Of all elements of Christian belief, predestination is perhaps the least acceptable to me.
For one thing, it undermines the strength of one of the great realisms of biblical faith: free will.
If predestination is true, then why bother resisting temptation, or seeking God, or … anything? If God has ordained my success or failure at finding Him, at being saved, then I am Home Free (or the opposite). And my Free Will, which I now struggle to direct in the right way, is all for nought. It is an illusion.
Predestination seems to me as foolish and hopeless as the atheist philosopher’s materialist determinism.
I am undoubtedly missing something here. But for me, the relevant question is this: Is Predestination a necessary belief?