Quote Originally Posted by trini_gsr
I believe in both, I think they actually work hand in hand. I believe it's destined for certain things to happen to you based on the choices you make (this is just cause and effect, law of the universe, some might call it karma), but how you navigate to and through those things is determined entirely by free will.

Here's an example - everybody living right now is destined to die at some point (this destiny was caused by being born). What you do between now and then is governed by your free will.

the adam and eve thing is a whole 'nother can of worms. lol. the Genesis creation story (and the flood story) more or less mimics a creation account found in some Sumerian texts called the Enuma Elish - this creation story predates Genesis by several hundred years, so it woulda been common knowledge to someone like Moses, who wrote the 1st five books of the Bible and who was supposed to be educated as a prince in Egypt's royal courts. so you can't say this is just coincidence...

i don't wanna make this post too long...but basically in the Enuma Elish, they say that a group of 'gods' or aliens from a different planet in our solar system genetically cross-bred themselves with prehistoric man to create humans as we know them. so the dinosaurs woulda came and went by then. lol...if you look at the plot line it kinda follows the whole scenario in Genesis, except the imagery is just different. plus, if you read Genesis carefully it's almost like they're telling TWO different creation stories and trying to integrate them into one...

personally i think both stories are symbolic, different ways to describe what REALLY happened back then. this is all assuming you believe in the western world's idea of 'God' and what not...
WOW i have never seen so many contradictions in a few paragrpahs, but i will jstu go with what you said in the bold.

If you believe that you where dstined to die at a certain time, then you just said that you dont have a free will. becuase if you have a set time when you are suspose to die, then that means no matter what decision you make, there will be one decision that is already set for you to make. be it something early in your life, or just a moments notice. If you believe that you have a set time to die, then you believe in destiny. Because if there is a end already mapped out for you, then that means that every decision you make is building up to that one instances in time.