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Wed 5 May, 2021 06:51 am
“HUMANS can no more be masters of their destiny than any other animal,” writes evolutionist John Gray. Author Shmuley Boteach expresses quite the opposite view in his book An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Judaism. He says: “Man is not an animal, and is therefore always in control of his own destiny.”
Many people agree with Gray and believe that blind forces of nature control the destiny of the human family. Others consider man to be a creation of God endowed with the ability to have control over his own future.
Some feel that their future is controlled by powerful human forces. According to writer Roy Weatherford, “the majority of the people in the world—and especially the majority of women in history—have . . . no power or control over their own lives for straightforward reasons of human oppression and exploitation.” (The Implications of Determinism) Many have seen their dreams of a happy future wrecked by competing political or military powers.
Others throughout history have felt helpless because they thought that supernatural forces controlled their destiny. “The ancient Greeks,” says Boteach, “were obsessed with the idea that all hope was futile since man could not overcome predetermined destiny.” They felt that the destiny of every person was decided by capricious goddesses. These goddesses, they believed, decided when a person would die as well as how much distress and pain he would have to endure throughout his life.
The belief that a person’s destiny is controlled by a superhuman power is common today. For example, many people believe in Kismet, or fate. They say that God has predetermined the outcome of all human actions and the time of one’s death. There is also the doctrine of predestination, which promotes the view that “the ultimate salvation or damnation of each human individual has been ordained beforehand” by Almighty God. Many professed Christians adhere to this teaching.
What do you think? Has your destiny already been fixed by forces completely beyond your control? Or is there some truth in the words of English playwright William Shakespeare, who wrote: “Men at some time are masters of their fates”?
"Things are in the saddle and ride mankind." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
@papag,
Does any of this really matter? No one can know for sure. So why bother with it? The only thing a functioning individual can control is oneself.
Why ask why? Why did she say/do that? Who knows? And even if you asked her, she may not know. And so... who cares? You just deal with the situation as you choose.
Why are we here? Where are we going? What is our purpose? Age-old questions which no one can possibly know. And since we can't possibly know, why bother asking? To me, that's just a supreme waste of time.
Ditto with Is There A God? Who knows? And frankly, I don't care if there is or isn't one.
@Mame,
It matters to the billions of people that believe in predestiny, because they should be wearing their seatbelts and taking vaccines.
@papag,
You’ve misquoted Cassius. If you’re going to quote Shakespeare do it properly.
@izzythepush,
Explain your comment!
Shakespeare penned theses words of Cassius.
Please correct me if I'm wrong!
@papag,
I shouldn’t have to explain it. Google it to see the actual quotation.
Men at sometime were masters of their fates, not are masters of their fates.
It’s quite a significant difference.
And you’ve made the same mistake is assuming that Shakespeare believed everything he wrote. Most of his words are spoken by characters in his plays, they’re the ones who believe it.
Don’t overuse the exclamation mark, you’re not a thirteen year old girl.
@izzythepush,
“Men at some time are masters of their fates”
I appreciate your concern for accuracy, so do I!
In my statement I quoted correctly.
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