[jaspereverstar1033]

Okay, here's what I believe, about fate and free will...I believe that the universe has a goal to which it is headed, and thus it has a fate (i.e. a path that will lead it towards that end goal). I believe, however, that the course that will take us to that end goal is always changing, based on the decisions we make.Here's an example to illustrate this a bit:The western world discovered and started using gunpowder in weapons about 800 years ago (or something like that - I'm not sure on the exact date) but the Chinese had discovered gunpowder long before that. So we can say that it was fate that said that humankind would discover gunpowder, but the decisions that were made in the individual societies around the world resulted in gunpowder weapons being developed at different times.Gunpowder weapons were developed as a survival thing, but it was also a technological development (because before gunpowder weapons, we had bows and arrows). So it wasn't essential that it be developed, but it was inevitable that it would be discovered and put to use. The social structures of the different societies lead to the discovery being made at different times.