this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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No Stupid Questions
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You either believe god has a plan for you or you don't.
The vast majority of believers believe god's plan includes free will. God may know the future, but we can certainly agree that we do not.
By the logic you seem to be presenting, why would believers take any action whatsoever?
Exactly. If they are destined to get hit by a bus or not, it doesn't matter, God wills that they will or won't. So why bother looking when crossing the road?
Believers still understand intuitively just as you do that people who don't look before they cross tend to get hit more often. Whether you call it "god's will" or "just the way things are" has no bearing on the fact that it is prudent to look before you leap.
Your argument applies equally to non-believers. If a freak accident might kill you despite your best efforts, why bother trying to protect yourself at all?
The reason your argument is fallacious is also the same whether you believe in god or not: the future isn't knowable.
And therefore God cannot know, therefore he cannot have a plan.
A bit off-topic, but a completely understandable theology. I personally don't find it meaningful to speculate about what god 'knows', since god is beyond all things.
In any case I'm glad you understand why believers tend to look before they cross the road.