[Msoto]

>It is hard to think outside of the religious box - I have
>tried to let go of fear and do it. How can I ever understand
>my faith if I cling blindly to it? If you want something to be
>true really badly you will find ways of justifying it.

In short its not...what limits thinking is when people begin "quoting" texts endlessly to try and justify and replace thinking.
You must question...and as you question..you must brace yourself for controversies.

>Questions to ask oneself about predestination and omniscience
>from wikipedia:
> 1. Is God's predestinating decision based on a knowledge of
>His own will, or does it arise from a knowledge of whatever
>will happen?

Can it be both and not exclusively one or the other?

> 2. How particular is God's prior decision: is it concerned
>with particular persons and events, or is it limited to broad
>categories of people and things?

Who knows? How can you say one and not the other? To say so would mean that perhaps he has LIMITATIONS. He is omniscient so how can he be broad and yet specific...or specific and not broad...why cannt he both be broad and specific?

> 3. How free is God in effecting His part in the eventual
>outcome?

Unless you understand God...or your sentience level is close to God's you cann't ascertain the level of "freeness" that God would exhibit to do so...will be to cap...on what "freeness" would mean to God. How can I a lower sentience being now what "freeness" means to God and attribute a cap...say maybe 80%...70%...by doing so isnt he then not Omniscient?

>about man's will:
> 1. Assuming that an individual had no choice in who, when
>and where to come into being: How are the choices of existence
>determined by what he is?

He makes the choices on his own. Arent we arguing out in this forum right now. Aren't we seeking to determine who we are and listening to different view's ATLian's skepticism...Peter MauMau's scriptural insights...etc? Isnt that in itself demonstrating that as we see ourselves we are free-willed...or what does free-will really mean? Doesnt it mean knowing that your decisions have been made for you and being aware what those decisions are? Arent we for instance all aware that we will die...does that make us all fear living because we know we will die?

> 2. Assuming that not all possible choices are available to
>him: How capable is the individual to desire all choices
>available, in order to choose from among them?

Does one need to have unlimited choices to choose what may be the most valuable to him..a human being? A human being is LIMITED in sentience...if perhaps he received a LIMITED choices..that equates his/her sentience level...isnt he then experiences the multitude of as many choices as he can handle...and which can be viewed from his perspective as large enough to almost be unlimited?

> 3. How capable is an individual to put into effect what he
>desires?

If you want to write in mashada....do you write in mashada do your hands type on the keyboard what you want to say...or do you end up realizing...that what you have written is not what you thought? Not that of course you want to be politically correct when writing threads and responses...but that God you feel prevented you from writing what you wanted.

You choose what to believe. You choose how to live your life. You choose which desires come into fruition. I choose to believe in God. I choose to believe that he is omniscient that everything that I decide he already knew....his knowing doesn't take away from me making the decisions that I make. The decisions I feel from my limited senses of perception are mine alone. Of course God is also aware that I feel as I do.

>Some philosophers argue that man has free will, and that his
>free will is predestined to lead him to God. However, man gets
>enslaved in sin and loses his free will

Perhaps that is how life is. Who knows what the truth really is?