// There are plenty of people in my family that refuse to learn from life experiences or try new things because "the plan" is already set in stone
In my study of both Judaism and the yogic tradition, what you described is NOT the intention.
Free will (fundamental to religion) means our choices matter. I am equally "capable" of helping or hurting someone. I realize I can do either, but I know which one resonates with me deeply and which one is abhorrent.
All religion in its pure form is empowering people to grow and change for the better. Stagnation you are talking about is real, but those people are missing the point I fear.
That's objectively not true. The reason religion talks about virtue and sin so much is because it's understood that each person has the power to chose one or the other. That's the fundamental free will, all stems from it.
I don't think that's the (main) reason that religions focuses on virtue and sin, but that's kind of to one side.
Free will does suggest that all prophets are making educated guesses, rather than receiving divine insight into future events. In Christian mythology there's the classic Matthew 26:21 bit that atheists like to point out in any discussion about free will (or lack of).
I don't have any insight into the texts of the other two large organised religions, but I'm sure there's a some number of distant predictions in those that stretch the 'everyone has free will' claim.
In my study of both Judaism and the yogic tradition, what you described is NOT the intention.
Free will (fundamental to religion) means our choices matter. I am equally "capable" of helping or hurting someone. I realize I can do either, but I know which one resonates with me deeply and which one is abhorrent.
All religion in its pure form is empowering people to grow and change for the better. Stagnation you are talking about is real, but those people are missing the point I fear.