Quote Originally Posted by xspy4u View Post
So the answer to "destiny" and "freewill" is most likely explained in the same manner. Think of a human's existance and relationship with god(s) in the same terms as parents and child.
And what of us who have no gods to have relationships with? Are we non-human?

Born of the parents the child's life is the result of three different conditions; determination, divine guidance, and randomness.
Substitute parental/familial guidance for 'divine guidance' and I'm with you here.

A child is born with certain "things" which will ultimately "determine" other things. In this way there are aspects of their life that are predetermined at birth.
A bit tricky, here. Children are born with certain physical, emotional and mental abilities or disabilities which will profoundly affect their lives, yes, but the social acceptance or rejection of those abilities and disabilities will play a far greater role. I have an uncle who was born with muscular dystrophy who was not allowed to go to public school because of his handicap. Today society sees children like this as challenges to be integrated into our society rather than as pariahs to be hidden away. Nothing is predestined.

Like a child grows partially through the guidance of his parent(s) so too is there a divine guidance that leads each of us to certain choices and paths.
I was a child once and I have raised two children and have never seen any evidence of "divine guidance".

And third, there is the apparent randomness of events both created and experienced that will provide unique opportunities to make choices that ultimately lead us to a place..and those choices are many, although not infinite as some are removed by conditions one and two.
This is the one that so many people fear, because this one points to the almost complete lack of control we really have over our lives. And these random events are the ones that will generally bring out either the best or the worst in people. But they don't always have to be surprises. If you live near the ocean you have to be aware that you could get smacked pretty good by a hurricane. If you prepare for it you can limit some of the randomness and get through it. This will help you get through the random event with the least amount of problems. Moving away from the ocean makes it even better. In either event, though, preparation gives you at least some control over a random event.