things. The simple Gospel is clear and it really is all anyone would need to know to be saved John 3:16. its a great place to start.... take your first steps first...your wanting great bible understanding before you have the basics.
159900
Well, I see it like this: God's will was already established both the good and the bad. But we are floating around with a choice to become either Judas Iscariot or Peter. Both were choosen to be Apostles, both sinned against God, however, only one of them chose to repent with godly sorrow and not just because he got caught like Judas did. People always say, was Judas predestined to go to hell? No, I don't think so, I believe God's will is predestined not the people that will choose themselves what part they want to play. So, predestination for those who don't want to receive Jesus because they think it will just fall on them are wrong. Proof of what I just said can be found in Deut 28, where he set before us both blessings and cursings, see the plan is set, but what part of the plan you'll be in is entirely up to you,thus, your freedom to choose! God bless you girl!
638416
i think you're stressing a little too much. regardless of what religion you're trying to adhere too, none of us are saints. all holy texts teach us that we're flawed. just accept it, and do your best to go through each day making the right decisions. they're not always the easiest ones, but they're usually the ones that pay off.