Spiritual Journey, Part V
Mar. 27th, 2006 08:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaIn the movie V for Vendetta, the main character addresses the notion of coincidence. The hand of fate can be felt throughout the movie, though it cannot be formalized into words. There are no such things as coincidence, which is symbolized by a very intricate domino set up. Things that are intuitively obvious can be the most powerful in shaping our world views.
A good Christian would say it’s intuitively obvious that there are no coincidences because everything happens according to God’s plan, both good and evil. Am I saying God premeditated the deaths of billions of people? No, I think it’s more appropriate to say that God can use anything and everything for His purpose.
Ah, wait, that sounds a bit too deterministic, doesn’t it? I mean, if God gave us free will, shouldn’t we be free to determine our own lives? What’s the deal with everything being connected to some sort of master plan?
The way I see it, we do have free will. But the power of God is that he’s able to use any of the choices we make to glorify Him. Does that sound a bit too self-serving?
I think it’s quite the opposite, actually. Part of the problem is we often think of God as this impersonal, omniscient force when we should think of Him as our Heavenly Father. Think about parenting for a second. Do we venerate the kids who grow up to make their own decisions or the ones who do what their parents simply tell them to do?
If the universe conspires to help me, I believe it is God lending me a hand. I think it’s a good omen when I meet someone new because God intended for me to meet them. And when something terrible happens to me, I remember that God has a plan and purpose for my life.
Or would you rather have me believe in coincidence?
A good Christian would say it’s intuitively obvious that there are no coincidences because everything happens according to God’s plan, both good and evil. Am I saying God premeditated the deaths of billions of people? No, I think it’s more appropriate to say that God can use anything and everything for His purpose.
Ah, wait, that sounds a bit too deterministic, doesn’t it? I mean, if God gave us free will, shouldn’t we be free to determine our own lives? What’s the deal with everything being connected to some sort of master plan?
The way I see it, we do have free will. But the power of God is that he’s able to use any of the choices we make to glorify Him. Does that sound a bit too self-serving?
I think it’s quite the opposite, actually. Part of the problem is we often think of God as this impersonal, omniscient force when we should think of Him as our Heavenly Father. Think about parenting for a second. Do we venerate the kids who grow up to make their own decisions or the ones who do what their parents simply tell them to do?
If the universe conspires to help me, I believe it is God lending me a hand. I think it’s a good omen when I meet someone new because God intended for me to meet them. And when something terrible happens to me, I remember that God has a plan and purpose for my life.
Or would you rather have me believe in coincidence?
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Date: 2006-03-28 12:20 pm (UTC)Though I should warn you that not only is my journal not really interesting, I haven't been a good reader of flist lately either. I hope to improve though.
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Date: 2006-03-28 02:43 pm (UTC)Also, I understand the whole getting behind on your reading list. Real life always comes before LJ.