Destiny

Prologue

What is destiny? Is destiny changeable? There are different answers in different cultures.

Ancient Greece

Their Thoughts

In Ancient Greece, people thought no one can change their destiny, not even the gods. They think destiny was executed by Moirai. They are three sisters. But they just execute it, not control it. Ancient Greeks do not think destiny was written by someone, instead it is the world's inevitability and the world should be like this just like the Pythagorean theorem. They still should assume responsibility although it is destiny because the result was controlled by destiny but human's actions and attitude was not decided by destiny when they faced it. For example, Oedipus killed his father and married his mother without knowing his destiny but he thought he could change the destiny arrogantly and murder in anger is his own mistake so he blinded himself and exiled because people must take responsibility for their actions.

The Reason

They live in a cruel world. Weather, war, disease, and death are all difficult to predict and human strength is limited and easily swayed by nature and chance events.

Zoroastrianism

Their Thoughts

The core idea of Zoroastrianism is the dualistic opposition of good and evil. The world is a battlefield where good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu) wage war. Humans possess free will to choose between good and evil. So they think destiny can be changed by people's choices. Destiny is the result of choices not reserved.

The Reason

The Persian Empire was highly centralized, emphasising law, order, and moral standards. Emphasising collective order and moral responsibility, emphasizing free choice and the consequences of good and evil.

Chinese

Their Thoughts

There is a concept in Chinese culture and it is the Mandate of Heaven. It decided the rise and fall of dynasties and personal fortune and misfortune. It can be changed through doing good deeds and accumulating virtue.

The Reason

Ancient China was long an agrarian society and a vast empire, frequently beset by uncontrollable events such as natural disasters, wars, and displaced populations. At the same, Chinese society emphasises social order and moral cultivation, as individual conduct can influence the rise and fall of families and the nation.

Judaism

Their Thoughts

The ultimate power in Judaism is “a God who has a will, makes covenants, becomes angry, and also regrets.” There is no such thing as an independent entity called "destiny" instead of three things: God's will, God's covenant and human obedience or disobedience. They think God does not reveal Himself through natural laws, but through concrete historical actions.

The Reason

Jews was a very race. The early Jews found themselves geographically sandwiched between Egypt and Mesopotamia, frequently subjected to conquest, exile, and rebuilding. They were neither a maritime civilization nor a unified empire. They couldn't believe that “the world runs steadily” so the question they cared about was not "Why does the world work this way?" but "Why do we still exist?" and they concluded that it must be because someone remembers us in history so we can persist despite being destroyed time and again. And then it must derive a God with will. It will intervene in events, will save, punish, regret, and reestablish covenants.