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Monday, July 26, 2010

What is Fate? Does Fate have a will, or is it random? A new book explores the issue

Did you ever see the movie 'Signs?' (Forget for a moment that its star, Mel Gibson, has drawn a lot of bad publicity to himself lately.) In that film, seemingly random acts and objects take on monumental significance. Fate arranges them so at just the right time, a family in crisis gets the exact help it needs exactly when they need it. The result is an amazing film, a testament to the creative mind of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan.

Sometimes, though, truth is as artfully arranged as fiction. In 'The Mystery of Fate: Common Coincidence or Divine Intervention?,' edited by Arlene Uslander and Brenda Warnecka (2010, R. J. Buckley Publishing), a variety of authors tell stories that seem made up for a Hollywood movie screen...and yet they're all true. "Fate" is one name given to the mysterious force that seems to arrange events, for better or for worse. Depending on his or her personal beliefs, the reader may chalk these fascinating true stories up to coincidence, or to the intervention of guardian angels or a Higher Power.


In these stories, the dead speak, soul mates are found in the most unlikely places, men and women defy death and long-lost family members are reunited. The result is an unforgettable reading experience.

1 comment:

John Webb said...

There are nine reviews of this book on Amazon (US), all intelligently written, as is your own, and everyone gave it 5 stars.

Your own review is very objective. The ones on Amazon are a tad more emotional, as though people 'want to believe'.

As you say, how people view 'Fate' gets at the heart of a person's beliefs. From rationalists who believe events are 'just coincidence', through a whole range of spiritual interpretations. Personally I incline towards Jung who had some interesting views about it.

The word Fate comes from a Latin word meaning speech, so it's also bound up with ideas about the Gods 'speaking'.