HelpingTeens: Support Groups

Personally i believe we make our own destiny...



~Jeff~

We do make our own destiny (ie. we have free will), but in a sense it is predetermined because God knows what destiny we will choose.



x Shelle

i think it's both in a sense. i think God gives us choices in life, but, at the same time, He already knows what will be picked.

I agree with xloveforsalex. So I didn't vote as I wasn't sure which one it fits under.



We choose our destiny but God, being omnipotent, already knows what destiny we will choose.



If that makes sense...



It's confusing even to ME.

we make our own destiny

We are born a blank slate, and procede to create our own path until we die.



Cheers,



Jenna

Umm.....A little of both maybe? *raises eyebrow* Sam-Sam gets confused so she just walks down a path with the "iny meny miny mo.." hehe <--Third person does wonders.



Sammi

Our parents kind of shape the way we turn out, a lot of personal development happens before the age of 10. I think we do have a certain amount of control over our destiny but in our society.. do we really have control over anything?

Which parts of our lives are pre-ordained and where can we make a difference?



Everything is pre-ordained and predestined by G-d, how long we will live, how much money we will have, who we will marry, etc. Our only free choice is whether to be good or evil. It is entirely up to us whether we want to be good, moral, and G-d fearing people.

Furthermore, the fact that G-d controls everything does not mean that we cannot change our destiny. We say in the high-holiday prayers "repentance, prayer and charity avert the severity of the [Heavenly] decree."



Our sages tell us that "charity saves from death." And although everything is controlled by G-d, He wants us to make physical vessels for His blessings so they can be actualized. This means that we go to the doctor, knowing that G-d is the Healer of all flesh, but He works through the hands of the doctor. Just as we all go to work every day although we believe that on Rosh Hashanah it is already determined how much money we will earn throughout the entire year.



Rabbi N. Silberberg



http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=253&o=2520

I think it's kinda like this, not exactly, but similar.



You have a friend and he has the choice between buying a barbie doll or a real car. Examples are bad yeah, but that's not the point. The point is, you know he's going to choose the car. This doesn't determine that your friend doesn't have the choice to choose the barbie, for all you know he could choose the barbie doll... but you still know that he's going to choose the car. And he does.



Now you might ask "what if he actually chose the barbie doll?" The point is not whether he actually chose the barbie doll, but the fact that he chose the car when he could have made his own choice to take either one and you would not have been making the choice for him. So if it came down to things more complicated choices in life, I would think of it as God just having a little more edge than we do on knowing what we'll choose, because in the case that we believe in God, and God is omniscient (according to theory), then He certainly would know what choice we shall make without forcing our decision.

Tabula rasa - Locke