What is the relationship between Divine Order and Free Will?
This is how I see the relationship:
Divine
Order
|
Free Will
|
Describes
a process of unfoldment or growth
or evolution
|
Describes
a power or causation
|
Unfolds
according to some type of principles; according to “law”
|
Unfolds
according to individual selection or choice; “whim” or “not law”
|
Based on a
Divine Idea – an Ideal
|
Based on a
person’s “filters”
|
Directed
(shaped) by interaction with free will
|
Influenced
by history, tradition, teachings,
experience, reflection
|
Some
predictability, if “laws” are familiar and known.
|
Less
predictable, highly subjective
© 2012
|
I am sure that others can add to this comparison / contrast. I'm still pondering how either/both of these relate to the concept of PREDESTINATION. Seems (at the moment) that predestination is not either a process nor a power... but a line in the sand, saying "THIS is what IS".
I know it's way more complex than that. But I need to start slow!
Lonnie,
ReplyDeletePredestination is a concept I’ve contemplated on for some years. If I believe in reincarnation, I would be likely to think this life is somehow related to the other lives. If I believe, as Plato stated, that we fell from God and are working our way back, is that predestination? Is Divine Order predestination, or is Divine Order our manifestation from our freewill? Are divine Ideas choices we make with our freewill? Were we predestined to make certain choices? I think not, but if I can’t prove the existence of God, how will I ever prove or disprove predestination?
Today’s class opened up a whole new can of worms (questions) for me. Thanks for the comparative list.
Elise
Lonnie,
ReplyDeleteI like your chart on Divine Order and Free Will, especially the top box which identifies Divine Order as a "process" and Free Will as a "power". If Divine Order can be described as Mind, Idea, and Expression, I can understand why Divine Order might sometimes take some time to manifest. This has nothing to do with a perceived waiting time of predestination. This is just the unfolding of our own creative process. Perhaps this awareness will give me some patience when some of my ideas are a little slower to come to fruition. I also know that I can use the power of my free will to make a new choice at any time. How wonderful to have these ideas clearly defined. Thanks for your contribution!