A Fortunate Accident Serendipity is one of the hardest and most unique words to define. It is based on the ideas of fate, chance, and luck, with no concrete meaning for life. When a man named Horace Walpole first wrote the word serendipity in a fairy tale entitled “The Three Princes of Serendip”, he had no idea the global recognition it would soon gain. The heroes in the story were always making discoveries about life by mistake, and gaining knowledge that they were not in search of. Therefore, this story defined serendipity. The word was later examined by numerous authors, and soon began showing up in several letters, titles, and books. Between 1904 and 1934 the word serendipity made its way into nearly all English and American dictionaries. By 1958, serendipity had been used in print only one hundred and thirty-five times making this complex word very unique. Since then the word has made …show more content…
Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. This is to say that no matter who you are, or what you do…life happens. God has a plan for every person regardless if we listen to it or not. If whether or not we are good or bad determines what happens in our life then there would be no need for God’s mercy. He would not have needed to die on the cross, and we could have all lived our lives relying on karma and luck. Thankfully, however, we do not have to live this way. We can instead look to the one who knows all things. Jeremiah twenty-nine eleven says: For I know the thoughts I have for you say the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. This verse is proven in the lives of those who whole-heartedly follow after God; whereas the people who look to fate are caused to question their own existence. Furthermore, serendipity is a nice thought, but it is not a belief, that as a Christian I want to center my life
After reviewing the work of David Hume, the idea of a God existing in a world filled with so much pain and suffering is not so hard to understand. Humes’ work highlights some interesting points which allowed me to reach the conclusion that suffering is perhaps a part of God’s divine plan for humans. Our morals and values allow us to operate and live our daily lives in conjunction with a set of standards that help us to better understand our world around us and essentially allows us to better prepare for the potential life after life. For each and every day we get closer to our impending deaths and possibly closer to meeting the grand orchestrator of our universe.
It’s easy to say that everything happens for a reason because it allows people to avoid taking responsibility for their, and others actions. Believing in fate gives people the option to “go with the flow” believing that whatever comes belongs to some master plan.. If someone loses their job, they instinctively turn to something greater than them in hopes of aid, but the truth is that it is entirely up to said person to get their life back. There is no outside help in life, we all drift alone throughout it, only certain that one day we’ll die and fade into oblivion. leaving our loved ones to grieve over our departure while we turn to dust, missing the rest of the short lifespan of our insignificant planet in the infinite sea of the universe.
From childhood, everyone has heard the saying of how life is not fair. For me, I try to remember this in every aspect of life, including relationships. Sometimes it is hard for me to be happy for others if something good is happening in their life, while mine is falling apart. However, by reminding myself that God has a plan for my life that probably will not match up with my own understanding; therefore, no matter what happens I need to trust and believe he will make everything turn out well. This can also be applied to if someone lying or betraying me. I try very hard to see the best in everyone and by realizing that God is working in everyone is some way helps me see that this understanding is
Although this is not a guarantee to come from evil, it is what leads most down the righteous path. Being able to will for God to fix their will is what allows God to intervene and fix someone’s defective free will. The fixing of defective free will by a person freely willing that God fix it is what Stump believes to be the foundation of a Christian solution to the problem of evil.
The case of moral luck was introduced by Williams Bernard and developed by Thomas Nagel in their articles respectively. Both raised the question whether luck can influence the judgment of morality. In this essay, the definition of moral luck and four kinds of moral luck by Williams and Nagel will be discussed through several case examples, and then followed with some arguments from Judith Andre, Donna Dickenson and David Enoch and Andrei Marmor who disagree with the concept of moral luck.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, is about a Dominican boy named Oscar and his family, which is his sister Lola and his mother Beli. Throughout the novel, Oscar is constantly complaining about how miserable his life is and he constantly falls head over heels with many girls, even if he had only seen them once. Also, Oscar is often ridiculed because of his weight and due to the fact that he is into comic books. In order to fit in, Oscar cares strongly about having sex because he is constantly being told that is how Dominican men should be. In addition, intensely craves the the love and approval of someone, to the point to where he is willing to do anything for that person. Due to Oscar’s need to fit in, he also becomes emotionally
Some people believe that all of their actions are predetermined; almost as if it is set and stone. On the other hand, others believe that you make your own actions and decisions. The story of Oedipus Rex is one of the best examples for this because Oedipus is faced with the impending truth of his foretold prophecy, but continues to try and avoid it through his own choices. No amount of running and hiding could free him from what he was always going to be condemned to; killing his father and sleeping with his mother. In the end, it was fate that led to his downfall, and fate that controls the lives of people.
Has anyone ever told you to, “Just have faith?” This is what Leif Enger, the author of the novel Peace Like a River wants readers to know after reading this powerful story. Having faith is trusting God to a certain outcome when it is utterly ridiculous and illogical. Faithful people believe in something that they cannot comprehend. In Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, the idea that the author wants us to know that we should have our hearts open to God and his great works, and that we should have faith is demonstrated thorough the messages that Enger exhibits through these miracles — that God is ever-present, that we should recognize God and trust in his doings, and that miracles are a way for God to show Himself to us.
Fate seems to defy humanity at every turn. A man may have his life planned out to the last second, but then some random force intervenes and he dies the second after he has completed his life plan. Some believe in fate, believing that our lives are predetermined from the moment we are born. Other people believe that everything is random, the result of some god rolling the dice in a universal poker game. Still other people believe that each and every person is in total control of his or her destiny, every step of the way. Who is to say which viewpoint is false? Every culture has a unique perception of the role of fate in our lives, and no group has the "right answer," simply a different answer. Taking into consideration the views of other cultures can help an individual refine his personal viewpoint on this inconceivable subject.
Purpose, the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Each person at one time or another has asked themselves why do I exist. Intrinsically instilled in us exist an inner yearning to be used in a higher purpose. We all desire to live as productive citizens in the Kingdom of God by having a purpose in the world which we live. Even the O.T. character Adam yearned for more than just being alive. After God created Adam, he gifts Adam with an ability to name all His creation in Genesis 2:19-20. God discerned that Adam desired to have purpose. God understood that man needed a purpose greater than just living. People must have a vision or else they will perish. To receive your vision in Christ instills the greatest
According to Sharpe (2015), “when truly deep suffering comes into their lives, Christians will often pray to God for healing or rescue” (para. 2). Based on this fundamental belief in the Christian worldview, it is imperative that every human encounter suffering as this brings a person closer in their relationship with God. The Christian worldview holds a belief that God has a purpose for everything that happens in a person’s life, whether it is joy and happiness, pain and suffering, and life and death. This can be seen throughout the Bible such as “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11, New International Version), and in Ecclesiastes 3 “A Time for Everything.” These core Christian beliefs should cause a person to look past the suffering that he or she is facing, and try to see what kind of positives can come from the current suffering that a person is
The Question of Meaning/Purpose – Mankind exist to oversee God, creation “subdue it” (Genesis, 1:28), all things living, plants, animals and each other (Psalms, 8:3-68). God loves us and wants to
Everyone has a purpose and a calling in life, and it is our duty to find what that
I truly believe that every single person in the world has a purpose in life. God created each and every one of us for a reason. Whether we know it or not our life is planned and we follow a path throughout our life. In this path, we have the option to make good decisions or bad decisions. In order to achieve salvation and enter a virtuous after life we had to do deeds that had a positive impact on other people. In order to do this though, one must have the self-discipline and devotion to God. There are many obstacles that can get in the way of achieving this goal and the main one is our desires. Desire is a strong feeling of something we want or wish to have. Our desire negatively impacts our life because it detaches our body both physically and emotionally from our mind which then influences us to make morally wrong decisions.
We are all guided by the things that happen to us and what we think about them. If one were to think that everything happens for a reason, or if they thought everything is mere chance, this could influence the way they see it and in what