Perhaps determinism is what the Bible calls man's sinful nature .
Because of original sin we have all inherited a " sinful nature " . Sin is doing what we want not want God wants and because of our genes, our upbringing and other things not under our control we all " fall short " . Of course our parents, teachers and other human influencers are subject to the same flaws determined by their genes, upbringing etc . So the cycle is "determined " to continue .
So God sent Jesus to break the cycle of sinfulness for which in a way we aren't responsible.
Now weather that means that no one should be punished for crimes they have committed? Well it's true that the fear of human punishment does deter people and many have been rehabilitated from a criminal lifestyle.
However it's also true that even really nice people can do nasty things , lie , gossip , backbite , envy etc .
So determinism makes sinners of us all . We need help to break free from that. The Bible tells us that " God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for us while yet we were still sinners "
Sermon over . I just felt that l wanted to put a Christian spin on this discussion.
Jan