> I can't agree with your line of reasoning there. If you believe God has planned for a particular thing to happen, you can't then turn around and also say "So nobody should do anything because that might make it not happen, or happen at the wrong time." The two beliefs don't match up. If God intends something to happen, there isn't any human event which will stop it or change it; no matter what people do, those events will lead to that thing happening. Saying one should, or should not, do something because it might cause God's plans to fail doesn't make any sense from a religious viewpoint.

I disagree, partly, with what you say. Prophecy often has nothing to do with what God himself "plans", but rather, with what will in fact occur. Prophecy is God's way of letting us know what will happen, though the causal agency is usually human, or at least not God himself. What I am getting at is that a prophecy is fulfilled by what we do, not necessarily what God wants.

For example, suppose that a reliable prophet from God comes and tells you that in a few days you will be walking your dog and the dog will be hit and killed by a swerving vehicle (terrible, I know, but I am tired. I don't even know if you have a dog). The prophecy, coming from God, is true, as you can know from His omniscience; but it will come true from no plan of God's, but from the very fact of you deciding to take your dog for a walk at such a time, in such a place.

Also, the idea that we should do nothing about prophecy really doesn't square with scripture. That is why those who know they will be saved are instructed by Peter to do those things that will "make their calling and election sure" (see 2 Peter 1). We find also that Jesus even prays for things to happen that he knows already will in fact happen (John 17). We know that God's kingdom will come, that He will rule, and that this is unstoppable, yet Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for that very thing (Matthew 6:9-10).

> If religion tells me there will always be violence until the end of the world when God makes everything perfect, does that mean I should do nothing if I see somebody getting beaten senseless on the street and it's possible for me to stop it? I thought Christianity had something to say about that, too, and it wasn't "Keep walking." If God "meant" that guy to get beaten up, then my intervention won't stop that; maybe I'll get hurt or even killed. But if I interpret God's word as meaning that, morally, I *should* help, then morally I'm still ahead of the game, because I obeyed God. The actual *outcome* of the event is still up to God. Do you see what I'm getting at here?

I like that you point out that we should still do good, even if we are unsure of the consequences of it. I imagine that even if it was prophesied that I would be hurt or killed by doing some good thing, like in your example, I should still do that good thing.

I no longer remember why I was typing this in the first place, since it was more than mere disagreement. Perhaps someone will find it useful. I hope that you do.