by Eddie Alexander

Created on: September 03, 2008

This is a question of religion and belief, faith and speculation. And thus, regardless of our own beliefs, we must all accept the fact that there are no facts involved. As with nearly all philosophic debates, there can be no right answer here.

That said, only the consequences of each belief are relevant here because trying to prove one belief to be more truthful than the other is quite simply impossible.

It is dangerous to assume that any aspect of life is a function of fate alone. To justify this statement, let us consider the Calvinists and their belief in predestination. The Calvinists were Christians who believed that every aspect of their lives was already predetermined by an omnipotent God. The question of salvation was similarly predetermined as God's mercy was thought to be dispensed arbitrarily. Combined with their belief that all humanity had been infected by sin, these ideas scarcely promoted moral or even civil behavior. It's true that Calvinism may be an extreme example, but it is still very applicable.

A friend of mine similarly subscribes to the notion that God is all-powerful. And though he also believes in free will, he thinks that his God knows what is going to happen ahead of time. Additionally, he is strongly convinced that he is going to heaven upon his death, and he lives his life accordingly. The end result of these ideas is that my friend is a complete adrenaline-junkie. Death is no obstacle for him because he assumes that is the beginning of eternal bliss. And regardless, an Almighty God will protect him unless it's his time, so to speak. His behavior is thus typified by wanton disregard for his own safety.

Broadly speaking then, here are a few of the consequences from the pro-fate mindset: less personal responsibility, humility (from submitting to a higher power), and less concern for bodily health.

On the other hand there are the people who, like myself, believe death is a matter of choice. They acknowledge the obvious fact that there is a high potential for injury while skydiving and a substantially lower potential while reading. It's true that bad things can still happen regardless of the precautions taken, but it's also true that people who avoid unnecessary risks live longer. Lacking the invincibility complex of their counterparts, these people assume that a cause-effect relationship is associated with all of their actions.

So it follows that these people likely take fewer life-threatening risks and take more responsibility for the state of their lives. They are the masters of their own destiny rather leaving up to the discretion of an all-knowing being.

There is no right or wrong answer on this question, only opinion. However, these opinions have a tremendous amount of influence on the way we live our lives. Accordingly, people should choose the answer that has a positive influence. And when the sides are weighed and measured, less risk and more control seems to be the best solution.

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