The legacy of free will lives on, despite centuries of warnings that destiny is predetermined by a Higher Power.
But if a Creator already knows which of us will join Him in the Afterworld, why should we avoid sin if our destiny is already determined?
Or what of those who are well behaved and have never sinned but are going to damnation anyway, no matter their behavior? Why should they bother doing well?
That was the rationale centuries ago, and for some True Believers that is still their faith and fate. Nevertheless, they insist that you behave yourself, so even if you are condemned, your punishment won't be quite so long.
Both theories ignore current behavior issues, unless you accept the notion that people are basically evil and most will be condemned no matter what they do.
Preachers try to persuade listeners they are doomed to eternal perdition if they refuse to follow the Great Truth as spoken by the preacher.
But there may be more than one path to a spiritual afterlife, and to insist on only one is contrary to the variety of social behavior and human beliefs.
We are all climbing the same mountain, Druids are fond of saying, and how we see the top depends on where we come from.
There are as many perceptions of the Otherworld as there are human cultures.
But if a Creator already knows which of us will join Him in the Afterworld, why should we avoid sin if our destiny is already determined?
Or what of those who are well behaved and have never sinned but are going to damnation anyway, no matter their behavior? Why should they bother doing well?
That was the rationale centuries ago, and for some True Believers that is still their faith and fate. Nevertheless, they insist that you behave yourself, so even if you are condemned, your punishment won't be quite so long.
Both theories ignore current behavior issues, unless you accept the notion that people are basically evil and most will be condemned no matter what they do.
Preachers try to persuade listeners they are doomed to eternal perdition if they refuse to follow the Great Truth as spoken by the preacher.
But there may be more than one path to a spiritual afterlife, and to insist on only one is contrary to the variety of social behavior and human beliefs.
We are all climbing the same mountain, Druids are fond of saying, and how we see the top depends on where we come from.
There are as many perceptions of the Otherworld as there are human cultures.
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