Predestination - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... As such, he places the human beings where he wants them to be for fulfillment of his purpose because God made every human being with his own intentions and therefore, no one has the right to abuse it. On the other hand, determinism is based on the notion that everything that happens has a reason and is influenced by something else. The decisions made by people on how they want their lives to turn out, or the results they expect from their behaviors are based on something which happened earlier and influenced their lives. As such, determinism is not influenced by religious affiliations and beliefs, but rather by choices and consequences. This means that life is free and has no preset conditions which influence the fate of humans. The choices made determine the kind of life’s outcome to expect.
Eliot’s Silas Marner is a book that starts with predestination and ends with determinism. The book is set in two different places - Lantern Yard and Raveloe. Lantern Yard is highly religious and salvation is highly predestined there. Cleanliness in faith is not a guarantee that you are predestined to serve God. This is because there are already those who are predestined to serve God there even when they are very unclean. For instance, William, who demonstrates the opposite of the faith he claims to exercise is predestined to serve God while Silas is predestined not to exercise salvation despite being very innocent and pure. In Raveloe, people’s lives are controlled by determinism as morals as opposed religion are upheld. As such, people suffer the consequences of their own actions.
Predestination is witnessed through the analysis of the character of Silas Marner. He seems to be born with a predestined personality and no matter what he does, he has no control to change the course his life is taking. Religion in Lantern Yard is very strict and salvation seems to the based on predestination. Silas is a very staunch believer of faith but he loses ...Download file to see next pagesRead More