What Is Predestination? Predestination (Latin præ, destinare), taken in its widest meaning, is every Divine decree by which God, owing to His infallible prescience of the future, has appointed and ordained from eternity all events occurring in time, especially those which directly proceed from, or at least are influenced by, man’s free will. It includes all historical facts, as for...
Fate Fate (Latin fatum, from fari, to tell or predict) is almost redundant in the vocabulary of a Catholic as such, for its meaning as the prime cause of events is better expressed by the term Divine Providence, while, as a constant force at work in the physical universe, it is nothing more nor less than natural law. Hence St. Augustine says (City...
What Is Fate? Fate or Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events, which may be conceived as affecting the world in general or a specific individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed order to the universe. That order can be seen as the product of...
Free Will Explained The question of free will, moral liberty, or the liberum arbitrium of the Schoolmen, ranks amongst the three or four most important philosophical problems of all time. It ramifies into ethics, theology, metaphysics, and psychology. The view adopted in response to it will determine a man’s position in regard to the most momentous issues that...
What Is Simple Living? Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one’s lifestyle. These may include, for example, reducing one’s possessions, generally referred to as minimalism, or increasing self-sufficiency. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they have rather than want. Although asceticism generally promotes living simply and refraining...
Argument From Free Will The argument from free will, also called the paradox of free will or theological fatalism, contends that omniscience and free will are incompatible and that any conception of God that incorporates both properties is therefore inherently contradictory. These arguments are deeply concerned with the implications of predestination. Omniscience and free will...
Free Will In Theology Free will in theology is an important part of the debate on free will in general. Religions vary greatly in their response to the standard argument against free will and thus might appeal to any number of responses to the paradox of free will, the claim that omniscience and free will are...
Divine Decree And Destiny, And Human Free Will This article covers the relationship between Divine Decree and Destiny, and Human Free Will. The Arabic word translated as destiny is qadar. In its derivations, this word also means determination, giving a certain measure and shape, dividing, and judging. Muslim scholars of...
Destiny And Human Free Will This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is The relationship Between Destiny And Human Free Will?“ Human free will exists because: We feel remorse when we do something wrong. We beg God’s forgiveness for our sins. If we trouble or harm someone, we...
What Is Free Will? Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of responsibility, praise, guilt, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actions that are freely chosen. It is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation,...
Will (Philosophy) Will, generally, is that faculty of the mind which selects, at the moment of decision, the strongest desire from among the various desires present. Will does not refer to any particular desire, but rather to the mechanism for choosing from among one’s desires. Within philosophy the will is important...
What Is Freedom? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Freedom?” Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or possessing the power and resources to fulfill one’s purposes. In one definition, something is “free” if it can change easily and...
Free Will Free will is the power to exercise control over one’s decisions and actions. The interest of free will in philosophy primarily lies in whether free will exists. While hard determinism denies the existence of free will, other schools such as incompatibilism, soft determinism (or compatibilism), and libertarianism recognize it in some way...
John Paul II And The Truth About Freedom The contemporary crisis of freedom is at root a crisis of truth. In our own day, John Paul II has clearly demonstrated the inseparable connection between freedom and truth. In the course of his long career, he has eloquently and forcefully proclaimed...
Human Freedom Any philosopher who takes man seriously as person is sure to affirm the freedom of persons (Human Freedom). There are, of course, no lack of philosophers who deny freedom, but none of them ever makes a point of saying that human beings are persons. Personhood and freedom are...
Death And Destiny This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the Relationship Between Death and Destiny?“ Every event, including the manner and time of death, are predestined. Everything occurs within the framework of the Divine Decree, and also within an individual plan for each being. Such plans...
What Is Destiny? Destiny is a title of Divine Knowledge, it is not something that annuls man’s free will and forces him to behave in a pre-ordained way. Since God knows beforehand how man will behave in the world, He has an angel to pre-record his life history. Man behaves...
Is Manner And Moment Of Every Death Predestined? This article covers death and predestination. Like every other kind of event, the manner and time of death are predestined. In other words, what happens and is true of the natural world is likewise true of man. The process of coming into...
How Can We Reconcile Destiny and Man’s Free Will? The Divine Destiny and Man’s Free Will Can Be Reconciled In Seven Ways: First way: The absolute order and harmony displayed by the whole of creation bear witness that God is All-Wise and Just. Wisdom and Justice demand that man should...
Divine Decree And Destiny In Relation To Creation There are two aspects of the relation between Divine Decree and Destiny and creation: As a determining and compelling factor, except for the realm where man’s free will has a part, Destiny is absolutely dominant 1. As a determining and compelling factor,...