Predestination, Absolute for…

Struggles0001Am I predestined to become an author? Well, technically I guess I am already an author though I still have few readers. You can get one of my books for free until midnight tonight. Click on the image for the link to Amazon.

Unification Church teaching does not include absolute predestination. Everything depends on man’s free response so nothing can be absolutely predetermined.

I have expounded on concepts of predestination and the origins of good and evil in regard to God and his being in general terms on most all my blogs. Unification Church teachings are very clear as to why history repeats itself. And that God is absolutely good, unable to conceive of, relate to or recognize in anyway evil and what that suggests for the origins of creation, its’ goals and ultimately what is meant by the Last Days (not when the Alabama Moon falls from the shy and the sweet tea wells run dry: TBP).

Whenever I discuss predestination I comment that I find it interesting that only very successful people and people with positions of influence profess absolute predestination. Questioning this, I suggested that it is a reflection of feeling superior to others. But listening to yesterdays Sunday service I believe I hit on a much deeper reality as to why successful and people in powerful positions tend to profess absolute predestination, and even if they don’t believe in it fawn over sayings and verses that suggest it.

To the point, they are saying it is not their fault. People of great assets and power, influence others very drastically. Financially or spiritually someone’s fortunes can be made or lost at the whims of such individuals. But from their position they are blameless. It does not matter if they have lied, gossiped, stolen or in some other way defamed or denied another by their action or inaction, it is the other’s own personal fortune. They are blameless and the image of their own superiority untarnished.

In the Unification Church we do not believe in absolute predestination, as I have stated already. But we do believe our lives are powerfully influenced by those who have come before; our ancestors. If things don’t go well for some it is attributed to bad ancestors. This, however, can lead to the same trap as the idea of absolute predestination. Just as in all institutions of influence, the actions or inactions of those in power can severely influence the lives of others, and not just a few. People of responsibility should never be allowed to justify or pawn off their mistakes or incompetence onto some inalterable state of existence.

That is not being responsible. The fulfillment of God’s Will depends on man, mankind as a whole, fulfilling one’s responsibility. Can it be achieved by being irresponsible even if one can make some claim of being responsible to God’s direction? We have a responsibility to love God and love our neighbor as prescribed by scripture. It is implicit that we are responsible not only to God but to our fellow man.

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