Originally Posted by ETWolverine
Hi again, Firm.
The Jewish understanding of when life begins is at conception. From that point forward, the embryo/fetus is considered alive. In that sense, our religions seem to be similar.
However, from a legal perspective, if you kill the fetus any time before it is viable (able to live on its own outside the womb) it is a grave sin, but it is not considered "murder" in the technical sense. Murder can only occur in Jewish law if the vitim would have been able to live on his/her own (with or without the help of machines). So a fetus that is aborted early on is considered a sin, but it is not murder. I believe that our religions differ in this ruling, if I understand Islam's position correctly. I believe that Islam considers ANY abortion to be murder.
Regarding the concept of pre-ordainment or pre-destination, the Jewish viewpoint on this is sometimes confusing to those who didn't grow up learning it. I'll attempt to explain our position, but it may make things more confusing to do so. Feel free to ask more questions.
We believe that everything is pre-ordained by G-d as per His plan. We also believe in the concept of free will. On the surface, these two beliefs would seem to contradictory. If we have free will, then how can anything be pre-ordained by G-d. If everything is pre-ordained, then how can we have free will? The answer to this is that we have the ability to choose our actions, but G-d also knows what choice we will make (being, of course, omnicient --- all knowing). So G-d has already taken our choices into account in his plan.
I like to look at it like this... G-d is like a person holding a snow-globe. The snow-globe is the universe, all of time, space and history. G-d stands outside that globe and is able to look inside from any angle he chooses, is able to shake up the snow-globe, and even has the ability to manipulate the individual snow-flakes. We are the snowflakes. G-d is able to see where each snow-flake will fall or has fallen, and when necessary, he can move the individual snow-flakes around or shake up the whole snow-globe.
Thus G-d is OUTSIDE of time, space and entropy, but is able to see all of time, space and entropy, and manipulate it as he desires. He knows what decisions we have made, are making and will ever make. Most often, he allows the snow-flakes to fall where they may, but occasionally he moves a few of them around as needed. Thus we have free choice, and can choose however we wish, but G-d already knows what that decision is and has already acted to make that choice a part of his plan, and has moved the snowflakes accordingly.
Naturally, this is a very crude and imperfect analogy. G-d is not simply outside the universe, looking in. He IS the universe, and much more. He is both outside and inside the snow-globe, so the analogy of "looking in" doesn't really apply. But this analogy is the best way that I have seen to get across the idea that both free will and predestination can co-exist. But I also know that it is likely to have raised more questions than it answers.
Anyway, feel free to follow up with any other questions.
Elliot