(October 30, 2016 at 3:44 am)robvalue Wrote: Theologian: Okay, if you say God isn't all powerful, then you are able to excuse some of god's behaviour. It's a far superior position in my opinion. It's still discussing the imaginary as far as evidence goes, but at least it's consistent.
I think I explained in detail why the analogy isn't valid, because it doesn't even show what you said it shows. You said scientists know what the weather will do. They do not. They predict it. They be right, they may not.
If God knows what I'm going to do before I do it, can I choose do anything else? If in fact you're saying he doesn't know what I'll do, then there is no contradiction.
Where did I say that God isn't powerful? I hold that He is Omnipotent, as He is Being Himself. If other realities has power, then Reality Himself must have Infinite Power.
All prediction doesn't have anything to do with knowledge. But, the scientist forecasting the weather uses the knowledge of heavenly bodies and the knowledge of cause and effect. Therefore, the scientist doing weather forecast doesn't just predict. Hence, it is not true that my analogy, according to you, is not valid, because scientist, even though in a far inferior way, knows what weather will happen and we know that they didn't cause the weather, just as God knows our thoughts and will and what we're going to do without hindering our freewill which is self-evident.
Now, to answer your question "if God knows what I'm going to do before I do it, can I choose do anything else", and my answer is of course you do able to choose anything else. For, there is no contradiction between freewill and God's omniscience in your case. If I can know your thoughts and will, then I can know what you're going to do before you do it. If you try to change your mind, then I can still know that you'll do something else. So, whatever you do, to proceed with your original plan or to do something else, I know it, granted that I can know your thoughts and will. But, God must know our thoughts and decisions. Hence, there's no contradiction between God's omniscience and our freewill.
