Mempho, does this suggest a probabilistic model?
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I think that people pray in order to hope that God puts the child in a situation in which the child can see more clearly. This might be even be a difficult situation. The child still has a choice to accept or reject, however.
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This is beginning to resemble a probabilistic model of choice.
God obviously doesn't determine for us whether we believe or don't believe, according to most Christian beliefs. Yet, some do and some don't. If it is impossible to determine which choice a person is going to choose, then I think we have to acknowledge the presence of a random element here.
However, I think it is also reasonable to assume that some people are more likely to believe than others. I'm sure some kind of competant demographic study would suggest that people are much more likely to be believers if they come from Christian homes, and less so if from other homes.
These factors are beyond our control. It is reasonable to hold God as responsible for them.
I think that what you are suggesting is that an intervention on God's part might increase the chances for the child to believe. Perhaps he has a 40% chance of eventually believing if he lives an easy-street life, and a 75% chance of believing if he experiences some kind of tragedy.
Is this an accurate analysis?
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