Philosophical questions for Filipinos?

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Jane Doe

God sees each one of us as special individuals quite capable of handling all the jobs life sends. Our Creator shows this confidence in us through the gift of free will. God knows that we can learn to choose well and will do so.

Not all of creation has this option. Living things, both plants and animals, perform actions based completely on instinct. A plant will always grow toward a source of light. Some birds will always fly south for the winter. Human beings are different precisely because of freewill choices. We do some things based on instinct, keeping away from danger, for example - but mostly we make choices.

Freedom of will means that human beings have the ability to choose to cooperate with Godâ€™s will. In other words, to do what is right or to choose not to. Choosing to do Godâ€™s will means we choose to live the happiest, most fulfilling kind of life possible. Yet you have seen enough examples of people making selfish choices that hurt others to know that sometimes people donâ€™t make the right choices. This isnâ€™t to say bad choices equals bad person.

Free will talks, temptation walks. Temptation usually contains within it something that on its own is good. For example: Everyone knows that cheating at YA is wrong. But getting BA's would please oneself and friends and help one get a TC badge and popularity. Making oneself and friends happy, getting the nod of other members, becoming a top contributor, getting into the leader board - each of these goals is desirable. In this case, however, youâ€™d have to choose to be dishonest to achieve them. The end does not justify the means. Much of the apparent good within every temptation is an illusion.

But then again, the more you come to see what free will is all about, the more likely you will avoid buying into one of two extreme misconceptions of God. The first is God as a mean judge who frowns down from a high place just waiting to see you sin. The second is God as a sleepy old grandpa in a hammock in the sky, basically unconcerned about what humans do or donâ€™t do to one another.

To say that we have free will is to say that our actions really do matter. Your daily choices can strengthen your relationship with God and with one another. God isnâ€™t trying to trap you into making the wrong choice. God is offering opportunities to keep the world together. Itâ€™s a great job, but itâ€™s your call. You have free will. You are the master of your own destiny.

Chris

Perhaps our fates is alrady ordained by learned behavior. I mean do we really have free will or do we simply do as we have been taught to and learned to do? In any case, fate is the concept that while we have the ability to make a choice, it's so obvious what we will do, even your best friends know less alone God.

Ray H

We are given free will to make our mistakes and to learn from them.

la_ciudadista

i believe that the Creator has a path for us and its up to our free will to follow it or not.

Adam

I think we have Free Will. We are free to make our own decisions. However, we are not free to choose the consequences of our decisions.

tranquil

Yes on both counts.

Our destiny is foreordained by God; to be God-like: loving, peaceful, creative, joyful (an endless list of positive attributes).

We are endowed with free will to be the master of our own destiny, but it is up to us whether to be God-like or otherwise.

maej

Biblically speaking, God indeed, gave us free will, the ability to know and choose right from wrong.

We can naver be the master of opur own destiny because only God and God alone knows what really is to become of us.... though it was mentioned that we only have to choose betweeen two eternities... heaven or hell!

The choiuce is up to you, we have free will, use it wisely, tha eplace where we'll all end up is the consequence we take by using our own free will.

Just make your journey with God, you'll never go astray. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Î© allan y

there used to be a great debate between pre-destination and free will. ultimately, it was free will that won. the greatest gift that God gave man is free will.

wildyoungnfree

Let me just compare it simply as "creating a movie". You played a role in the movie and in this role, out of your freewill, made a destiny from the start to the end of the story. As I was the director of the movie, I knew from the start what would take place.

Juan C

only God knows what our future will be... He has plans for each and everyone of us...

RHEA

for each one, God has already laid down a path. this path is thorny as well as rosy. our free will, another gift from God, allows us choose how to handle the thorns (sufferings) and the roses (happy times). and how we use our free will determines if we're going to heaven or not.

Gardo E

For me, the first statement rings true. We should live our lives with the cards we were dealt with and hope that what we do would be the right choice in terms of pleasing God and for the betterment of our lives.

Strictly speaking we are not the true masters of our destiny because in life, luck, nature and even miracles play a crucial role on how we live.

Aref H4

Perhaps, the future has a crossroad, and God knows where each of the two roads lead.

We were given a choice. But he told us He would prefer that we take the path of righteousness.

It is, therefore, up to us to choose.

Madame Butterfly

we are responsible for our mistakes (sins)... that's what having free will is all about

oragon daa?

free will is choosing a car
destiny is how you drive it

James

Yes we have free will and yes God already knows the future for He is God.

But even though God knows the future it is still up to each of one us (because of our own freedom of choice) to determine how we live the present and the choices we make today and all of yesterday will determine what we are going to be tomorrow and in the future.

Choose wisely.

kamagong

Everything is preordained; the great script of life for me has been written already. I am given a role and try to play it faithfully. However, I am not stopped from adlibbing - there are many versions and I have the free will to choose how my story develops.

There's plenty of action and drama, and it is not clear whether life's a comedy or tragedy, or something in between. The only thing certain is that I will die in the end.

Maki is Bubu

The first one yes, the second no. Because, we all have choices in our lives to make, and we seem to being making those choices through our own choice.

dave i am

We have free will, just like answering this question... really it differs from persons point of view or belief

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