Fate

Fate in the sense of a rigid controlling power over human actions, with its focus or seat in the stars, is not only nonexistent, but impossible.

But sometimes the word fate is used for divine providence.

Fate as divine providence is a changeless rule, but this does not mean fixity and mechanical necessity of events. As wehave noted elsewhere, providence does not interfere with free will itself, nor does it render meaningless the notion of contingenthappenings.

Fate as providence has reference to creatures andcreatural effects; it has no reference to the divine operations in themselves.