Ladyhippolyta88:
I have heard this argument back and forth.Some people are of the opinion that the destiny of man is in Gods hands and that it is God who controls who a man should or would be as we were created by him.Some others are of the opinion that the destiny of man has always been in his own hands because God does not create a thief,kidnapper and other social vices done by people.They are of the opinion that it is how man decides to live his life which is by choice he either chooses to be of good impact to the society guided by principles or a bad impact to society.The contributions of the religious,atheists,agnostic,theists,deist,pantheists are highly welcomed.So what is your view?lalasticlala,mynd44,Seun,Martinez19,darkchild64,Mrmystro0,butterflylion,Ezedictator and others.

XhosaNostra:
I think both. Because there're some experiences in life that when you look back at them in hindsight, you get an epiphany that they prepared you for what was to come in the future. Also, sometimes events follow a predictable sequence or a "familiar pattern", as if this life we're living is scripted somehow. I cannot count the number of times I've had a deja vu feeling over something that was happening, to the point where I knew exactly what was going to happen next. It almost feels like an out of body experience when it happens. At times I'm inclined to believe the conspiracy theorists who believe that this world is a stage & we're mere actors. Something similar to the movie, The Truman Show.

Ladyhippolyta88:
My thoughts as well it could all be a stage.

Ladyhippolyta88:
I have heard this argument back and forth.Some people are of the opinion that the destiny of man is in Gods hands and that it is God who controls who a man should or would be as we were created by him.Some others are of the opinion that the destiny of man has always been in his own hands because God does not create a thief,kidnapper and other social vices done by people.They are of the opinion that it is how man decides to live his life which is by choice he either chooses to be of good impact to the society guided by principles or a bad impact to society.The contributions of the religious,atheists,agnostic,theists,deist,pantheists are highly welcomed.So what is your view?

CAPSLOCKED:





.....BUT
BUT WHAT OF THE "DIVINE PLAN" ?

.......FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME, THE ALMIGHTY GOD ALREADY MADE A PLAN FOR HOW THE WORLD WILL BE FOREVER AND EVER, AND GOD NEVER CHANGES, WHAT HE SAYS WILL BE IS WHAT WILL ALWAYS BE.


IF A MAN GROWS UP TO BECOME A THIEF, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
IF A CHILD IS MOLESTED, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
THE FULANI HERDSMEN KILLING CITIZENS OF NIGERIA IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.

WE SHOULD STOP FIGHTING CRIME AND TERRORISM BECAUSE IT'S ALL GOD'S PLAN.
WE SHOULD IGNORE MEN WHO BULLY THEIR WIVES AND INNOCENT GIRLS ON THE STREET BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS GOD'S WILL. WHATEVER GOD SAYS WILL HAPPEN, WILL HAPPEN. WHATEVER HE SAYS WONT HAPPEN, WONT HAPPEN. SO GOD COMMANDS EVERYTHING TO HAPPEN.

IF YOU OPPOSE THIS (DON'T EVEN SAY "FREEWILL" ), YOU WILLFULLY CONCEDE THAT MERE MAN CAN ALTER GOD'S PLANS.

THIS IMPLIES THAT GOD IS NOT ALL PERFECT, SINCE MERE HUMANS CAN ALTER HIS "DIVINE PLAN", AND CHANGE HIS WILL.

THERE'S NO REASON TO BELIEVE OR WORSHIP SUCH A CHARACTER.

Ladyhippolyta88:
I have heard this argument back and forth.Some people are of the opinion that the destiny of man is in Gods hands and that it is God who controls who a man should or would be as we were created by him.Some others are of the opinion that the destiny of man has always been in his own hands because God does not create a thief,kidnapper and other social vices done by people.They are of the opinion that it is how man decides to live his life which is by choice he either chooses to be of good impact to the society guided by principles or a bad impact to society.The contributions of the religious,atheists,agnostic,theists,deist,pantheists are highly welcomed.So what is your view?lalasticlala,mynd44,Seun,Martinez19,darkchild64,Mrmystr0,butterflylion,Ezedictator and others.

CAPSLOCKED:





.....BUT
BUT WHAT OF THE "DIVINE PLAN" ?

.......FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME, THE ALMIGHTY GOD ALREADY MADE A PLAN FOR HOW THE WORLD WILL BE FOREVER AND EVER, AND GOD NEVER CHANGES, WHAT HE SAYS WILL BE IS WHAT WILL ALWAYS BE.


IF A MAN GROWS UP TO BECOME A THIEF, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
IF A CHILD IS MOLESTED, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
THE FULANI HERDSMEN KILLING CITIZENS OF NIGERIA IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.

WE SHOULD STOP FIGHTING CRIME AND TERRORISM BECAUSE IT'S ALL GOD'S PLAN.
WE SHOULD IGNORE MEN WHO BULLY THEIR WIVES AND INNOCENT GIRLS ON THE STREET BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS GOD'S WILL. WHATEVER GOD SAYS WILL HAPPEN, WILL HAPPEN. WHATEVER HE SAYS WONT HAPPEN, WONT HAPPEN. SO GOD COMMANDS EVERYTHING TO HAPPEN.

IF YOU OPPOSE THIS (DON'T EVEN SAY "FREEWILL" ), YOU WILLFULLY CONCEDE THAT MERE MAN CAN ALTER GOD'S PLANS.

THIS IMPLIES THAT GOD IS NOT ALL PERFECT, SINCE MERE HUMANS CAN ALTER HIS "DIVINE PLAN", AND CHANGE HIS WILL.

THERE'S NO REASON TO BELIEVE OR WORSHIP SUCH A CHARACTER.

MrMystrO:
Lovely thread Ladyhippolyta88. I would like to present my contribution as simple and understandable as it can be but i still fear some concepts i might use might not be easily understandable but i will give it a try. First of all are you familiar the the concept of paradoxes? i personally call them Eternal Cycles. On an earlier thread of mine i talked about paradoxes as being ideas or Questions that doesn't belong to our normal default 3 Dimensional realm of understanding and as such makes them unable to be grasped by the human mind. i also said "In Eternal cycles, the two Parent forces of life meet and everything at this state is considered One with Each other. At this point it becomes impossible for the human mind to fully Grasp such phenomenons because our existence is on the Third Dimensional plane which is vigorously grounded in Duality"


With being said, I personally believe The key to understanding this question is Understanding paradoxes.

In Our understanding of Reality, Everything is grounded on duality, Opposites or Polarity.
Its Either
Yes or No
Good or Bad
Wrong or Right
Light or darkness..e.t.c.

But what if there is a State that Transcends this type of reality? What if there is a state where all is neutral.. Where the two polarities become One.. Where it is possible to BE and also NOT BE?... Sorry to drag your mind into this weird Zone but this is the territory of the Question you're asking. The concept of Destiny is a paradox, just as the concept of God and Eternity are also paradoxes. You just can't understand them with the human Reality of Duality and Polarity.

In this case the Answer you seek is also in your question.
is Man's Destiny Shaped By God or By Man himself?
I say man's Destiny is Shaped by God and at the same time also By Man Himself...Remove the Polarities between Man and God and you get your answer.

Before i go i would refer you to my previous quote on the paradox of the idea of God.

"The idea of God is in itself the Biggest Paradox of All, That's why i Believe when you say God Exists, You're Right and Also when you say he doesn't exist, You're also Right! Duality does Not Exist on that plane you are threading on and therefore on this Plane, The creator and the Creation are simply inseparable, One and The same"

CAPSLOCKED:





.....BUT
BUT WHAT OF THE "DIVINE PLAN" ?

.......FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME, THE ALMIGHTY GOD ALREADY MADE A PLAN FOR HOW THE WORLD WILL BE FOREVER AND EVER, AND GOD NEVER CHANGES, WHAT HE SAYS WILL BE IS WHAT WILL ALWAYS BE.


IF A MAN GROWS UP TO BECOME A THIEF, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
IF A CHILD IS MOLESTED, IT IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.
THE FULANI HERDSMEN KILLING CITIZENS OF NIGERIA IS ALL GOD'S PLAN.

WE SHOULD STOP FIGHTING CRIME AND TERRORISM BECAUSE IT'S ALL GOD'S PLAN.
WE SHOULD IGNORE MEN WHO BULLY THEIR WIVES AND INNOCENT GIRLS ON THE STREET BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS GOD'S WILL. WHATEVER GOD SAYS WILL HAPPEN, WILL HAPPEN. WHATEVER HE SAYS WONT HAPPEN, WONT HAPPEN. SO GOD COMMANDS EVERYTHING TO HAPPEN.

IF YOU OPPOSE THIS (DON'T EVEN SAY "FREEWILL" ), YOU WILLFULLY CONCEDE THAT MERE MAN CAN ALTER GOD'S PLANS.

THIS IMPLIES THAT GOD IS NOT ALL PERFECT, SINCE MERE HUMANS CAN ALTER HIS "DIVINE PLAN", AND CHANGE HIS WILL.

THERE'S NO REASON TO BELIEVE OR WORSHIP SUCH A CHARACTER.

Ferisidowu:


hmmm nice I agree with the majority of ur post.... I only have a doubt, are you a pantheist?

MrMystrO:
Lovely thread Ladyhippolyta88. I would like to present my contribution as simple and understandable as it can be but i still fear some concepts i might use might not be easily understandable but i will give it a try. First of all are you familiar the the concept of paradoxes? i personally call them Eternal Cycles. On an earlier thread of mine i talked about paradoxes as being ideas or Questions that doesn't belong to our normal default 3 Dimensional realm of understanding and as such makes them unable to be grasped by the human mind. i also said "In Eternal cycles, the two Parent forces of life meet and everything at this state is considered One with Each other. At this point it becomes impossible for the human mind to fully Grasp such phenomenons because our existence is on the Third Dimensional plane which is vigorously grounded in Duality"


With being said, I personally believe The key to understanding this question is Understanding paradoxes.

In Our understanding of Reality, Everything is grounded on duality, Opposites or Polarity.
Its Either
Yes or No
Good or Bad
Wrong or Right
Light or darkness..e.t.c.

But what if there is a State that Transcends this type of reality? What if there is a state where all is neutral.. Where the two polarities become One.. Where it is possible to BE and also NOT BE?... Sorry to drag your mind into this weird Zone but this is the territory of the Question you're asking. The concept of Destiny is a paradox, just as the concept of God and Eternity are also paradoxes. You just can't understand them with the human Reality of Duality and Polarity.

In this case the Answer you seek is also in your question.
is Man's Destiny Shaped By God or By Man himself?
I say man's Destiny is Shaped by God and at the same time also By Man Himself...Remove the Polarities between Man and God and you get your answer.

Before i go i would refer you to my previous quote on the paradox of the idea of God.

"The idea of God is in itself the Biggest Paradox of All, That's why i Believe when you say God Exists, You're Right and Also when you say he doesn't exist, You're also Right! Duality does Not Exist on that plane you are threading on and therefore on this Plane, The creator and the Creation are simply inseparable, One and The same"

profeazy:


Guy! No near Yaba talk this kind theory ooo. Na incaceration for life without parole those psycha doctors go give you!

400billionman:
God created man and gave him a free will. There are things in our lives we control resulting from our choices and external influences that we succumb to from friends family and neighbors, there are also outcomes we cannot control no matter how we try. Here we call upon God. The sun will shine or whether it will rain tomorrow. Whether you will make good sales tomorrow or hit gold. But the two strongest forces on earth are these FAITH and FEAR. Till you realize this truth you cannot control the outcome of events in your life. Your destiny is in your hand. 9O%, of our fears are non existent but only 1O% of us realize that. These 1O% control 9O% of the resources in the world through Faith.

budaatum:
What woke you up this morning? Did something apart from you decide to get you up when you did? You might think not, that that something made you go to bed in the first place intending you to wake up when you did. So, which of your legs touched the ground first? And all the other choices you have made today, did that thing determine that too? Those choices are afterall what determined where you are right now, your destiny, at least to this minute.

Just think, gone are the days when it was god's will for some people to be captured, chained, shipped and enslaved to work for some master in a foreign land. It was for this purpose that god made them black, so they can be identified as beasts and worked as such by those who god made their master and designated with white skin. The destiny of black people was to be the slave, or at least, so went the thinking! Would you accept that if you had a say in the matter?

It's very easy for humans to give credit for their choices to the supernatural. Christianity specifically says "for Christ's sake", but I think it robs the individual of self worth. You will achieve things in life. You, will achieve those things, but you might be the sort that claims God done it. And that's okay I guess. Then your child will achieve something in life, but you will give the credit and praise to God, and not your child! But when another person is a bum on the street begging from you, you would hardly claim God put that person there, and God put you there to help them! Oh no, its the bums fault for begging at the gate but God's fault for the rich man in his mansion.

Not many steal from themselves the credit for their achievements and give it all to gods. You might think you do, and some actually really do. But all things considered, you know how much work you had to do to achieve what you achieved. You know how much effort was expended. So I advise you to give yourself some credit and pat yourself on the back, or at least give some credit to others. For even if it were true that the gods worked through you, you would have had to at least done some work to ensure the gods considered you worthy of being worked through in the first place!

CAPSLOCKED:



.....BUT
BUT WHAT OF THE "DIVINE PLAN" ?

.......FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME, THE ALMIGHTY GOD ALREADY MADE A PLAN FOR HOW THE WORLD WILL BE FOREVER AND EVER, AND GOD NEVER CHANGES, WHAT HE SAYS WILL BE IS WHAT WILL ALWAYS BE.

.