Predestination?

In the 9th century, predestination was deemed a heresy. It has come up from time to time anyway, such as with  Calvin. So why was it thrown on the dustbin of wrong ideas?

Predestination makes the church not only unnecessary, but it also makes it useless.  If from the beginning of time each of us was already assigned our destiny, then  nothing  could be done to help the hapless soul bound for hell nor stop the lucky bloke bound for heaven. Therefore, in this system  of thought, no need for a church to tame the wayward soul or cheer on the saint.

I think there are more profound reasons for throwing this idea on the trash heap. It ignores reality at so many levels. At a basic level there is the law of cause and effect/sowing and reaping/karma. Then there is the issue of freewill. I have none, if all has been decided from the beginning of time.

Each moment has before it an array of choices, each with different outcomes, each beckons with a possible future.  Each choice takes us on a journey different from the journey of other choices.  A choice is an incision, cutting off other choices for that moment. I cannot be in Honolulu and Rome at the same time. I cannot experience the same food, people, history, sights, etc. in Rome as I would in  Honolulu.

So this leads me to this thing we call a new year. Laying before us are mountains of possible choices of all magnitudes, from tiny to humongous. What will we do with our mountain?

My hope and prayer is that we the people of earth will rise up and make the choices that lead to peace and plenty for all. We will need to rise above propaganda, we will have to be willing to love or at least accept one another, we will have to learn new ways, we will need to heal our brokenness. We will need to want it and believe it possible.

What  could we do with this year???????