As we study William Shakespeare and read Romeo and Juliet in class, consider the following prompt:
In Shakespeare's time, predestination dominated the belief system of England. This concept is reflected in the work of Shakespeare. The lives of men and women are mapped out in the stars, and attempts to transcend or disrupt this order, or chain of being, only lead to tragedy. Does belief in predestination exist in some form today? Do we subscribe to a similar or different philosophy? How might you categorize the belief systems of our world today? Do you believe that your destiny is mapped out for you, or do you think that you control your own fate? (3-5 paragraphs; due via post and hard copy 9-28).
32 comments:
In Shakespeare's time, predestination was a major belief not only in England but all over Europe. This concept is reflected in the most of Shakespeare’s work. Predestination is the belief that everyone’s life is mapped out in the stars, and if anyone tries to change what is believed to be written than they will suffer a tragic loss, or even be a tragic loss (that means they’ll die). The idea of predestination still exists today just not as much as it used to be. Some people still believe you can’t change fate while others think that it is a tall tale, but mainly belief systems of today are religion. I how ever believe I can control my destiny.
Predestination is still a belief today it is just a little different. The two modern ideas of predestination are destiny and fate. You may think that predestination and destiny are the same things, but they are a little different. For example, say you love animals, and have an unexplainable natural skill with them, it maybe your destiny to be a veterinarian or a trainer. Predestination you would be a veterinarian with married, divorced, re-married with 6 kids. As I also said fate is another form of predestination that one day you will meet the only one for you, also knows as your “other half”. Though that is common as the rate of divorce increases I have noticed belief in fate has decreased, however many people could not believe in it at all, but then they meet a great guy or girl, and fall in love, then all the sudden the think, this is fate. Depending on there age it could stay forever or last about a month. Fate and destiny are today’s forms of predestination.
Nowadays people will say predestination is fact or fiction depending on what there priest, pasture, or rabbi says. Even though religion is not as prominent as it was formally people still base most beliefs they have on it. “Predestination (Latin prœ, destinare), taken in its widest meaning, is every Divine decree by which God, owing to His infallible prescience of the future, has appointed and ordained from eternity all events occurring in time, especially those which directly proceed from, or at least are influenced by, man's free will.” That is a sentence from an online Catholic encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org) which just goes to show you how religion can affect you, I am sure if any catholic person ever read that and had no opinion on the subject of predestination they would have changed there mind. This dependability on authoritative religious figures exists in every religion not just the catholic one. Religion is a modern belief system that affects people’s opinions on predestination.
I have a very personal opinion on this subject. I belief that love is a partnership that is not determined ahead of time it just happens fate has noting to do with it. I also believe destiny is a myth, just because I put an tremendous amount of effort into this amazing essay doesn’t mean I am destined to get an A, I will get whatever grade I earn based on a rubric determined by my teacher. However I do belief things happen for a reason beyond anybody’s control. Even though sometimes you don’t know for a while what that reason is, you may never know at all but there is a reason for everything, in my opinion.
In conclusion the idea of predestination still exists today just not as much as it used to be. Some people still believe you can’t change fate while others think that it is a tall tale, but mainly belief systems of today are religion which guides you to either believe in predestination or not to believe in predestination. I how ever believe I can control my destiny, but everything that does happen has a reason behind it. Predestination was a major belief in the Elizabethan period that still exists today.
~Lexi Idreos
Period F
Suzanne Keene
Block B
September 28,07
Predestination
The question is, does predestination exist today? Today predestination is still with us, its in the bible explained by God. Back in Shakespeare’s time they had a different outlook on predestination. The events in Romeo and Juliet are influenced by fate instead of the actions of the characters. Predestination was a gift, they had their life planned out for the future and were ready to go. Shakespeare’s time you found your true love, very young and you would marry them. You would dedicate your life to the person you love, but on the other hand is Christianity.
I am Christian and Christianity is very important to my family and I. Predestination would just turn Christianity into legalism because we are not respecting god. If God's responsibility is overemphasized then Christianity turns into fatalism with may I add both of these problems have occurred at times.
Looking at today’s point of view not many believe in predestination. As we all know, there are famous people in the world, you have Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and other big stars in the world. If their children were to grow up and audition for a part in a big movie being produced they are going to get more eye to eye contact than a random person that is working for the same spot. Based on these facts we don’t see predestination the same way as Shakespeare did in his time.
Back in time they planned out their lives of marriage, these days we find our true loves and spend the rest of our lives with them. Taking into consideration that when you are in love you state that you want to marry that person but its not a mapped out life that you are definitely going to. In this situation you choose what you want to do and be who you want to be. If you have a goal, yes, you can achieve it and you will go far, but that does not mean it will definitely happen.
I think that predestination is interesting, people have so many outlooks on what they believe. I don’t believe in predestination because in my eyes it is just like using someone. If your parents would not let you date someone because they thought someone else was better for you, you would just try find someone you thought was attractive and say “I want to marry him.” To me that really isn’t true love or trustworthy of you. I believe that you need to make the right choices and you shouldn’t have to decide what you are going to do or what you are going to be when you are 12 years young. I think I can control my own fate, I am more than capable, but then again that’s what I believe. There are so many different people that have their own opinions.
Predestination does exist for some, in today’s world. It exists where you live. For example the neighborhood you live in., it may be a bad part of the city or in a small suburban quiet town. It also matters depending on what country you live in. For instance if you live in Africa, a poor part of the world or if you live in a country like United States, which is well rounded place with a good government. These areas influence what a person does or does not do. You can also be influenced from your family members, religion or even food you eat like if your family is vegetarians. So I believe predestination can exist today.
We do subscribe to a similar philosophy in the world today, because we learn from other people’s ideas and thoughts. Because of this there is a better chance that you will do and say what you’ve been influence by. Like if your parents are religious, you are probably going to be the same religion. Later in life you may change if you are influenced in other ways. If your family is generally nice and doesn’t do stuff bad, you will probably be the same. If you live in a bad neighborhood you could be influenced by those who you hang around. If your family is never around you .Others may effect the way you are instead of your family members. We subscribe to similar philosophy in society today.
In the belief system today everyone all around the world have different beliefs. Everyone has different religious beliefs. Many people’s thoughts are brought about because of where they grew up. Different parts of the world have different reason for what they may believe. Many different areas of the world have a different philosophy on living, religion and how to live life itself. So there are many different ideas and beliefs of many kinds of people in the world today.
I say that your life can be mapped out for you, but at some point in time you can control your own fate. Where you grow up is predetermine. Religion can be too. School is, because usually your parents make you go and they determine where you will go. Your parent’s influence who you hang out with. Friends that are nice and not mean or disrespectful. As you get older you control your own life. You can change what religion you have. Where you want to live in life and how you want to live. What job you may want. There are still places in the world that people can not pick where and what they want to do. For these people their life is predetermined.
Stephen Tessier
Period B
English I
Predestination
Predestination:noun 1. previous determination as if by destiny or fate 2. (theology) being determined in advance; especially the doctrine (usually associated with Calvin) that God has foreordained every event throughout eternity (including the final salvation of mankind
Today predestination still plays a big roll like it did back in Shakespeare’s time. Today the bible still teaches predestination. People who believe in predestination are called Calvinists. Predestination is often compared to freedom. Even though predestination isn’t taking away a persons freedom completely predestination is like a set of directions that tells you how your life is and should occur. But everyone is there own person and can choose what they want at certain times. When I think of predestination I think of someone trying to label a person because of who they hang out with and who their family is. And when I think of that I think of my own life and how I was raised so I get judged. But I have fought through and made my own name for myself just like how everyone else in the world can do. You could say people can predestinate my life but there not me and there not my “god”. This is why predestination is compared to freedom because in this present day everyone is free but they have their dues to certain things and they choose how to run their life so its not always what people want.
Back in Shakespeare’s day everyone’s life was almost completely planned out. People almost had no control over their own life, their parents had pretty much every say in what they did. But not everyone back then did what they were suppose to and they were punished for it most of the time. That’s what Shakespeare was trying to show in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet were to members of two family’s with a very strong hate for each other. But like today they made freedom for each other and didn’t let anyone say they can’t because no was not an answer in this poem. They loved each other and nothing could stop that. That was one of the rare cases in the mid-evil times. Not everyone was as lucky as these two individuals.
These two eras of predestination are similar in certain ways. They both do signify that an individual has there freedom to a certain extent. In both eras label is a big faction on a person with predestination. If I person was born into a royal family in Shakespeare’s time they were most likely to marry into another royal family and become a dominate family. In present day if a person is brought up in a wealthy family they are most likely to be raised and treated well. So these two eras are almost the same when it comes to predestination but they also have differences. Today predestination isn’t as common as it was in mid-evil times. Judgement would be a better word for today’s predestination.
brendan curtin
I think that predestination is still existing today, just not as serious as it was back then. Back then your whole life was determined and if you tried to go off and do something different people could literally stop you and say that it wasn’t in your ‘destiny’. I think that it continued through out the centuries.
Today I think that that form of predestination that we believe in is more of a religious thing though. People in some religions might believe in predestination more than other religions. My point of view on it is not that everything is mapped out in the stars, but that whatever will happen and it will happen for a reason.
In the Christian religion predestination God is the one who makes your destiny and it is your decision on whether you want to follow it or not. “God is sovereign, which means that He has absolute authority over all that He has created and He has created "all things “I think that predestination in medieval time was a crazy thought. The stars can’t tell you what is going to happen, and neither can god. People can’t read stars and determine how things work. Maybe some people back then thought the same way as I do, the fact that we make our own destiny!
~+~+~ Cassie Eagerman ~+~+~
What is predestination? Predestination is the previous determination of someone’s destiny. In today’s American society people do not believe that predestination still exists. The reason why American’s believe this is because people tend to decide what they’re going to do with their life and not let what other people do affect the way they plan out their future.
The Elizabethians believed that everything was fixed from the time they were born until their death. The Elizabethians could never reach their full potential in life because they were always holding back and never living their life to the fullest. The reason why the held back was because they thought that their life had already been planned out for them and they didn’t know what the outcome of their situation would be. American’s are the exact opposite of the Elizabethians. They tend to believe that they can create their own destiny. They live their lives like there is no tomorrow and try to make their life the most fulfilling as they possibly can.
The American culture is somewhat the same as how it was in England during Shakespeare’s time. In some ways American’s do subscribe to the same philosophy as how it was in Shakespeare’s time. Even though our beliefs are not based on how the stars are mapped out there are other ways that we are like the Elizabethians. The Elizabethians let the social classes of the citizen’s affect the way they acted and treated each other. In America, wealthy people look down on the middle class and poor citizens. The wealthy Elizabethians acted the same way towards the lower classes in their time.
The belief system of our culture, in the 21st century, is becoming more of a past time. Many people are changing their ways and not believing in much anymore. The things that used to matter most in past times, like going to church every Sunday, aren’t as important to some people anymore. People may not believe in important things anymore because they don’t think they have time to do them. In Elizabethian times they had things to do other than to believe, yet they always made time to stop and believe. A lot of the past, present, and future is made up from the people who take the time to believe. If nobody believes in anything anymore then life will not be the same, as we know it.
I somewhat believe that my destiny is being mapped out for me now because I am, in some ways still a child. When I turn 18 years old I will be able to make my own decisions and not rely on my parents to make decisions for me. When you’re an adult it’s your responsibility to make wise choices and if you don’t then you could have, in some cases, severe consequences. I believe that part of the American dream is being able to make good decisions on your own and not have someone of a greater power be able to make them for you. People immigrate to the United States so that they don’t have to live a life that is mapped out for them. People in countries, like Cuba, are desperate to get out and therefor they try to seek refuge in America. In our government we have branches that protect America from becoming like Cuba and all the other places in the world that have a dictator in power. If America started to become like a communist country my life would change drastically. The American dream would no longer exist and America wouldn’t be any better to live in than where the immigrants come from. I’m glad I can control my own destiny because if I couldn’t then my life would be completely different.
-Kristin Murray
Class B
I believe that in some form, today, predestination does still exist. It may not be as powerful and enforced as it was back in Romeo and Juliet’s time, but I believe that our lives today are still somewhat planned out for us.
For example, we are all expected to grow up, go to school, go to college, get a job and eventually get married one day and have a family of our own. There’s no one who is really telling us to do all of this, but it is expected of us to do as everyone else does to lead a normal lifestyle. But, that form of ‘predestination’ may be different for other people, such as an actor or celebrity’s children. They, on the other hand, are expected to grow up in Hollywood and become an actor, celebrity, musician, etc., just like their parents. So neither, in this situation have a choice about what they want to do at the beginning of their lives, it is already expected of them to do as everyone else in their environment, whether it be Hollywood or Norton.
After, once the beginning of our lives have passed, and we are out of college, looking to find a good career, that’s when our predestination dies down and doesn’t influence us as much anymore. Once we graduate and leave home, our parents’ influences on how we live our life are not as strong, and we have more freedom to do what we want with our lives. Then, we have a choice of we want to do in life, not what other people want us to do. However, if you’re a child of a celebrity, after you graduate college you may be expected to start acting or recording music or do whatever your parents are famous for. But even though they are expected to become famous, they don’t have to. Technically, they can still choose what they want to do in life, but there have been so many influences put them from their parents and Hollywood, that their choices are limited and they don’t know what to do.
However, the belief systems in our world today, are different all over the world. In some places there is more forceful predestination than others. All cultures and societies have their own belief systems and their own theories. So I do still believe that predestination exists today, but in a different form than Romeo and Juliet’s predestination.
-Andrea Giglio
Austin Tocci
9/28
Period B
Predestination is a very interesting idea. The people in the time of Shakespeare believed in predestination. A lot of people in our world today do not believe in predestination, but there are some people that do have some of there lives planned out for them. I personally do not believe in predestination because I don’t think that it is possible to have your life planned out for you.
A lot of people in the time of Shakespeare believed in predestination. They believed that there whole life was planned out for them, in the stars. They believed that who they would marry, when they would die, and basically everything else was planned out for them in life, and they had no way of changing that. So if someone died at an early age everyone would believe that that was meant to be.
A lot of people in our world today do not believe in predestination. They believe that they can control their own fait. So if someone was born poor and have nothing, they can work their way up to being rich and famous. They don’t believe that their life is mapped out in the stars. I personally don’t believe in predestination either. I don’t believe that everything is mapped out in my life, and that I can control my own fait. Also, I find it kind of weird that people used to believe that their lives were mapped out in the stars. I think that it is weird because that doesn’t even make any sense. The idea of predestination is different.
Some people in life do have their lives planned out for them. Like, if a kid has to very famous people as their parents they will have an advantage against other people if they have an audition. Also, people in India live under the caste system. So there live are basically planned out for them because they can’t change the level at which they are born into. If they are an “untouchable” then they can’t move up in life. They have no change of being famous or getting a good job. So for some people their life is planned out for them.
Charlie Switzer
B Block
In the times of William Shakespeare, many Englishmen believed in the idea of predestination. Predestination is the idea that your life is planned out in the stars ahead of time. If you tried to alter your destination, you were bound to face a tragic consequence. If you were born in a poor family in that time period, you are most likely going to be poor throughout your life. The same goes if you grow up in a rich family. Also, if a man falls in love with a girl, and this girl is not the one that he was destined to be with the rest of his life, his life will probably end in a tragic situation. This example is used in one of William Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet.
In America today, predestination is not as common of a concept as it was in Elizabethan, England. Most people today believe that you can live your own life the way you want to. There are a lot of people who grow up in a hostile environment with abusive parents or in other situations, but still grow up to lead a successful life, instead of carrying that behavior into their adulthood.
People today subscribe to a similar form of predestination. A lot of people now believe that if you do something wrong, there will be a consequence for you. For example, if you were to kill another man, you will probably go to prison for a long time. This is not exactly predestination because you can make the decision ahead of time whether to kill the person or not, where with predestination, it is already planned out whether you will do this or not.
I do not believe in the idea of predestination. I believe that people can control their own lives and make their own decisions. If someone wants to be successful in life, and they work hard at achieving their goals, than of course they can accomplish them. As long as they put effort into what they are doing, there is nothing stopping them. If they fall in love with someone and that person loves them back, there is nothing in their way of being together.
Sydney Colbert
September 27, 2007
Block B
Shakespeare Essay
Predestination
In Shakespeare’s time, predestination existed but it was very strict. The daughter or son had no say in which they were going to marry. Usually the father would pick the spouse. It was really unusual for Juliet and Romeo to reach out and disregard the arrangement. Added to that, they were enemies. Predestination was a big deal during Elizabethan times.
Predestination still Exists today in some form today. A couple of examples I found were that when you’re born you already have a set religion. If you are born into a Jewish family your religion is Judaism. When you’re born you’re also expected to go to school. Most people go to school, get jobs, get married, and have children. In some ways that’s an example of predestination.
Together, modern ages and old ages, predestination has many differences and similarities. The similarities are that your life is planned out or mapped out for you no matter what. Everybody goes to school in the 21st century and back then every marriage was arranged. A difference is that predestination comes in many forms today. Back then it was mostly marriages that came in the form of predestination.
My opinion of predestination is a strong one. I support both sides. I think that predestination shouldn’t exist today in our country. I feel like since this is a free country people should be allowed to choose who they’re going to spend the rest of their lives with. I think that in other countries or religions it would be a different story because that’s they’re opinion of life and how they should live it. That is my opinion of predestination.
The End
In class we are reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The book is a confusing book to read but in some ways it is interesting. The book is really different compared to the way things are now a day. Back then they talked, dressed, and wrote different then we do now. The book was written awhile back, and doesn’t really make since to certain people. In order to find this book interesting you would have to enjoy the ways things were back then, and really pay attention.
Predestination to me does not exist today. Today people do not look at the stars to see if their life is being planned out. We are not sure when or how we are going to die, it is unclear to us. Back then the people believed in different beliefs then we do. Some people know when they are going to die like if they are sick with cancer or something then they can kind of tell whether or not they are going to survive. Unless that is your situation then you don’t know what is going to happen, how or when you are going to die. Different people believe in different things so today some people might believe that their life is planned out, but most people don’t. Your life could be planned out if maybe your parents have a say in what you are going to be when you grow older, or they can tell you what you are going to do with your life but other than that you aren’t really sure when or how you life is going.
We now days subscribe to a different philosophy. We don’t have stars tell us things about are future, and what sort of things are coming our way. We live our life not knowing what is going to happen. In some ways that is a good thing not knowing and in some ways it’s a bad thing, like for instance not knowing when, or how you are going to die. I don’t think that we have the same philosophy, to me its different.
To me I would categorize the beliefs of our systems different. Everyone has a different belief than one another. Some people believe in the same thing and other have a different belief. For instance some people believe in god and some people don’t. In some ways I believe that my destiny is mapped out and some ways I don’t. For instance my family helped me decide what I am going to be when I get older, they told me what they think I should be and I sort of listened to them. Other than that I don’t think that it is because I don’t know really anything about my life other than what I know right now. I think that I control my own fate because I am deciding what I am going to do with my life and how I am going to do it, and no one else is telling me how to live my life. I think that today’s life is a lot different than how life was back in the days.
Since we started our chapter on Shakespeare we have seen a lot of instances which involved predestination. Predestination is the belief that your life is mapped out for you before you were even born. In my mind there are three different types of predestination. First is absolute predestination which is the belief that all your acts and movements were mapped out before you were even born. Second to me is special predestination, which is only certain peoples acts are controlled and predetermined. Finally, the third type is what most people believe when they think of predestination, which is the most important events of your life are mapped out but you control most of your fate. The belief of predestination has been in existence for hundreds and hundreds of years, and it still exists today. It is a very interesting and exciting topic which, quite frankly, you do not hear much about these days.
Predestination is not a new topic in today’s world it has been it existence back past the renaissance period. However, its meaning has changed a little over that time period. One form of predestination back in Shakespeare’s time, was the chain of being, or the belief that if your family in wealthy you will be wealthy, or if your family is poor, you to will be poor. Some powerful leaders during the renaissance period such as John Wycliffe (lived in England and was a reformer of Christianity) strongly believed in predestination and thought that no one could control whether they were to go to heaven or hell, it was already planned out before your birth. In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, there is one main instance which involves predestination. That is when Romeo spotted Juliet. It was love at first sight, and they had to be with each other. As you can see predestination occurred way back in the day including the days of Shakespeare.
In my own opinion I still think predestination occurs today. The Primitive Baptists who live in the Southern Highlands still believe in total predestination, so they believe that their every move was mapped out for them. Another example of predestination occurred in Syria where my great grandparents lived. It was predetermined before they were born who they were going to marry. Lucky for them, they both really enjoyed each other. Even in our country and culture today we have some forms of predestination such as love at first sight. If you are a religious Christian, you believe in predestination because in the bible it says things such as Jesus was predestined to be born to the Virgin Mary. This is in the bible and is an example of how Christianity relates to predestination. Other examples are people who still believe in the chain of being (that if you’re poor you will always be poor). However, the American dream contradicts that, for the fact that the American dream is to work your way up in life and make a lot of money when you started out as a poor or lower classed person. Also the belief that there is always someone out there for you is an example of predestination. It shows that you don’t have to earn the love, that love has always been out there you just haven’t found it yet. These are ways that show predestination still occurs in today’s modern world.
As you just saw what predestination was back in the time of Shakespeare, and what predestination is like now, you should think about how the two of them relate. First off, love at first sight was started by Shakespeare in some of his plays for instance in his play As you like it Shakespeare quotes “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight”. Predestination is very much the same as it was hundreds of years back but as you can see it is a little different. One instance where it is still the same is the chain of being. Some people still feel the same way about it as they did hundreds of years ago. Predestination is a tough topic to concept due to the fact that it is more of an opinion than anything else, and as you can see some opinions of people have changed over the years as some have also stayed the same.
The more I think about predestination the less I believe in it. Even though I am a Catholic which is also considered Christian I do not believe much in predestination. I think that you control your own fate and that no one else can change that. I believe that everyone came into this world equal all with the same chance to succeed, but some people just want to succeed more than others. When people say “That person was born to do something” I think to myself no they were not, they just were driven more than most people to achieve their goals, and they prove it by succeeding in them. I do not see how your life could be mapped out for you and some people are automatically put in a bad situation before they were even born due to predestination, while others have an advantage in life because of it.
Over all, this study changed the way I thought of this world. Before I thought I believed in some form of predestination (probably general predestination) and that things such as love were mapped out before our existence, but now that I think of it I realize that these things are not given you have to work for them. I no longer believe in love at first sight, or things like we were meant to be. I think people hold their own fate and can control their lives for themselves. I have seen the way that predestination has changed over the years due to my research, and I have seen the ways it has stayed the same. Predestination is definitely a topic I will talk about more often than I thought.
~brian gannon~
Emma Jackson
Predestination
Class E
In Shakespeare's time, the people believed in predestination. Predestination means the people believed that their lives were already mapped out for them, and their life was going to be exactly on plan. I dont think that the belief in predestination exists for a few different reasons; one would be that everyone now a days have different religion, which leads to different beliefs on life. Another reason would be that all of us or at least most of us choose the way we live or go about doing things, simply because we have control of our own lives.
If I was to choose if our beliefs are more like predestination or the opposite, I would choose the opposite. Id choose the opposite because for example we choose what we want to do in life, and if we had the belief in predestination then we would already have a job picked out for us. Also another example is that we choose who we fall in love with or marry, we dont have planned or arranged marriages around here.
Because there are so many religions in this world, their are so many different beliefs. Id describe our belief system today as 'you pick youre own fate.' Id say this mostly because your the one living your life, your making your own decisions. So therefore your picking your fate, and living your life how you want to. My own belief is what ive been saying, that you get to choose your own fate, I dont think our life is mapped out for us, except for a few things such as school and how your expected to have a job at a certain point in your life. But other than those two things or maybe a few more, I think you map out your own life and its not mapped out for you
Patrick Traverse
9/27/07
Class f
Predestination
Predestination is the belief that your life is mapped out as soon as you are born. This belief was mainly believed around the time of Shakespeare but I think that it is still in believed today. In some cases it is like if you’re rich or a child of a king and queen. In both cases your life is mapped out to be rich and powerful. Back when it was in strong belief everyone’s life was believed to be. mapped out. Where they work, if they work and who they will marry.
In America predestination isn’t in strong belief because America is a country where you can do anything you set mind to. You can be poor as can be and can work yourself up to be rich and powerful. An example is Oprah because before she had her talk show she used to be very poor but now she is one of the richest people in America. Some sports stars like David Ortiz came from poor countries and became millenaries. This is part of the reason why I don’t strongly believe in predestination.
In some ways I believe in predestination and other ways I don’t. In some cases, that I explain, I believe its real but not everyone like back in Shakespeare’s time. Mostly I believe in if you put your mind to it you can do anything. That is the American dream and the people that try the hardest might just rise above the rest. One day I hope to be one of those people.
Joey Wilkes
Block: B
Predestination
Predestination is a religious idea, which involves the relationship between the beginning of things and their destinies. The most important part is that predestination concerns God’s choice to decide ahead of time what the destiny of groups and individuals will be, and also includes all of his creations.
People who believe in Predestination are usually called Calvinists. Not many people know who Calvin is, where he lived or what he taught. Calvin has been gone for over three centuries but predestination is with us today. The Bible teaches it. Shakespeare believed in predestination. He believed that ever ones life is mapped out. The play Romeo and Juliet is heavily based on fate. There are still religions that believe in predestination such as Muslim and Baptist.
I think we have sort of a different philosophy on life. In our world today there are many different religions, Christianity being the most widely spread of them all. In Christianity there are many numbers of people all claiming to believe in the same god but having different views on predestination. The Catholic Church teaches that everyone has a choice between good over evil. No one is really forced to believe in predestination, so it is usually a personal choice. The people, who believe in it, are called Calvinist, which is a fairly small group. So predestination isn’t very common.
I, personally, do not believe in predestination. I believe that your life is what you make it, and at any given minute, it can be taken away. You control what happens in your life. I think people use predestination as an excuse for all the bad things that happen to them. Like some people, when something happens to them, like they go to jail, they say it was their destiny instead of taking full responsibility. However, I believe that everyone has a second chance, so if you screw up your life, you are reborn, and start a brand new life. I don’t know if that belief is very common, but I still believe in it.
Max Wiese
9/27/07
Period F
Predestination
During Shakespeare’s time in England predestination was believed by most everyone. Predestination is a belief that every single persons’ life is predetermined before they are even born. It was thought that your life was “mapped out in the stars”-Mr. Kefor. In the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet do the last thing that should be done, try to interfere with predestination. At the beginning of the play te first chorus says that they are “star crossed lovers,” meaning that they are not meant to be, but fall in love anyway. Predestination is not just a practice of old though, there are still traces of it today.
Today predestination is not as prominent as back in the medieval ages, but it is still around in some form. Palm-readers are people who think that they can read your future by the markings on you r palm, this is a variant of predestination. Fortune-tellers also believe that the future can be read, but by looking at a crystal ball or just by having your presence in the room with them. As you can see our views on predestination are similar, but altered slightly. Today only astrologers look to the stars for the answers, but we do still believe that our lives are mapped out for us, but only partially. People will say, “they have it made.” This saying has predestination roots in it saying that the person would have been successful no matter what.
Today in our world the beliefs vary between cultures and personal views. Some people believe you are what you make of yourself, whereas some believe that if you are born poor you will be poor and if you’re born rich you will be rich. Where culture has a play in it is with the general consensus. The majority of Americans believe you are what you make yourself, or you can be and do whatever you put your mind to. This is believed because it was instilled in us by our fore-fathers who fought and died for our freedom today.
I have mixed views on whether or not my destiny is mapped out for me. I do believe I can do and become whatever I want, as long as I put my mind on it. On the other hand I think that I may have been born with a passion for carpentry and architecture to take over my dad’s company, The Wiese Company, where they design and remodel homes. Not to long ago I heard a saying left to be filled by the reader: I am. This makes me believe that you can do whatever you want with the right mind set.
Predestination is up to you to decide whether it is real or not. Although, if you believe in it you may not think that it is up to think that. Predestination sounds like a scare tactic that may have been started by parents trying to arrange marriages, or kings trying to keep resisters quelled. For someone who believes it real predestination could be a great or terrible thing. You could love how your life has turned out and you were just yourself, cruising through life. On the other hand, you could be a homeless person, half-frozen to death in the streets, cursing God for your cruel joke of a life. Predestination is a belief of old that will be around forever, no matter how prominent.
Predestination is the idea that before you’re even born your whole life is planed out for you and you can’t change it. This was a popular belief in Shakespeare’s time in England and was shown in many of his plays. It was said that you could never disrupt this chain of being or only bad things would happen to you. This was really only believed back then and now we have kind of a different way of thinking. Predestination occurs in some form today, there are also different philosophies we subscribe to today, and the belief systems of our world can be categorized, and I do think that I control my own fate.
I think that predestination does occur in some forms today but not the exact definition of it. It does occur in that most of the time if you’re rich when you’re born you will never have to work or always get anything you want. This is the same if your poor then usually you’ll have to struggle during life and always have to work your hardest every day. But this is were predestination is wrong no matter if your rich or poor you have total control of it and can lose all your money or get a lot of it and get rich that’s the American dream. So there are hits of predestination but your life is not mapped out for you before you’re born.
Today we definitely subscribe to different philosophies. Everyone has a different one me personally I don’t agree with the predestination philosophy at all. But my philosophy is that you can live your life anyway you want and it’s up to you to decide weather to succeed or not. Another thing to that though is no matter what philosophy you believe you will get criticized because someone else will always believe different things than you do. Although criticism can be in a good informative way most of the time it is hurtful. So yes I do subscribe to a different philosophy over predestination.
I would say that each person although many people may have the same belief categorize them differently. If I were to categorize them I would say that there are two types of beliefs ones that let you choose your path, and two ones like predestination that say it’s chosen for you already. Also I believe that I can control my own fate it’s for me to decide what happens to me. What ever I set my mind to I can do within reason and nothing is chosen for my fate. So categorizing beliefs and my fate are up to me not done for me.
Predestination is a topic that I really don’t believe in. It does occur in some forms today but not many. I think that most people do subscribe to different philosophies and mostly never predestination. That people do categorize their beliefs differently form others like I have two but other people may have more. And finally that I can control my own fate and it’s not decided for me. Predestination is a crazy belief that I and many other people don’t believe in.
Derek Schwartz/F Block
Predestination
Many people believed in predestination in the 1600’s. William Shakespeare portrayed predestination in many of his plays, for example “Romeo and
Juliet” and how there love was to end in a tragedy. I believe that predestination exists in some form today it’s just used in a different word, for example; destiny. Destiny is something that is to happen to a person and is inevitable just like predestination.
Today there are many different philosophies to how your life is controlled.
Some people believe that they are in control of there own life and destiny and no one else
is. Others still believe that there life is planned out for them the moment they are born;
they believe their God has a plan for them. I believe in a little of both. I believe that I
control my own fate but I believe that God is helping me make my decisions in some way
but not enough to control my entire future.
The believe systems in the world are all different, whether its religion or your
very own fate. There will always be a controversy over who’s right and who’s wrong.
That is why I would categorize the believe systems of the world as opinions of people
because people always have there opinions about that matter
~lindsay White
I don’t think that predestination exist today. The reason why I don’t is because you could grow up poor and live in the ghetto in New York, and grow up to be the richest man in the world. Look at T.I. he grew up in ATL (Atlanta) a poor kid and now he is rich. Most of the rappers today are like that, and also actors and actresses. They can live a normal life style and then one day get a job and be really rich or vice versa. But the only reason why I might think that predestination still exist some what is that if you have two really famous parents you have a good chance of being rich and famous yourself.
I think we subscribe in a totally different way today then back then. We get to pick the people we get married to and even see the people we get married to. Also people tell us we can do or be who ever we want to be that is true back then they didn’t know that.
Our belief system today is that we can do what ever we want to do and nobody can change that. If you really put your mind to it you can do it. That’s what a lot of people do today who live a terrible childhood grow up to be one of the richest people in the world like Oprah. She put her mind to it and became someone.
I believe that I control my own fate and no one can tell me what to do. I say if you want to be a rock star you can be. You can get married to who ever you want it’s not mapped out for you. If you really want that person you can get her/him. If it says that your going to die at 20 years old of a hart attack and your whole life you have been eating good I don’t see how that would work that’s why I think you control your fate.
mike twitchell
Predestination is a religious belief that your future is already mapped out for you, and you have to accept what comes at you. God has already planned out your future and you cannot change it or else it will lead to tragedy. Predestination is believed in all over the world.
Some religions believe in predestination and some do not. Some of the religions that believe in it are Christianity, Islam, and some Jewish groups. Orthodox Jews believe that god is viewed as omnipotent (all power). Christian people believe that your future is already mapped out for you, and everything that happens is fate. Islamic people believe that there is no free will, and god chooses if they follow the good path or if they follow the bad path in life. The good path would be not committing sins and pleasing god by praying and the bad path would be committing crimes and sins and not pleasing god.
I personally do not believe in predestination because I think that you can do what you want to do and no one controls what you do. In America it seems like people don’t believe in predestination because everyone talks about living the “American Dream” and deciding what you do with your life. I’m sure people that grew up poor in America and made their way all the way up to being rich and famous don’t believe in predestination because they controlled what they did with their life.
-Eric Sylvestre
Elizabeth Hunter Class B
September 28
Pre-destination is the idea that ones life is mapped out for them even before they were born. God plans out a person’s life, or end, but the person is able to choose how they get to that end. I think that you control your life. Back in the Elizabethan times people were more religious and close to god. So if they were told something about god, like predestination, they would believe it easier. Now people are a lot less religious than back then and it’s a lot harder to believe something like predestination.
Belief in predestination is somewhat used today. If you are born into royalty, you will most likely become king. If you’re born into a rich family, you will be wealthy when you are young, and as you get older. Same if you are born with parents as celebrities. You will either become an actor or actress, or just be famous for being the son or daughter of a famous celebrity.
We subscribe to a similar and different philosophy for predestination. Back in Shakespearean time, it was mostly god that was thought to plan out your life. Now it depends mostly on what family you’re born into. The belief systems are categorized into religions. If you don’t believe in god, then you probably won’t believe in predestination. If you’re religious, you would most likely believe in predestination. I think that maybe some part of my life is mapped out for me, but I also believe that I can control my life. If any part of my life was planned I would think it would be the way I die because I can live my life the way I want, but god should plan the way I die.
Val Hall
Block B
September 28, 2007
I believe that predestination does still occur today. In Romeo and Juliet, predestination was different from how it is used now. During Romeo and Juliet, predestination was a whole planned life from when you were born to when you died. Back then, people’s lives were mapped out in the stars. You were picked who you were supposed to love and marry, and how you were supposed to live. Now, predestination is not used for everyone, but I think it is used for most celebrities. I believe that when celebrities have children, their kids will be expected to grow up to have a planned Hollywood life. They will not be planned on whom to love, but planned to grow up and act, sing or dance. Some people in current days do not believe in predestination. They believe that no ones life is planned and everyone can do whatever they please. Other then celebrities, different people can also live a predestined life. If someone’s father was a construction worker, maybe their son would have a planned job to work for construction when he grows up. Also, if a girls mother was a nurse; her daughter might have a planned way of going to college working to become a nurse also.
Celebrities on the other hand have way more attention. If Mariah Carey was to have a daughter and a planned life to sing and become famous, she would be in Hollywood instantly. That is because since Mariah Carey is such a great artist, everyone would believe her daughter would also be an amazing singer. In some ways, predestination does occur in these days but in some ways it does not. One way it does not are planned marriages. Having a planned marriage would be ridiculous in these days. Back then, people had to marry whoever was chosen for them and the person had to say they were in love and get married at a very young age. Now people get married around ages 25-30, but before they were even younger than that. During Romeo and Juliet, predestination was a gift. These days, if people had to get a chosen marriage they would refuse. Most people would not take it as a gift.
The bible also reads about predestination. It explains how predestination does not take away all of someone’s freedom. If someone’s life is in the stars, they can still do other things than what they were planned. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is supposed to marry Tybalt. When Romeo falls in love with Juliet at the party, he sneaks into her room. Even though Juliet was planned to love Tybalt and Romeo wasn’t supposed to be in her house, they both betrayed the rules. Now that Romeo has declared his love for Juliet, her planned life will go differently if she doesn’t love Tybalt. I do believe that predestination is used these days, just very differently from Shakespeare’s time.
Mike Costa
Period B
Predestination is the idea that your life is mapped out for you before you are born. Between Shakespeare’s era and our own, the belief in predestination has faded a lot. During Shakespeare’s time, people believed that there lives were set to go in one direction and there was nothing that they could do to change this. For Example, pheasants that were on the bottom would not try to strive for high goals because they believed that it was determined they would remain on the bottom.
The idea of predestination has died since Shakespeare’s time. The majority of people in America nowadays do not believe in predestination, but rather in the “American Dream” which supports the idea that you can do whatever you set your mind to. However, there is still forms of predestination. This predestination however is not the same as in Shakespeare’s era. The belief in predestination during Shakespeare’s time was that a god had planned your life out, and that’s how your life would turn out. Nowadays an example would be that a child is born into an extremely wealthy family. This predestination has nothing to do with gods, but rather fact that the child will most likely inherit the money one day. This would mean that his life was predetermined for him to be wealthy also.
I do not believe in the idea of predestination. There is the argument however that predestination is always there. No matter what you choose you could always say that it was predetermined. This takes out the idea of the “American Dream”. Whatever you set your mind too could be predetermined. If you are poor and decide that you are going to work hard and make it to the top, that could be predetermined to happen. Any decision you make that you go back and forth between, it could be predetermined that you go back and forth between that decision and can’t make your mind up. So no matter what you choose you could never cheat predestination, because it was predetermined that you would do that. I don’t believe that predestination exists. I believe that you can do whatever you want to do. Even though all of that could be predetermined, I don’t believe it is.
Predestination still affects some things in the world today. Some people use predestination as an excuse not to do things. Do these people actually believe this or are they using it as an excuse not to work hard to achieve things? Some people use the excuse that it was predetermined that they remain at the bottom. Predestination and the idea that you can do anything you set your mind to run along each other. You can decide on anything that you want, but you can still argue that it was predetermined you would decide on that choice.
Predestination is when you believe your life is mapped out for you. A lot of people in Shakespeare’s time believed in it. And believed that what happened was already planed out.
Predestination does exist is some ways today. Some extremely religious people believe that god has mapped out there life. But for the most part in America it’s mostly the belief that you do what you want to do and make your life the best that you can make out of it.
The way predestination is mapped out with the rest of the world is depending on were you live. Like if you live in a country were they’re really religious and into their religion they probably believe in predestination. But us in America, don’t really believe that because of what I said before about how we do what we believe.
I might categorize the belief of our systems today as you can change how you want your life to be. Basically if you don’t like, change it. You can almost always make a bad situation better. But there are some of those situations that you can’t make better there just that way.
Myself, I don’t believe to in predestination, but I do believe in everything happens for a reason. But I also believe that if it is a bad situation it doesn’t have to stay bad you can work to make it better. And if it’s good, you can always make it better.
Annie Ledbetter
Sarah Tenglin September 27,2007
Mr. Kefor Period F
Predestination
The definition of predestination is: fate has established in advance everything that is going to happen and that nothing can change this. People back in the Renaissance period believed that their destination was mapped out in the stars, and I think that there is some form of that that still exists today. Some people today think that it is an archaic idea, but it is presented in situations such as famous and the wealthy. The children of the famous are to greater extent better known because of their parent’s fame than someone out in the middle of nowhere for whom fame is not likely. So, in part, the fate of those children has already been mapped out for them. Then there is smoking, but we won’t talk about that right now.
We believe in our country that everyone is equal. Highly intelligent people that sat down and made rules for this belief. This means that everyone has the same starting point and it is up to us to choose the direction that we want to go. If this is true then predestination doesn’t have a huge effect in our lives.
I believe that I can control my own destiny. For instance, in school you can either work extremely hard, pull off just enough to get through, or you can slack off and fail. I choose to work hard. Moreover, you can get yourself into a friendship that would be a benefit to you or you could hang out with unpleasant friends and go throughout life unhappy. Living a life in which I choose the actions that I take is a way to predestine my future. Is there anyone who knew what choices I would make before I did? We may never know.
john keay
english b
9/28/07
predestination is the belief that your life is mapped out so that everything you do is preplanned by supreme forces or something. for example, if i did a backflip outta my computer chair and landed in a handstand, that would've been preplanned by the cosmos or something according to early belief. id break my neck trying that, so back to the essay. predestination back then was that your whole life was determined and if you tried to go off and do something other than your destiny you'd get hit by tragedy.
the modern-day christian idea of predestination is that god decides your destiny but its your decision if you want to follow it or not. if you follow it, youll be truly happy and goto heaven for sure. if you dont, youll be fine while youre alive but when you die you're screwed. another modern idea of predestination that i know about is the belief that everything that's living is at the moment will end up pushin up daisies some time in the future.
the elizabethian-era people thought that everything was pre-planned from their birth to their death. The elizabethians could never move up in life because they felt like they had to stay back and could never live their life to their fullest. The reason why they couldnt move up was because they thought that their life had already been planned out for them and they didn’t know what the outcome of their lives would be if they tryed to change.
i think predestination could exist but its so complicated to explain fully that all we hear are the crazier or more popular forms of this belief. the way i see it, if predestion exists today, god must have an enormous filing cabinet for all the different people who are, and are going to be here doing stuff. thats my belief on predestination. END
Carlos Silva
September 27, 2007 English Period B
Predestination is the belief that your life is already planned out for you. Many people in many religions believe in predestination. Some people think that from the time they were born to the time that they die that God has already mapped out their life for them. Most religions have people that believe in predestination.
Predestination does exist today in many religions including Islam, Christianity and many African traditions. An example of how predestination is shown in the life today is that in Portugal where my father’s family live instead of people saying I will see you later, as we say here, there they say “ I will see you later if God wants it that way”. We subscribe to a similar philosophy because in my religion we believe that God knows what will happen but we have control in what will happen in our lives based on how we live our lives. That is how predestination exists in forms today.
The belief systems in our world today are different depending on where you live. In America we have many freedoms no matter whether your family is poor, wealthy, intelligent or unintelligent you can make a good life for your self if you work hard and try hard for your self. In other countries they believe that because of where they came from that they would end up the same way because God has predestined it. In the Middle East some believe that even killing another innocent person other than their own religion that they will be sent to their heaven by their God.
I believe that I control my own destiny. The choices that I make now and through out my life will control what I will end up being when I am older. I believe that if I want to be a football player or if I wanted to continue with my dad’s landscaping business, that depending on how hard I work at it, I would make myself very successful.
Through out the world predestination effects many people, religions and countries. For some people it is just a way they practice their religion and live peacefully waiting for what will happen. For others they think if they do bad they have another world for them somewhere else. No one really knows or ever will know if predestination really does exist.
The thought of your life in England around Shakespeare's time of predestination I think still exists in some form today. One example in India they have the cast system and what ever level you are born into is the one you will stay in the rest of you life. If you are a good person you well have the chance in your next life to move up in the cast system. This one example and many more show that there are still some forms of predestination today.
Most americans today subscribe to a different philosophy. Most people in the United States believe that there life will take them where they want to go following there own paths along the way. Just because you are born into a poor family in america dose'nt mean that you won't be sucessful in life but you might have to work harder than someone born into a wealthy family. Some people might subscribe to a similar philosophy because there religion supports that belief or you have your own idea on life. No ones philosophy is wrong because there is many facts to support both sides making no one right or wrong.
I would categorize the belief systems of our world today being full of all different ideas and ways of thinking. Our belief system in just america varies from not only relgions but within person to person. The world has so many beliefs causing fights on who is right or wrong. These fights can be made into fighting for your god and what you believe in. Our world is full of many beliefs and each person should respect one anothers way of thinking.
I believe that I control my own fate and my destiny is not mapped out for me. I also believe that how ever hard I work in life is what I get out of it. My fate is controled by me and changes with the paths I take. If I was born into a movie star family my idea changes and I think my destiny would then proably be mapped out for me to be a movie star too. Predestination I think is very complicated but does still exist today even in America.
-Tim deMartin
Block B
Well predestination only affects the famous celebrities basically. If two famous people have a baby that baby is automatically famous. That’s predestination because right when it’s even in the womb its still considered famous. Usually not famous people don’t have predestination. It’s just not that big of a deal with not famous people. So in my book predestination isn’t fair.
I think we do have a different philosophy because now a day most people don’t do predestination. It’s not as big as belief as it was hundreds or thousands of years ago. If we still had predestination me and most the kids in my grade would’ve already been married that wouldn’t be too fun. So in today’s world adults don’t map out our future like they used to. That wouldn’t be too fun if they did.
Even if we did have the same philosophy as we used to a lot of kids would be very unhappy. Kids now a day barely get to do anything they want, and predestination wouldn’t help. Having your life mapped out in the stars wouldn’t be that fun. I think a lot of people would like to know and see who they marry and not just marry the first person to come along.
No, I don’t believe my destiny is mapped out for me. If it was I wouldn’t get that far. If predestination was still in today i'd be far down, because people now in this life, we have different neighborhoods and people judge you too much on where you live and where you come from these days if you live in a not so good neighborhood people do treat you different and some people might disagree with that but its so true. With predestination it says like you can’t mess up their chain I’d be at the end of that chain, but I wouldn’t let that get in the way of me trying to reach my goal in life. Predestination wouldn’t slow me down I would work my way up so hard to get what I wanted I even do that today. If I had to marry someone I didn’t like I wouldn’t. I’d rather make my own destiny and future and I hope it takes me far. I want to learn from my mistakes because that way I have a better grasp on life. Predestination wouldn’t work for me , I wouldn’t know the person and what if there mean, I’d rather marry someone who I knew when I was a kid. So I think I do control my own fate.
-Meg O'Neal
Block F
Sara Meadows
English F
9/27/07
In Shakespeare’s time, predestination was pretty much one of the main beliefs he incorporated into Romeo and Juliet. As it says in the beginning, they are two star crossed lovers, which basically means that they were meant to go against their families wishes and declare their love for each other…for a price.(Which, incidentally, means dying.) But because they met and fell in love, wasn’t that predestined, along with them going against their families and dying a young age? Predestination is confusing, when you really think about it. If someone’s life is entirely mapped out, how can they go against it and cause havoc? The only logical way to explain that is they were predestined to cause havoc in their lives, or some such thing.
Nowadays, predestination I think exists in the forms of the Caste system in India in a way (if you are born to a certain part, you stay there forever) and in the whole fate belief. Fate is what most people believe to bring them to certain things, such as, “It was because of fate that they got into that horrific car crash. “ or something like that. I also think it lives on in the belief of karma, or good deeds returning to you if you do good deeds, and the same thing with bad actions. Karma is where if you do something, it is destined that something like what you did is going to happen to you in return.
These days, all of us do not really subscribe to a similar philosophy, because we all have different religions and opinions about things. If I had to categorize the belief systems of today, it would go as follows: 1. extremely devout in their religion/beliefs and tries to push it down other peoples throat, 2. The devoted people to an extent to where you don’t want to bother them, 3. The close-minded, 4. The open-minded, 5. The people that just live their life regularly and just hold their beliefs/religion with them as they go. And 6. The people that just really don’t have anything they believe in. That may not be all, but it’s what I’ve noticed.
Personally, I think my life is both mapped out and controlled by my own choice at the same time. I believe that everything happens for a reason, whether you like it or not, but it’s to the best of your ability to make the best of a bad situation. For example, if I was invited to a cookout or something like that and I decided to go to a friend’s house, it would have been no big deal because it was destined that I had those two choices, but it was NOT predetermined what I would choose. I know it’s kind of complicated, but that is the best way I could explain it. I also believe that whatever you do comes back to you (basically a karma like belief), so I always try and be a good person. I think that everything that happens to you in this life was supposed to happen (based on what was chosen and what was written out) so that in your next life you go through a different life style and then so on and so forth. A quote that I keep close to my heart is something my grandfather says, “You catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar” and I try and live by it.
Predestination
Predestination is the seemingly basic idea that your life is already planned out for you; from your birth all the way up until your death. According to predestination, every person’s life is mapped out in the stars, and attempts to change their destiny would automatically end in tragedy for them. This idea was especially popular in England right around Shakespeare’s time. Shakespeare incorporated this belief in a lot of his plays, most of which were tragedies (including Romeo and Juliet). We may not realize it but, predestination still exists today all over the world, even in the United States. It might not be as prominent in today’s world, but its still there. I believe that our lives are planned out for us, but we do have a say in our “plans”. I also think that the majority of people today feel the same way as I do about predestination.
Shakespeare lived in Elizabethan England, a time when predestination was the chief belief system. The majority of the people in England at that time believed that they could not do anything to change their destiny. They also believed that if they tried to change their destinies, their lives would end in tragedy. Shakespeare used this in such a way in his plays as to appeal to the majority of people at the time. During that time most peoples whole lives revolved around predestination. Also, predestination was a big part of the church, you were either condemned to hell or you would ascend in to heaven when you died.
Predestination exists in many forms in today’s world; it’s just not as dominant a belief as it was in Elizabethan England. The only form of predestination today that is the same as in Elizabethan England is in the church as far as heaven and hell goes. But, other than that, predestination exists in completely different ways compared to Elizabethan England. For example, the lives of people in general in today’s world don’t even remotely revolve around predestination. Predestination exists more in the form of high expectations for someone, at least that is how I interpret it. For instance, if two famous athletes have a baby, people automatically assume that the child is going to be extremely athletic and coordinated. Or if two certified genius’ have a baby, people will expect the baby to grow up to be incredibly smart. Another form of predestination in today’s world is a horoscope and any other form of fortune telling. I think that we subscribe to a somewhat similar philosophy to predestination, but our philosophy is not quite so definite and absolute. I would characterize the belief systems of our world as a huge variety of beliefs, we have all different religions, ethnicities, etc. and they all have different beliefs. So, trying to describe the world’s belief systems in general, I don’t think, is possible if you want an accurate answer.
Predestination back in Elizabethan England was a much bigger part of daily life than in the world of today. I think that is partially because people of this generation are much more skeptical about almost everything. People back then didn’t really question things as much as people these days. I believe that is because people in Elizabethan England didn’t have the technology and resources that we have today to prove or disprove theories, beliefs, stories, or anything else with clarity.
Honestly, I am not entirely sure if I believe in predestination or not. It’s a really complicated concept, and I think it’s uncommon for someone to agree with an idea like predestination one-hundred percent. I do believe that every thing happens for a reason because some things in life you just can’t explain and yet, everything always seems to work out. So, in that respect I do believe in predestination. But, on the other hand, I also believe that we have the power to change our own fate. For example if you’re in a bad situation or are headed down a path that you don’t like, you could decide to work hard to get out/off of it and therefore change your fate. I do believe that predestination exists, but I believe that you can change what your destiny is by making good or bad decisions in your life. I believe that predestination is a big part of some aspects of life, for example love. But I also think that how successful you are and other parts of life that involve determination and integrity have nothing to do with predestination; they are decided entirely by you.
Predestination is a very difficult concept to completely understand or believe. Since the time of Shakespeare predestination has become an increasingly unimportant part of daily life. Shakespeare’s works, even today, help us grasp the concept of predestination.
Jill Wry
English B
Back in Shakespeare’s time people believed in predestination. Predestination is when your born your whole life has been planned out. Your life is mapped out in the stars and you’ve been placed in the chain of being. If you disrupt that bad things will happen!
Today I don’t think America believes in predestination any more. People say things like “if you try hard anything can happen.” Or “you’re the master of your own fate.”
I don’t believe it either. Also, the “chain of being” hah! People go from being poor to filthy rich! Look at Oprah and Bill Gates. I don’t think my fate is mapped out in the stars or I’m stuck in the chain of being. These are my views.
Billy Major
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