Predetermination
I see that everyone seems to be sharing their views on fate this week. As I think I would enjoy discussing this, I will join in.
Do I believe I was born with a predetermined role in society?
I honestly do not know.
When I was a young man, I believed that God had created each person for a specific task. That, though there were thousands of paths I could choose to walk, He would see to it that I eventually chose the correct one.
For a time, when I was a bit older, I stopped believing in God altogether. Certain experiences had left me with the choice to believe in a God who did not wish me to walk any path at all, or to stop believing. At that point, I could not bear the former.
In retrospect, however, and now that I have regained my faith, I wonder if everything was Intended, after all. My mutation gives me powers that could be devastating in the wrong hands. Were I a less compassionate person, I wonder if I would be tempted to use those powers not to protect humans, but to destroy them. But instead my experiences have made me part of a minority thrice over, and because of that I find myself embracing differences in others. Wanting to reassure those who are considered "abnormal" that they are, in fact, valuable people.
And so perhaps my role as a teacher was predetermined. But as for the rest? I cannot say. Perhaps I was meant to be a leader, of sorts. Perhaps it is my duty (my role, my fate) to convince others to set aside their differences and live in peace.
But, if I allow myself to believe that, then I must also believe that those who oppose my views were also born into their roles. And I must believe that one side is destined to win. Seeing as they would have just as much right as I (after all, we were all fated to fill our roles), how could I claim that my way is superior? Why would God make it so that some would be destined to win, and others to lose?
And so I prefer to place my faith in free will. Perhaps we were all born into our roles, but we have the ability to change. To choose our own destinies. (And maybe we will end up where God intended all along, but that is beside the point.)
No matter what talents or faults we are born with or acquire, we have the ability to choose what we become.
I need to believe that.
- Charles Xavier
Do I believe I was born with a predetermined role in society?
I honestly do not know.
When I was a young man, I believed that God had created each person for a specific task. That, though there were thousands of paths I could choose to walk, He would see to it that I eventually chose the correct one.
For a time, when I was a bit older, I stopped believing in God altogether. Certain experiences had left me with the choice to believe in a God who did not wish me to walk any path at all, or to stop believing. At that point, I could not bear the former.
In retrospect, however, and now that I have regained my faith, I wonder if everything was Intended, after all. My mutation gives me powers that could be devastating in the wrong hands. Were I a less compassionate person, I wonder if I would be tempted to use those powers not to protect humans, but to destroy them. But instead my experiences have made me part of a minority thrice over, and because of that I find myself embracing differences in others. Wanting to reassure those who are considered "abnormal" that they are, in fact, valuable people.
And so perhaps my role as a teacher was predetermined. But as for the rest? I cannot say. Perhaps I was meant to be a leader, of sorts. Perhaps it is my duty (my role, my fate) to convince others to set aside their differences and live in peace.
But, if I allow myself to believe that, then I must also believe that those who oppose my views were also born into their roles. And I must believe that one side is destined to win. Seeing as they would have just as much right as I (after all, we were all fated to fill our roles), how could I claim that my way is superior? Why would God make it so that some would be destined to win, and others to lose?
And so I prefer to place my faith in free will. Perhaps we were all born into our roles, but we have the ability to change. To choose our own destinies. (And maybe we will end up where God intended all along, but that is beside the point.)
No matter what talents or faults we are born with or acquire, we have the ability to choose what we become.
I need to believe that.
- Charles Xavier