Up@dawn 2.0

Monday, September 19, 2016

Fate vs. Free Will; In a Religious Sense

   (H1)I grew up in a traditional Christian home, I went to church every Sunday, and was exposed to all of the tenets of Christianity, yet one major theological question held a greater grip on my mind than everything else. The argument of predestination vs free will. This question, even as a young child in Sunday school was the only question that mattered to me. The implications of either side of the argument seemed to disprove, or at least contradict, my understanding of God. On one side, predestination, meaning that God, since he is in control of all things, must also be in control of who goes to Heaven and Hell. This thought confused me, a God who allegedly loves us more than we could ever fathom, sends us to an eternal fate of suffering; what kind of love is that?
    The other side of the argument, that of free will, contradicts the idea that God is all powerful. If God is all-powerful, why would he allow us the free will that will eventually lead us to Hell and eternal suffering? Not to mention that an omniscient God would know the outcomes of every life, and would not save us. Even as a young child I found these conclusions to undermine all of what I was being taught.
    After considering both sides of the argument, it appears that the very existence of an eternal Hell is contradictory to the existence of a loving God. The basic conclusion on either side is why would God, who loves us, choose to allow us to suffer? Is it to pay for our sins? A set of morals, relative to what is deemed important by him, yet preached and distorted through the Church? I think that if there really is a god, he would be a lot grander than the box Christianity puts him in, and I believe his ideas of what makes human life dignified and virtuous would center around more than his place as the most important thing in your life.

2 comments:

  1. (H01) This is why I prefer older religions. They have a tendency to present gods with personalities and faults which I believe is a better explanation for our suffering if there is a god or set of gods.

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  2. I too was raised in a church going family and struggled with these questions for years. I remember singing the songs during praise and worship, but challenging the words in my wind the whole time. How could an awesome god that never ceases to love us also be jealous for our unwavering attention? How could hell exist if he always forgave us for our sins? Why were certain things considered a sin while others weren't? I found so many contradictions and, to me, illogical beliefs...

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