Kingdom of Heaven and some thoughts

So today I was just bumming around and enjoying the final day of pre-rotations and decided that I wanted to catch a movie. And it turned out to be Kingdom of Heaven at 4 o'clock. Here's the deal. All in all a pretty good flick, pretty much what I expected. It is a movie in the tradition of Braveheart and Gladiator, but I didn't like it quite as much as either of those two. I think the biggest problem was that the person you really disliked never ends up fighting the Orlando Bloom character. The Muslim leader was not the real bad guy in the movie. The battle scenes in Jerusalem were quite cool. So, I would recommend it, but would not raise expectations too high. Still a good flick.

Now, the movie got me thinking though. The saying "God's will" was used very very frequently in the movie. In all ways, by Muslim characters, by Christian characters, and by people who lost their faith. This is a saying that is one of the mysteries that I may never understand. I've heard many many sermons about God's will. Many have talked about seeking God's will (which I honestly believe is a good idea), but I'm never sure If I succeed in doing such. Other sermons have implied that all that happens is due to God's will, this I truly have difficulty with (and this was the view mentioned in the movie). If events only happen according to God's will, then the idea of free will is completely wasted. God's will controlling every action relates closely to predestination (and most of you know where I stand on that issue). But it got me thinking, in the movie, Christians and Muslims were talking about the outcome of battle reflecting God's will, and both sides truly believed that God controlled the outcome. How can we know God's will? Do we have to await the outcome and then chalk it up to God's will (or not)? I think too many bad decisions have been attributed to God's will, and many good events accomplished by God, but credit taken by mankind. (Note: I do not mean to imply only good deeds are Gods and only bad deeds on mans) I don't know the answer, and probably won't know it until I meet my maker and ask Him in person. Until then, I will continue as I have been and trust my thoughts.

That's it for now. Remember, Kingdom of Heaven is a pretty good movie.