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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
0ur Destinies	Jo1960	Saturday, March 21, 2009
Question: Hello Bro.Ignatius: With the recent accidental death of the actress Natasha Richardson, it prompted me to ask this query. I tried searching archive forum but could not, for some reason, access it. I have heard many times over the years, that God knows the hour and time, and manner of our deaths. I know God is omiscient (hope that is correct word) but I have a problem with the fact of how people 'die' sometimes. An 80yr.old woman for example, brutalized and killed in her own home, a poor child beaten to death by his/her parents or stranger abduction, identical twins, one coming down with a fatal cancer, while the other remains healthy, so what I am asking is, is it just fate/chance / or are our destinies already down? I also remember a survivor of the Virgina Tech massacres of two years ago, being killed in a car crash a few days later, and I remember thinking was he supposed to die? I am sure you understand what I am asking, so thanking you advance for any enlightment you can give me, God Bless. Jol960.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Jo: God is omniscient. God stands in the eternal present, thus the past, present, and future are all one moment for Him. He does know from the eternal past when we would be born, how we will live, and how and when we will die. God's knowledge of these things, however, does not mean He scripts these events. Because God loves us He made man in His image. Part of what this means is that He gave us a part of Himself that gives is Free Will. We have the ability to choose our destiny, to choose how to live. But, we must also accept the consequences of our choices. Because all of mankind has Free Will that means that others have Free Will, too. That means that someone may choose to break into my house and kill me. In that case, I suffer the consequences of someone else's freedom of choice. It is not God's desire to see the 80 year old brutalized and killed in her own home or the child beaten to death. But, God cannot necessarily stop those horrors unless He violates the free will of the perpetrators. He will never intrude upon anyone's free will. If He did that, then none of us would have free will, which means that none of us could love -- since love is a free choice and cannot be forced. God may try to persuade a person to not perpetrate these horrors, but He cannot prevent it by intruding upon the person's free will. Free Will is like pregnancy. One cannot be 99% pregnant. Either you is or you is not. Either we have Free Will or we do not. If we do not then we are nothing more than animals. In the case of one child with cancer and the other healthy a similar situation is true. God does not will any child to have cancer, but getting cancer, or any other illness, is the natural result of a fallen world, the natural result of original sin. Some get sick and some do not. In the case of illness God may choose to heal the person or not based upon His perfect knowledge of what is best for that child and his family. I hope this helps. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

0ur Destinies

Jo1960

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Question:

Hello Bro.Ignatius:

With the recent accidental death of the actress Natasha Richardson, it prompted me to ask this query. I tried searching archive forum but could not, for some reason, access it.

I have heard many times over the years, that God knows the hour and time, and manner of our deaths. I know God is omiscient (hope that is correct word) but I have a problem with the fact of how people 'die' sometimes. An 80yr.old woman for example, brutalized and killed in her own home, a poor child beaten to death by his/her parents or stranger abduction, identical twins, one coming down with a fatal cancer, while the other remains healthy, so what I am asking is, is it just fate/chance / or are our destinies already down?

I also remember a survivor of the Virgina Tech massacres of two years ago, being killed in a car crash a few days later, and I remember thinking was he supposed to die? I am sure you understand what I am asking, so thanking you advance for any enlightment you can give me, God Bless.

Jol960.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Jo:

God is omniscient. God stands in the eternal present, thus the past, present, and future are all one moment for Him. He does know from the eternal past when we would be born, how we will live, and how and when we will die. God's knowledge of these things, however, does not mean He scripts these events.

Because God loves us He made man in His image. Part of what this means is that He gave us a part of Himself that gives is Free Will. We have the ability to choose our destiny, to choose how to live. But, we must also accept the consequences of our choices.

Because all of mankind has Free Will that means that others have Free Will, too. That means that someone may choose to break into my house and kill me. In that case, I suffer the consequences of someone else's freedom of choice.

It is not God's desire to see the 80 year old brutalized and killed in her own home or the child beaten to death. But, God cannot necessarily stop those horrors unless He violates the free will of the perpetrators. He will never intrude upon anyone's free will. If He did that, then none of us would have free will, which means that none of us could love -- since love is a free choice and cannot be forced. God may try to persuade a person to not perpetrate these horrors, but He cannot prevent it by intruding upon the person's free will.

Free Will is like pregnancy. One cannot be 99% pregnant. Either you is or you is not. Either we have Free Will or we do not. If we do not then we are nothing more than animals.

In the case of one child with cancer and the other healthy a similar situation is true. God does not will any child to have cancer, but getting cancer, or any other illness, is the natural result of a fallen world, the natural result of original sin. Some get sick and some do not. In the case of illness God may choose to heal the person or not based upon His perfect knowledge of what is best for that child and his family.

I hope this helps.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.