God’s Existence Part 2: Destiny?
It is quite common for people to ask : “who determines my future?”. Some would answer “It has been written.”, and others would say “you can change it with your efforts and choices”.
An interesting answer is “it is predetermined, AND you can change it”. One may respond “That is contradictive” and others would say “no its not, ever heard ‘editing’?”.
Since this is MY blog, the question would now be “what do I think?”.
I am someone who believes that “it is predetermined, and you can change it”. To answer the contradiction claim, I would not prefer to say the thing about “editing”. But I believe that our freedom of choice to form our future is not exactly that free anyway.
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Life is a huge stream of infinitive chains of causality. Action and reactions, and finally forming what we know as history. There are two contesting theories regarding this one, as you might have seen in the film Knowing.
First, is Theory of Accidents. They say that “shit just happens”. Everything within this universe happens because of these chains of causality, which is a huge series of accidents reacting to each other.
Second, is Theory of Determinism. They say that everything was predetermined, and has its purpose. And I prefer to believe in this second one.
I think that the Theory of Accidents relies too plainly on the laws of probability, to the extent that it drives on a crowded road but not looking at the traffic. People say that the probability of humans popping out from a heap of unicellular things are just like a tornado passing a heap of metal and creating a Boeing. Not to mention this “Accident” has to happen twice at around the same time but with a different gender, to at least create more than one humans. Nature’s accuracy rate is pretty high, eh?
This is too much to be called a coincidence. Believers of the accidents, say that this is why it takes billions or trillions of years. Well then what are the chances of two –coincidentally same species but different gender- accidentally made humans, appear at around the same time, and around the same place on this very freakin wide earth which at that time was still a huge jungle with dinosaurs, then had the idea to screw and breed?
Same mistake as someone simply saying “the chance to get a number 4 on a dice is 1/6”. Well, given that information, I agree. But I dont think it is that simple, because we are forgetting quite a lot of things. If that is completely true, we will get number 4 exactly 6 times by 36 tries. Mathematicians would say “1/6 chance is per roll”, but Id say its simply the same logic. 1/6 chance per roll, so if we multiply “roll” by 36, then it still becomes “6 chances per 36 rolls”.
Where did math go wrong?
It went wrong where there are unmentioned factors. Rolling a dice includes force of throwing, position, height, gravity, movement angle, wind power, hand stutter, and many other factors. Throw a dice. Do exactly the same factors like I have mentioned above, literally exactly the same, and I assure you that no matter how many times you make the roll, you will get the same number with 100% rate. So a chance happens not only by chance, but when it meets other factors.
Then, it means that things that happen are not randomly happening by chance. But they have been exactly planned by previous factors. Like that dice thing. You will get the same number repeatedly, because you carefully planned.
The 1st try wasn’t random either. Because I told you to do so, and you move based on the angle and position you feel best at the spur of the moment, which is determined by how you chose to move and get in position previously. All goes back to the whole chain of causality. Thus for me, Theory of Accidents can throw itself to the trash can it sees most pleasant for it.
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Why do I think we can change our future? It is a matter of perspective.
You making a choice between dentistry or sociology for university, obviously would make a big difference in your future. You think that by choosing dentistry, you have changed your future from being a sociologist into a dentist.
You making a choice between procrastinating or doing your thesis as soon as possible, also might make a big difference in your future. You think that by doing one of them would make a difference in your future.
You making a choice between falling under the poverty you are currently in or fighting your best to have a better life, and succeeding eventually. You think that you have changed your future.
I believe that the truth is quite ugly. You might think that you independently made these choices and successes, because of your own free will and considerations and effort and luck. Thus you have managed to lead yourself into a certain future. I think NOT.
The truth is, that you did not make any of these things happen by your independent choice. You make choices among options that exist. Where do these options come from? The past, forming their own causality stories and shows its results in front of you. How do you consider and make your choice? From past experiences and knowledge, also bound by the past.
Your abilities in thinking are a mixture between genetic abilities, also from the past, and skill-sharpening activities, also past decision of yours or your parents. In which these decisions are also bound to many things.
The point is, yes you have many choices ahead of you. But you end up choosing one of them, and for a reason too. So here you are, stuck in the infinitive stream of life. You are just a tiny notch on the big picture of causality and history.
The function of prayers, efforts, even this article, is among the infinitive numbers of EFFECTS from previous CAUSES in life, and also becomes new CAUSES for future EFFECTS. This is from the perspective of a Someone, observing from His Great System.
(PS: I did not say that he is a mere observer. I am saying that this view is from His perspective. All these causalities happen because of Him, what He wrote in the past, and all those stuff)
While for us, fellow earthlings, we do make our future. We write our history as we live it. And what we write is a continuation from what was written trillions of years ago, and will continue to those written in a billion years.
Firs of all, let me say that I also believe in a God and that life wasn’t completely random. However, humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time. During the time of the dinosaurs, most ecological niches were filled. Only small mammals could survive. It was only after the extinction of dinosaurs that the mammals could become larger. In fact, humans as we know today have only been around for 250,000 years. According to science, the earliest organisms were asexual. Only later did gender arise. This is still reflected in some organisms, such as the whiptail lizards that live in South Western United States. Whiptails only have females because they create clones of themselves. Growing up in a scientific community I leaned that gender cannot be viewed as separate creations.
Thank you Hannah
Such a very enlightening comment
But do say, hannah…
I never said that humans and dinosaurs lived together, well, other than in The Flintstones and Jurassic Park, that is…