Predestination stuff
Here is the the definition from a theological standpoint. Unfortunately the Calvinist view is the dominant definition.
Predestination in its broadest conception is the doctrine that because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely sovereign, he “from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass,” (Westminster Confession). “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).
http://www.theopedia.com/Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others.[1] Explanations of predestination often seek to address the so-called "paradox of free will," whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination
These definitions alienate those of us that believe that God has given men Free Will or the ability to make choices that are not His Will. People that believe in Free Will believe that God's Will can be resisted. Those that don't believe in the same Free Will don't believe God's Will can be resisted. So the question then becomes if God's Will can't be resisted then why doesn't God save everyone? That question is reasoned away by placing it on the mystery of God's plan. The Free Will person would say that God wants everyone to choose Him but He won't force Himself on you. God is love and you can't have love without a choice.
The reason I object to the earlier definitions of Predestination is because of the numerous times in scripture God seems to be upset and angry about the decisions of people. For example God regretted making man in Genesis before He sent the flood. God gave the Israelites a king ahead of the time that He wanted them to have one and was upset that they had rejected Him as their king. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and Jesus didn't seem to live as if everything was working according to God's Will. He often seemed frustrated with the people's lack of faith and understanding.
Personally I've been associating myself loosely with what is called Open Theism. I believe that God does have a plan for our lives but he gives us the choice of following His plan or not following His plan. If you accept Christ and follow God's plan you're predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. I don't believe that God has every detail of our lives written and mapped out. For example I don't believe the child that was molested in foster care was predestined to have that experience. People have the ability to make choices and those choices have far reaching affects on others. Here is where I think it glorifies God in the end. No matter how bad a hand you've been dealt in life God can turn it around in such a way that you'd swear that He had to have put you through that on purpose because it worked out so perfectly in the end. Romans 8:28 is my favorite verse for that reason.
I like to use the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis to illustrate my point. God gave Joseph a dream and in the dream he was in charge and his brothers were bowing down to him. The got angry and jealous and sold him into slavery and acted as if he was dead. Joseph goes through a series of events and prospers everywhere he goes whether in Potifar's house or in prison after Potifar's wife frames him. He gets out of prison and is placed over people in Egypt in preparation for a famine. In the end his brothers and the rest of his family were able to live and the Israelites were born in Egypt.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20 NKJV)
Some believe that this proves that all that happened to Joseph was according to God's will but personally I believe God could've gotten Joseph where He needed Him to be without having to go through all that He went through but ultimately he was predestined to be in that position in Egypt.
I guess this is a good start. I wasn't sure what you wanted to know about Predestination so I gave you a summary of the common way I hear it talked about.
