Today i shall be talking about the idea of human destiny. This is sometimes regarded as fatalism (from the word 'fate'). In the general sense of it, it is regarded as 'purpose'. However, this is an interesting topic to explore as a philosopher and i will appreciate it if you can read this to the end to learn one or two things.
I shall be using Yoruba, an ethnic group in Nigeria as an example.
Destiny is defined as the power believed to control events, which people simply call fate. Destiny is about the future, the spiritual will of a person. It is usually affected by time, date of birth and the environment. Source
When the question of destiny is raised, it raises another fundamental question that concerns freedom/freewill and determinism. I will briefly look at what was said about destiny in Christianity.
The Bible teaches that Man was created with the ability to make moral choices and that he is responsible for those choices. The Fall of Man was not a predetermined event in which Adam and Eve were hapless victims. On the contrary, Adam and Eve had the ability to choose obedience or disobedience which they 'know' they would be held accountable for (Genesis 3).
“He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8a). “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). “Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you” (Romans 13:3).
Often, when the Bible speaks of destiny, it’s in reference to a destiny people have brought upon themselves: “A man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself” (Proverbs 6:32). “Each person was judged according to what he had done” (Revelation 20:13).
James 1:13-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” Source
The above suggest that the idea of destiny is not a predetermined one but one caused by the individual. To reject or deny the above is to say we were created to fulfill a destiny and while doing so, we would still be judged for that which we have no power to influence. As a person, i think the idea is lame and should be discourage.
This is because if we accept that our actions are determined, it means the idea of heaven and hell seem unfair since we are not the architect of our own doings.
This is because, if God created us to fulfill certain purpose or destiny, it would be unjust to say an all-merciful God will in turn punish His creatures for doing that which He created them to do. It would also mean we are puppet or experiment in His hands. This for me, is a negation of the attributes of a God i 'know'.
YORUBA CONCEPT OF DESTINY
Destiny in Yoruba could mean Ori or Ayanmo. Basically they are what we call mythology. There are many myths surrounding the idea of destiny or fate in the Yoruba philosophy.
According to some scholars, a person in Yoruba thought is a made up of three important elements: ara (body), emi (life giving element) and or (Spiritual head, which is thought to be responsible for human destiny). In the Yoruba concept of person, ara (body) refers to all the tangible elements that make a person both externally and internally such as the brain, intestine, heart etc. and not just the body frame which houses other constituents of a person.
Emi (the life giving entity), the Yoruba believe, is an immaterial element that provides the ‘animating force’ or energy without which a person cannot be said to be living at all, let alone of being conscious. Ori is the element responsible for a person’s personality and represents human destiny. Ori, an immaterial entity, otherwise called ‘inner-head’ is intractably connected with human destiny. It is responsible for the actuality and worth of man in the material world. For the Yoruba, ori is believed to be not only the bearer of destiny but also to be the essence of human personality which rules, control and guides the life and activities of the person. Given this consideration, ori is what the Yoruba call ipin. As an ipin (i.e the individual’s lot or portion), the Yoruba believe that every individual has the moral responsibility to protect and be in good terms with his ori, in order for one’s destiny to come into easy fruition. (The Yoruba concept is an excerpt from the work of O.A BALOGUN )
Human destiny is the mysterious power believed to control human events. Destiny or predestination is the believe that whatever happens or that will happen in the future has been preordained and happened according to an earlier master plan. It is the belief that every person has his biography written before coming to the world which consequently implies that anything one does is not something done out of free will but something done in fulfillment of preordained history.
Another Yoruba myth has it that man chooses his destiny (Ayanmo) while coming into the world. Man kneels down to choose his lot (Akunleyan) before the presence of God and Orunmila (the oracle divinity), and God sanctions it.
This idea suggest that there is an organised place where man has been living and he then decided to come to the world. To be granted such 'leave', he knelt down before God (Olodumare), picked his destiny and then come to the world to fulfill it.
This idea can only survive in the realm which it belong and that is 'myth'. If we look at it critically, we could ask, why would i choose a bad destiny? While some people do good in life, some do badly. Is it possible to pick a 'destiny' that will make one poor?
Away from the Yoruba concept to a broader one, is it possible to say what i am facing right now is as a result of my destiny? Can we say some people are destined to be rich or poor? If that is granted, can we at the same time be blamed, punished or condemned for that which we have no power against?
This idea is one which i think we need to do away from. Just as a philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre said, nothing is luring me from behind to act, i am a free being. Human beings possess freedom of choice. It is this main factor that determines how we are being judged. Our ability to act, decide and make judgement is responsible for what we get.
It is also true that we cannot totally do it alone. So we need to pray on certain decisions. This does not however suggest that the decision is conditioned.
In conclusion, we are free beings that make decisions. We act on these decisions and this is responsible for the judgement we receive either from God or as a result or consequence of our future existence.
Thanks to pixabay for the image
Thanks for reading!
Upvote, Resteem and Comment.
Smyle is at it again with his mind blowing post. Steem on brother!!!
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I have always wanted to argue with someone about this. Like you said Our God given free will rules pre-destination out. The concept doesn't make sense to me. I hear People saying so and so happened because someone was trying to run from his destiny. But the definition of destiny follows that whatever you're doing is your destiny. So if you're running from your destiny,it means it's your destiny to run from your destiny...Do you get? Don't mind me, I couldn't shut up
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lols! I truly get your point especially this logic: "if you're running from your destiny,it means it's your destiny to run from your destiny". We decide what we want as destiny! It is our hands!
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Exactly! Thanks
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An interesting read, people thinking maybe they are destined to become poor in my eyes, i see them being weaklings, there are things you pass through, but that should be an encouragement or rather a challenge to get out of that present situation... Thanks for this inspiring post!
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Yeah! The idea that some are created to be rich and others poor is a negation to the 'person' of God. Thanks.
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Destiny has to do with destination.
The bible made us to know that every day of our life has been scheduled by God and are all documented in His book. (Psalm 139:16)
We are on earth to act the script of God. Which we call His will. To be able to do that, we receive the Holy spirit after new birth,to guide us in doing the will of God. That's not to say man can't choose to do otherwise. He can because we are created a free moral being. So we make choices of what we do, definitely we will account for those choices. Which the bible call, giving account of our stewardship. It better to be led by the Holy Spirit than by human logic.
Man is limited in his reasoning o. Lol
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Well, in the realm of logical reasoning, we give no room for faith in arguing or making our points. You talked about a documented life, will of God and at the same time tied the whole thing under free will. Your point is confusing. A life documented and being guided at the same time is not a free one.
When you talk about limited knowledge, you are only limiting your thinking on what you think you could achieve. By being led by Holy Spirit suggest we have an idea, then seek the guidance of the Spirit to carry it out but not that the whole process it dependent on the Spirit. I wouldn't want to take this further because you will 'always' use faith to make point rather than reason but this discourse is reason based. Thanks.
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What a top notch delievery mate, weldone and i wish you and myself a Blessed Destiny here and in the Real world.
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Thanks boss!
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This post is well thought out.I see someone who has same perception of destiny with me.I do not believe in destiny, i believe we were all made and given free will to do whatever we please.anyone who decides to do bad, upon reaping what he has sown, need not blame it on destiny. In my area, many associate destiny with bad things or failure.when they find success, then its hardwork or God's blessing. Our God is loving, he cannot create and destine humans to be people who will never do good, and when eventually they never did what is good in his eyes, why has he set a day to judge them again when he from the on set never intended for them to do good?
I support and agree with you, well done sir
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Great! You truly got the whole point.
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With this piece...i believe you have done justice to the concept of destiny
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Thanks for the comment!
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Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by smyle from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
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write on brother.
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Good write up, personally I think destiny is like a web of paths that get to branch out like a tree, each route with its outcome either good or bad . dessision and prayers are only useful at it intersections or junctions before branching into these paths ..... decent work you put out!! Cheers
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Yeah! You have a good point. Thanks for commenting. 👍
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Destiny is just a path that can be funny most times because it might not seemed as expected. Although there is always a correcting fluid which is trusting God and praying. Thanks for the nice post.
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Destiny... Our free will challenge every soul on his or her actions
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Yeah, our destiny determine what we gonna be in life & is not reveal to us at our early stage of our life but it would definitely manifest in our life at appropriate time, that why thet say, destiny can never be denied but it can only be delayed. Nice post @smyle keep the good job rolling.One love
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There is a mix up here. The post does not support destiny. In fact, it denies anything like that.
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Good content, I invite you to see my account, I upload content about finance and personal development, I know you like it, your opinion is important !!
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The words "good content" do not really add value to the blog of your fellow steemiam. @orlanperzy, learn not to spam people's pages. If there is no constructive comment that you can leave, just pass by like you never saw the post or risk getting a red flag for spamming.
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Thanks @maryfavour
I thought he has something i could learn from but when i checked his blog, he has JUST 'Introduce yourself post'. People should read and leave reasonable comments on others posts especially an interesting topic like this.
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He had nothing that you could learn from. I knew it as soon as I read his comment that he was just spamming your page. Would have flagged him. Spamming is not allowed in steemit. Just that @maryfavour was not in the mood of flagging anyone today.
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Thanks for your comment. I will check it out.
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Quite revealing thank you for sharing
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If I've been destined to be great, it's because I've pictured myself over and over in that condition and decided to walk in that path, believing that nothing can stop me.
We all have free will and are responsible for the choices we make.
Awesome read. Thank you 😊
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Thanks boss! 👏👍
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Very well written, thanks for this post I took a few lessons and some encouragement from it. Looking forward for more. Followed and resteemed.
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Awesome! Thanks for the upvote and resteem 👏👍
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Although your title is a little off to me. God can and will place perpose filled choices in a Christian's path. As you said it is our choice to under take them but they are none the less there. So I don't nessarily place destiny as the same as haveing a perpose filled existence. Take Noah for example God had a plan for him even though he ran away God still used him for his perposes he just had to convince him a bit lol and also true freedom is following the author of humanity. The one who knows you better than you know yourself.
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I still enjoyed reading your article though.
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Okay! Thanks for your contribution! 👍
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The mind is a battlefield, it is where you get the right ideas and the wrong ones. Work on your mind and you will win the war. Being born poor doesn't mean one has to stay poor.
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Yeah you are right! Thanks for reading and commenting! 👍
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With this facts, i am already controlling my destiny ride on brother
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