Predestination (also linked with foreknowledge) is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and His creation. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined The question of free will Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that before the creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and

Contents 1 Contrasted with other kinds of determinism 2 Predestination and omniscience 3 Predestination in Christianity 3.1 Predestination in the Bible 3.2 History of the doctrine 3.2.1 Church Fathers on the doctrine 3.2.2 The Reformers on the doctrine 3.3 Various views on Christian predestination 3.3.1 Conditional predestination 3.3.2 Temporal predestination 3.3.3 Infralapsarianism 3.3.4 Supralapsarianism 3.3.5 Open theism 4 Jewish views 5 Islamic views 5.1 Shia Islam 6 Islam and Christianity 7 Predestination in Other Religions 7.1 Hinduism 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Contrasted with other kinds of determinism

Predestination: The Divine foreordaining of all that will happen; with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo and of John Calvin. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and Predestination may sometimes be used to refer to other, materialistic, spiritualist, non-theistic or polytheistic ideas of determinism, destiny, fate, doom, or adrsta. Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined Adrsta (अदृष्ट Pronounced adRSTa is a concept in Indian philosophy often confused with Karma. Such beliefs or philosophical systems may hold that any outcome is finally determined by the complex interaction of multiple, possibly immanent, possibly impersonal, possibly equal forces, rather than the issue of a Creator's conscious choice. Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere "to remain within" refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind

For example, some may speak of predestination from a purely physical perspective, such as in a discussion of time travel. This article details time travel itself For other uses see Time Traveler. In this case, rather than referring to the afterlife, predestination refers to any events that will occur in the future. AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between In a predestined universe the future is immutable and only one set of events can possibly occur; in a non-predestined universe, the future is mutable. The question of free will In Chinese Buddhism, predestination is a translation of yuanfen, which does not necessarily imply the existence or involvement of a deity. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Yuan (缘 or Yuanfen (缘份 Pinyin: yuán fèn Vietnamese: duyên phận is a Buddhist -related Chinese concept that means the Predestination in this sense takes on a very literal meaning: pre- (before) and destiny, in a straightforward way indicating that some events seem bound to happen.

Finally, antithetical to determinism of any kind are theories of the cosmos which assert that any outcome is ultimately unpredictable, the ludibrium of luck, chance, or chaos. Ludibrium is a word derived from Latin ludus (plural ludi) meaning a plaything or a trivial Game. Luck (also called fortunity) is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. In Mathematics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems – that is systems whose state evolves with time – that may exhibit dynamics that

All conceptions of an ordered or rational cosmos have determinist implications, as a logical consequence of the idea of predictability. But predestination usually refers to a specifically religious type of determinism, especially as found in various monotheistic systems where omniscience is attributed to God, including Christianity and Islam.

It is also the concept of destiny in a path to religious freedom.

Predestination and omniscience

Discussion of predestination usually involves consideration of whether God is omniscient, or eternal or atemporal (free from limitations of time or even causality). Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character While in the popular mind eternity often simply means existing for a limitless amount of Time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside of For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence In terms of these ideas, God may see the past, present, and future, so that God effectively knows the future. If God in some sense knows ahead of time what will happen, then events in the universe are effectively predetermined from God's point of view. This is a form of determinism but not predestination since the latter term implies that God has actually determined (rather than simply seen) in advance the destiny of creatures.

Within Christendom, there is considerable disagreement about God's role in setting ultimate destinies (that is, eternal life or eternal destruction). Christendom usually refers to Christianity as a territorial phenomenon Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. Christians who follow teachers such as St. Augustine and John Calvin generally accept that God does decide the eternal destinations of each person, so that their future actions or beliefs follow according to God's choice. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and A contrasting Christian view maintains that God is completely sovereign over all things but that he chose to give each individual free will, which each person can exercise to accept or reject God's offer of salvation and hence God's actions and determinations follow according to man's choice.

Judaism may accept the possibility that God is atemporal; some forms of Jewish theology teach this virtually as a principle of faith, while other forms of Judaism do not. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Jews may use the term omniscience, or preordination as a corollary of omniscience, but normally reject the idea of predestination as being incompatible with the free will and responsibility of moral agents, and it therefore has no place in their religion. The question of free will Moral agency is a person's capacity for making moral judgments and taking actions that comport with morality

Islam traditionally has strong views of predestination similar to some found in Christianity. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. In Islam, Allah both knows and ordains whatever comes to pass. Muslims believe that God is literally atemporal, eternal and omniscient.

In philosophy, the relation between foreknowledge and predestination is a central part of Newcomb's paradox. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Newcomb's Paradox, also referred to as Newcomb's Problem, is a Thought experiment involving a game between two players one of whom purports to be able to predict

Predestination in Christianity

Christians understand the doctrine of predestination in terms of God's work of salvation in the world. The doctrine is a tension between the divine perspective, in which God saves those whom he chooses from eternity apart from human action, and the human perspective, in which each person is responsible for his or her choice to accept or reject God: see main article on Free will in theology. Free will might be a good model for a longer lead--> Free will in theology is an important part of the debate on Free will in general The views on predestination within Christianity vary somewhat in emphasis on one of these two perspectives.

In terms of ultimates, with God's decision to create as the ultimate beginning, and the ultimate outcome, a belief system has a doctrine of predestination if it teaches:

1. God's decision, assignment or declaration concerning the lot of people is conceived as occurring in some sense prior to the outcome, and
2. the decision is fully predictive of the outcome, and not merely probable.

There are numerous ways to describe the spectrum of beliefs concerning predestination in Christian thinking. To some extent, this spectrum has analogies in other monotheistic religions, although in other religions the term predestination may not be used. For example, teaching on predestination may vary in terms of three considerations.

1. Is God's predetermining decision based solely on a knowledge of His own will, or does it also include a knowledge of whatever will happen?
2. How particular is God's prior decision: is it concerned with particular persons and events, or is it limited to broad categories of people and things?
3. How free is God in effecting His part in the eventual outcome? Is God bound or limited by conditions external to his own will, willingly or not, in order that what has been determined will come to pass?

Furthermore, the same sort of considerations apply to the freedom of man's will.

1. Assuming that an individual had no choice in who, when and where to come into being: How are the choices of existence determined by what he is?
2. Assuming that not all possible choices are available to him: How capable is the individual to desire all choices available, in order to choose from among them?
3. How capable is an individual to put into effect what he desires?

Predestination in the Bible

Some Biblical verses often used as sources for Christian beliefs in predestination are below.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, [. . . ]" (Eph. 1:3-5, NASB)

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. " (Rom. 8:28-30, NASB)

"[. . . ] but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; [. . . ]" (1Co. 2:7, NASB)

"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. " (Act. 4:27-28, NASB)

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. " (Eph. 2:4-9, NASB)

"[. . . ] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, [. . . ]" (2Ti. 1:9, NASB)

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them. (Psa. 139:16, NASB)

"So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. [verse 17 omitted] So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. " (Rom. 9:16-18, NASB)

History of the doctrine

Church Fathers on the doctrine

The early church fathers consistently uphold the freedom of human choice. This position was crucial in the Christian confrontation with Cynicism and some of the chief forms of Gnosticism, such as Manichaeism, which taught that man is by nature flawed and therefore not responsible for evil in himself or in the world. The Cynics (Κυνικοί Cynici were an influential group of Philosophers from the ancient school of Cynicism Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating At the same time, belief in human responsibility to do good as a precursor to salvation and eternal reward was consistent. The decision to do good along with God's aid pictured a synergism of the human will and God's will. The early church Fathers taught a doctrine of conditional predestination. ^[1]

Augustine of Hippo marks the beginning of a system of thought that denies free will and affirms that salvation needs an initial input by God in the life of every person. While his early writings affirm that God's predestinating grace is granted on the basis of his foreknowledge of the human desire to pursue salvation, this changed after 396. His later position affirmed the necessity of God granting grace in order for the desire for salvation to be awakened. Augustine's thoughts thus took a more determinist (or "unconditional") direction as he wrestled with the implications of the writings of the Apostle Paul. Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and

Augustine's position raised objections. Julian bishop of Eclanum, expressed that Augustine was bringing Manichee thoughts into the church^[2]. Julian of Eclanum ( Latin: Iulianus Aeclanensis, Italian: Giuliano di Eclano) (c For Vincent of Lérins, this was a disturbing innovation. Saint Vincent of Lérins (in Latin, Vincentius) was a Gallic author of early Christian writings ^[3] This new tension eventually became obvious with the confrontation between Augustine and Pelagius culminating in condemnation of Pelagianism (as interpreted by Augustine) at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Pelagius (ca 354 &ndash ca 420/440 was an ascetic monk who denied the doctrine of Original sin, later developed by Augustine of Hippo, and Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius (ad 354 – ad This article covers the Ecumenical council of 431 For the council of 449 see Second Council of Ephesus. The British monk Pelagius denied Augustine's view of "predestination" in order to affirm that salvation is achieved by an act of free will. Pelagius (ca 354 &ndash ca 420/440 was an ascetic monk who denied the doctrine of Original sin, later developed by Augustine of Hippo, and

The influence of Augustine also then showed in translations of the bible from that time on. Variations which are not in themselves visible in the syntax or grammar of the New Testament Greek text. Perhaps the best example of this in the Vulgate is the addition of 'prae' to 'ordinati' in Acts 13:48 which is there only to give the idea this was God who did this. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by Later translations show this influence of the doctrine by the additions of the word 'his' in Romans 8:28 and 11:22 all suggesting an interpretation consistent with unconditional election.

Augustine's formulation is neither complete nor universally accepted by Christians. But his system laid the foundation onto virgin ground for the then later writers and innovators of the Reformation period.

The Reformers on the doctrine

See also: Predestination (Calvinism)

The Belgic Confession of 1561 affirmed that God "delivers and preserves" from perdition "all whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable council, of mere goodness hath elected in Christ Jesus our Lord, without respect to their works" (Article XVI). The Calvinistic doctrine of predestination is a Doctrine of Calvinism which deals with the question of the control God exercises over the world The Confession of Faith is popularly known as the Belgic Confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation Confessio Belgica.

Various views on Christian predestination

Conditional predestination

Conditional Predestination, or more commonly referred to as conditional election, is a theological stance stemming from the writings and teachings of Jacobus Arminius, after whom Arminianism is named. In Christian theology, conditional election is the belief that God chooses for eternal salvation those who He foresees will have faith in Christ Jacobus Arminius, the Latinized name of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jakob Harmenszoon (also known by the Anglicized Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Arminius studied under the staunch Reformed scholar Theodore Beza, whose views of election, Arminius eventually argued, could not reconcile freedom with moral responsibility. Theodore Beza ( Théodore de Bèze or de Besze) ( June 24, 1519 &ndash October 13, 1605) was a French The Calvinistic doctrine of predestination is a Doctrine of Calvinism which deals with the question of the control God exercises over the world The question of free will Moral responsibility can refer to two different but related things

Arminius used a philosophy called Molinism (named for the philosopher, Luis de Molina) that attempted to reconcile freedom with God's omniscience. Not to be confused with the quietist doctrine of Miguel de Molinos. Luis de Molina (September 1535 Cuenca, Spain - October 12, 1600, Madrid, Spain was a Spanish Jesuit Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character They both saw human freedom in terms of the Libertarian philosophy: man's choice is not decided by God's choice, thus God's choice is "conditional", depending on what man chooses. Libertarianism is a philosophical position in Metaphysics with respect to Free will and Determinism. Arminius saw God "looking down the corridors of time" to see the free choices of man, and choosing those who will respond in faith and love to God's love and promises, revealed in Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

Arminianism sees the choice of Christ as an impossibility, apart from God's grace; and the freedom to choose is given to all, because God's prevenient grace is universal (given to everyone). Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept rooted in Augustinian theology and embraced primarily by Arminian Christians who are influenced by the Therefore, God predestines on the basis of foreknowledge of how some will respond to his universal love ("conditional"). In contrast, Calvinism views universal grace as resistible and not sufficient for leading to salvation--or denies universal grace altogether--and instead supposes grace that leads to salvation to be particular and irresistible, given to some but not to others on the basis of God's predestinating choice ("unconditional"). Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the Irresistible Grace (or efficacious grace) is a Doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the This is also known as "double-predestination. "

Temporal predestination

Temporal predestination is the view that God only determines temporal matters, and not eternal ones. This Christian view is analogous to the traditional Jewish view, which distinguishes between preordination and predestination. Temporal matters are pre-ordained by God, but eternal matters, being supra-temporal, are subject to absolute freedom of choice. J. Kenneth Grider

Infralapsarianism

Infralapsarianism (also called sublapsarianism) holds that predestination logically coincides with the preordination of Man's fall into sin. J Kenneth Grider (born in 1921 died Dec 6 2006 is a Methodist Christian theologian and former seminary professor primarily associated with the followers of Lapsarianism is the set of Calvinist doctrines describing the theoretical order of God 's decree (in his mind before Creation in particular concerning the order That is, God predestined sinful men for salvation. Therefore according to this view, God is the "ultimate cause", but not the "proximate source" or "author" of sin. Infralapsarians often emphasize a difference between God's decree (which is inviolable and inscrutable), and his revealed will (against which man is disobedient). Proponents also typically emphasize the grace and mercy of God toward all men, although teaching also that only some are predestined for salvation.

In common English parlance, the doctrine of predestination often has particular reference to the doctrines of Calvinism. Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the The version of predestination espoused by John Calvin, after whom Calvinism is named, is sometimes referred to as "double predestination" because in it God predestines some people for salvation (i. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and e. Unconditional election) and some for condemnation (i. Unconditional election is the Calvinist teaching that before God created the world he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions e. Reprobation). Predestination (Calvinism Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of Unconditional election which derives that some Calvin himself defines predestination as "the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. Not all are created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or to death. "^[4].

On the spectrum of beliefs concerning predestination, Calvinism is the strongest form among Christians. It teaches that God's predestining decision is based on the knowledge of His own will rather than foreknowledge, concerning every particular person and event; and, God continually acts with entire freedom, in order to bring about his will in completeness, but in such a way that the freedom of the creature is not violated, "but rather, established"^[5]

Calvinists who hold the infralapsarian view of predestination usually prefer that term to "sublapsarianism," perhaps with the intent of blocking the inference that they believe predestination is on the basis of foreknowledge (sublapsarian meaning, assuming the fall into sin). ^[6] The different terminology has the benefit of distinguishing the Calvinist double predestination version of infralapsarianism, from Lutheranism's view that predestination is a mystery, which forbids the unprofitable intrusion of prying minds.

Calvinists seek never to divide predestination in a mathematical way. Their doctrine is uninterested, in the abstract, in questions of "how much" either God or man is responsible for a particular destiny. Questions of "how much" will become hopelessly entangled in paradox, Calvinists teach, regardless of the view of predestination adopted. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely Instead, Calvinism divides the issues of predestination according to two kinds of being, knowledge, and will, distinguishing that which is divine from that which is human. Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Therefore, it is not so much an issue of quantity, but of distinct roles or modes of being. God is not a creature nor the creature God in knowledge, will, freedom, ability, responsibility, or anything else. Calvinists will often attribute salvation entirely to God; and yet they will also assert that it is man's responsibility to pursue obedience. As the archetypal illustration of this idea, they believe Jesus in his words and work humanly fulfilled all that he as part of the Trinity had determined from the Father should be done. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных What he did humanly is distinguishable, but not separate, from what he did divinely.

Supralapsarianism

Supralapsarianism is the doctrine that God's decree of predestination for salvation and reprobation logically precedes his preordination of the human race's fall into sin. Lapsarianism is the set of Calvinist doctrines describing the theoretical order of God 's decree (in his mind before Creation in particular concerning the order That is, God decided to save, and to damn; he then determined that the fall of man into sin would accomplish His purpose. It is a matter of controversy whether or not Calvin himself held this view, but most scholars link him with the infralapsarian position. It is known, however, that Calvin's successor in Geneva, Theodore Beza, held to the supralapsarian view. Theodore Beza ( Théodore de Bèze or de Besze) ( June 24, 1519 &ndash October 13, 1605) was a French

Open theism

In terms of predestination, Open theism represents a break from traditional renderings of the doctrine. Open theism is a theological movement that has developed within Evangelical and Post-evangelical Protestant Christianity as a response to certain In the open theist view, God does not have exhaustive knowledge of the future. This excludes the possibility that God has knowledge of individual persons who would be born and thus, the open theist avers, God does not predestine individuals, but a church. ^[7]

Jewish views

See also: Free will#In Jewish thought

Generally speaking Reform Judaism has no strong doctrine of predestination. The question of free will Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions The idea that God is omnipotent and omniscient didn't formally exist in Judaism during the Biblical era, but rather was a later development due to the influence of neo-Platonic and neo-Aristotelian philosophy. Omnipotence ( Omni Potens: "all Power " is unlimited power Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is Many modern Jewish thinkers in the 20th century have resolved the dialectical tension by holding that God is simply not omnipotent, in the commonly used sense of that word. These thinkers are primarily not Orthodox Jews. Orthodox Jewish rabbis generally affirm that God must be viewed as omnipotent, but they have varying definitions of what the word omnipotent means. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Omnipotence ( Omni Potens: "all Power " is unlimited power Thus one finds that some Modern Orthodox theologians have views that are essentially the same as non-Orthodox theologians, but they use different terminology.

One noted Jewish philosopher, Hasdai Crescas, resolved this dialectical tension by taking the position that free-will doesn't exist. Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas ( Hebrew: חסדאי קרשקש) (born in Barcelona,c Hence all of a person's actions are pre-determined by the moment of their birth, and thus their judgment in the eyes of God (so to speak) is effectively pre-ordained. However in this scheme this is not a result of God's predetermining one's fate, but rather from the view that the universe is deterministic. Crescas's views on this topic were rejected by Judaism at large. In later centuries this idea independently developed among some in the Chabad (Lubavitch) sect of Hasidic Judaism. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Many individuals within Chabad take this view seriously, and hence effectively deny the existence of free will.

However, many Chabad (Lubavitch) Jews attempt to hold both views. They affirm as infallible their rebbe's teachings that God knows and controls the fate of all, yet at the same time affirm the classical Jewish belief in free-will (i. Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( April 18 1902 – June 12 1994) known as The Rebbe, was a prominent Hasidic Rabbi e. no such thing as determinism). The inherent contradiction between the two results in their belief that such contradictions are only "apparent", due to man's inherent lack of ability to understand greater truths and due to the fact that Creator and Created exist in different realities.

One does not have to be a Chabad Hassid to believe in this, however. It is enough to read the statement in Pirkei Avot: "Everything is predetermined but freedom of will is given. Pirkei Avot / Ovos (Ethics of the Fathers פרקי אבות is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period " The same idea is strongly repeated by Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance, Chapter 5). Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and The Mishneh Torah ( Hebrew: משנה תורה subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka (יד החזקה is a code of Jewish Religious law

Many other Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and secular) affirm that since free-will exists, then by definition one's fate is not preordained. It is held as a tenet of faith that whether God is omniscient or not, nothing interferes with mankind's free will. Some Jewish theologians, both during the medieval era and today, have attempted to formulate a philosophy in which free will is preserved, while also affirming that God has knowledge of what decisions people will make in the future. Whether or not these two ideas are mutually compatible, or whether there is a contradiction between the two, is still a matter of great study and interest in philosophy today. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language

In Rabbinic literature, there is much discussion as to the apparent contradiction between God's omniscience and free will. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history In Classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Propositions It occurs when the propositions taken together yield Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character The representative view is that "Everything is foreseen; yet free will is given" (Rabbi Akiva, Pirkei Avoth 3:15). Akiva redirects here For other people and things with this name see Akiva (disambiguation. Pirkei Avot / Ovos (Ethics of the Fathers פרקי אבות is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period Based on this understanding, the problem is formally described as a paradox, beyond our understanding. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely

Islamic views

Main article: Qadr (doctrine)

In Islam, "predestination" is the usual English language rendering of a belief that Muslims call al-qada wa al-qadar in Arabic. This is a sub-article of Sunni Islam, Aqidah and Predestination. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The phrase means "the divine decree and the predestination"; al-qadar derives from a root that means to measure out.

This is a difficult concept to understand and translate. In Islam, God's omniscience doesn't suggest that we have no free will. God's advance knowledge of what each human will choose with his/her free will is said to not in any way negate the freedom granted to humans. [1]

Some suggest that free will doesn't actually exist in Islam[2][3]. When referring to the future, Muslims frequently qualify any predictions of what will come to pass with the phrase inshallah, Arabic for "if God wills. The future is commonly understood to contain all events that have yet to occur (ar إن شاء الله is an Arabic term evoked by Arabic Persian, Turkish, Urdu and Bengali speakers to indicate hope for an " The phrase recognises that human knowledge of the future is limited, and that all that may or may not come to pass is under the control of God.

Muslims believe that God is omniscient and so has the power to prevent or allow any action from occurring. Therefore, if God does not prevent an act from occurring than that act is thought to be God's will. [4][5] Humans do not have control in making decisions in their life. There is no "free will" to choose to do certain things or not to do certain things. People can believe they have control over their lives, but they are not able to do anything without it being God's will first. Nothing is allowed to come to pass unless it is the will of God, hence the phrase "if God wills". A related phrase, mashallah, indicates acceptance of what God has ordained in terms of good or ill fortune that may befall a believer. (ar ما شاء الله is an Arabic phrase evoked by Muslims to indicate appreciation for an aforementioned individual or event

Shia Islam

In Shia Islam, there is a greater emphasis on free will, and the importance of personal decision which will be called back on the Day of Judgement[6]. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived Predestination is a way of thinking that is challenged by the Imams of Shia Islam in many speeches and letters. The main factor in determining how one's reality is processed has to do with his/her "nearness" to God. Therefore, the levels of relationship that one has with God is what determines what a person may be "allowed" to do. For example, drinking alcoholic beverages is a sin according to the religion of Islam (see Islam and alcohol). This is a sub-article to Hygiene in Islam, Healthy diet and Food and cooking hygiene. If a person who has "turned his back" on God decides to drink, there will be no obstacle between himself and the drink. Accordingly, a drink voids 40 days of prayers and supplication, which distances that soul "further" from God. However, if the person is a "pious" believer who has fallen to despair due to some difficulty and decides to have a drink to give up his state and position, there may be numerous obstacles in the universe between him and the drink, until he finally gives up on that endeavour and returns repentant. The hopelessness in human action is what is disputed by Shia philosophers with those who lean far toward predestination. [7]

Islam and Christianity

Although comparable in broad terms, the differences between Christian and Islamic ideas of predestination are complex. These differences are due to the distinctives of each faith's belief system. In broad terms, the doctrine of predestination refers to inevitability as a general principle, and usually more particularly refers to the exercise of God's will as it relates to the future of members of the human race, considered either as groups or as individuals, with special concern for issues of human responsibility as it relates to the sovereignty of God. Predestination always involves issues of the Creator's personality and will; and consequently, the different versions of the doctrine of predestination go hand in hand with appropriately different conceptions of the contribution any creature is able to make toward its own present condition, or future destiny. ^[8]

Predestination in Other Religions

Hinduism

In Hinduism, which consists of four schools, predestination does not play an important role, as most followers believe in karma, associated with free will. Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" The question of free will However, in the Dvaita school of Vaishnavism, the philosopher Madhvacharya believed in a similar concept. Dvaita ( Kannada: ದ್ವೈತ Devanagari:द्बैत is a dualist school of Vedanta Hindu philosophy. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and For Madhavacharya the Advaita saint see Madhava Vidyaranya. Shri Madhvacharya (ಶ್ರೀ ಮಧ್ವಾಚಾರ್ಯರು For example, Madhvacharya differed significantly from traditional Hindu beliefs in his concept of eternal damnation. For example, he divides souls into three classes, one class which qualify for liberation, Mukti-yogyas, another subject to eternal rebirth or eternally transmigrating due to samsara, Nitya-samsarins, and significantly, a class that is eventually condemned to eternal hell or Andhatamas, known as Tamo-yogyas. In Dvaita theology Mukti-yogyas is a class of souls classified by Shri Madhvacharya as eligible for Mukti or Moksha. In Dvaita Theology, Nitya-samsarins, as classified by Shri Madhvacharya, are Souls which are Eternally transmigrating. In Dvaita theology this group of souls classified by Shri Madhvacharya, consists of souls who are the damnable

He has hypothesized (based on vedic texts and yukti) that souls are eternal and not created ex nihilo by God, as in the Semitic religions. "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking The Latin phrase ex nihilo means "out of nothing" It often appears in conjunction with the concept of Creation, as in creatio ex nihilo In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ Souls depend on God for their very "being" and "becoming. " Madhva has compared this relationship of God with souls to the relationship between a source (bimba) and its reflection (pratibimba).

See also

• Synchronicity
• Fatalism
• Providentialism

References

External links

• "Determinism in Theology: Predestination" by Robert M. Kindon in The Dictionary of the History of Ideas (1973-74)
• Understanding Predestination in Islam
• Detailed Lecture on Islamic Perspective on Fate
• Occurrences of "predestination" in the Bible text (ESV)
• The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (1932) by Loraine Boettner (conservative Calvinist perspective)
• The Biblical Doctrine Of Predestination, Foreordination, and Election by F. Loraine Boettner ( 1901-03-07 to 1990-01-03) was an American theologian and author Furman Kearley (Arminian perspective)
• "Predestination" from The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
• Academic articles on predestination and election (Lutheran perspective)

The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

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