Predetermination: God's controlling will?

From: Howard J. Van Till (hvantill@chartermi.net)
Date: Mon Jul 07 2003 - 20:50:03 EDT

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    Here's a note from the newspaper today:

    A US Marine who was part of the unit that helped rescue Army Pfc. Jessica
    Lynch died in a car crash on the first weekend home since returning from
    Iraq.

    Josh Speer was killed when his car veered off the road, overturned several
    times and struck trees Sunday morning. The 21-year-old soldier was heading
    to see his fiancee, Holly Coupe.

    "I lost him, but it's the Lord's will," Coupe said. "It's hard to accept,
    but I have to. He [God] has bigger plans for him [Josh]."

    Stories of tragedies like this are plentiful, and the frequency with which
    the grieving fiancees, spouses, parents, and children say "It's the Lord's
    will.... It was in His plan" is to me astounding.

    Did the God who controls everything do this to Josh Speer and Holly Coupe?
    Is this commonly displayed portrait of God and of God's relationship to the
    world acceptable to the folk on this list?

    Glenn, this is the issue behind some of my recent questions about why a
    person would want to portray God as the all-controlling pre-determiner of
    all things. For me it's not so much about where the particles of a universe
    are located or the quantum mechanics of entangled states, but about the
    life-experiences of real persons.

    Howard Van Till.



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