He (God) Has a Plan, Eh?

There are many things about organized religion that confuse me, especially the Christian faith, as that's the religion I grew up learning the most about, living in a country where the majority practice this particular faith.

One debate I've always had problems with on a logical level is with regard to predestination vs. free will and also mixing in "God's plan" to the equation. I know people whom believe in predestination. I know some whom believe in free will. I know others whom believe in both. I know some that believe God granted us free will, yet he/she/it has a plan for every one of us.

Breaking this down, I can understand if a person believes solely in one or the other, whether that be predestination, free will or that God has a plan for us. However, I have difficulty in understanding how we can simultaneously have both or all three.

If our destiny is predestined by a higher power, of what difference would free will make in our outcome? If I was predestined to be a politician, get caught breaking the law and am therefore punished with having to spend 5 years in prison, how do I then have a choice in what will eventually happen? Doesn't predestination therefore make that very occurrence inevitable?

If our destiny is determined by our own thoughts and actions, how then could a higher power be in control and determine our fate, if we are making these very decisions?

Most of the people I know believe in free will over predestination, but even many whom take this avenue of reason (or is it?) still spout the words, "God has a plan for everyone." How is this different from believing in predestination? God granted us the right to decide for ourselves what we should do and say, yet he has a plan for us?

I've attempted to make this as logical as I possibly can and I can only think up one way in which to do so and it still is a fairly weak attempt in the end. I can see one holding these two beliefs simultaneously (free will and "the plan") by perhaps believing that while God has granted us all free will, he/she/it has a plan for everyone of us. Through our decisions, we may fall short of his/her/its plan, yet they are our decisions. I could try to compare it to parents and their children. Jeff and Deb may have a plan for little Susie, yet it's up to her to follow through. I can try to see the logic in that, but like I said, in the end, I still see flaws in the argument.

Using the parental/child comparison, while Jeff and Deb may have a plan for Susie, if she goes off course through decisions of her own and decides she'd be happiest as a dental assistant, rather than a neurologist, is she truly failing her parents for doing this?

Also, if God has a plan for each and every one of us, he/she/it may be giving us free will in order to find this ultimate path for which he/she/it has paved for us, yet in the end, this presents a false dilemma informal fallacy for every person. We may have "free will" up to a point, but at the end of the day, it's either one follows the path of God, his/her/its plan, or we're condemned to an eternal fire pit known as hell. It's a my way or the highway-type of philosophy. So, those that make the most of the gift they were given, in utilizing free will to the fullest, may be eternally punished, while those that temporarily make use of the gift before discovering a higher power's plan for them, will be rewarded with eternity in paradise.

I have trouble in seeing the two beliefs coinciding. I personally believe in free will, yet also believe that there are some things in this life of which we have no control. For example, a child whom is born without any legs or whom suffers ill effects from his/her mother's drug addiction upon birth or many other health-related issues, aren't controllable. We're born a certain way and through our decisions and actions, we can attempt to make the best hand from the cards we were dealt, yet we couldn't control the cards we were dealt. I don't see this as an act of God, but math or chance. Through decisions of others, through genetics, through percentages, we may be born with certain deficiencies that limit us in one way or another. This isn't free will. We didn't choose this. Also, it's difficult to believe a higher power, whom is supposedly benevolent, would punish such individuals, especially new borns. Often times when I bring up such points, I hear the counter-argument, "Well, it was due to other people's mistakes, of them going off God's path, which resulted in these deficiencies." I can understand that argument in certain circumstances, but definitely not in all.

Just last week, my mother and I sat at a table at the Cleveland Clinic cafeteria. Next to us was a man reading The Bible. Before long, he began talking to us about it. He asked about my visit there, what my condition was and ended by saying, "I hope they find out what's wrong, but if it's not part of God's plan, then it's not meant to be. If it is, then you'll find out." Hypothetically, it could be part of God's plan for a family to spend a great deal of money on a family member and his/her health condition, yet in the end, they discover nothing and the individual has to live with the condition for the rest of his/her life, without knowing what the problem is? Again, why would a benevolent God do that?

In the end, I have a difficult time distinguishing the difference between predestination and "God's plan". There's really not much point to have thoughts and actions of one's own, if they are forced to believe a certain way and follow a certain path. There's not much point in a teacher telling a class they can choose from any topic for their speech, yet they have to talk about the Chicago Cubs and the team's history. The two concepts don't mesh well together. With one square puzzle piece left on the board, all we're left with is an octagon, making it virtually impossible, without human revision (scissors, anyone?), to make that piece fit.