(August 17, 2012 at 2:34 pm)spockrates Wrote: Yes, I have to concede that God is not omniscient if by omniscient we mean he can (and does) do anything at all....
What? You meant omnipotent when you said omniscient here, right? I'll work off that assumption. Simple mistake.
Quote:For example, Paul writes of the:An omnipotent God would have the capacity to lie, which is apparently against his nature, thus you dismiss a God who is capable of everything. Other reasons you might dismiss this include the logically contradictory nature of omnipotence and the simple illustrations of this.
...God, who does not lie... .
(Titus 1:2)
Quote:One might say that being dishonest is something God is powerless to do. For if God were dishonest, he would be unwise (and so not omniscient) and unloving (and so not omnibenevolent).I don't know about a God, but for humanity lies can be pragmatic and even purely beneficial for all parties. Some lies are actually made by the wise in an educated manner. Still, this is just me nitpicking... a habit I have.
Quote:Of all the choices there are to a sentient being, the only things God has the freedom to choose are those that are not just a demonstration of perfect powerful alone, but also a demonstration of perfect wisdom and love.Perfect power means that which doesn't contradict his other attributes? Perfect. This is what my original contention works off of. This argument doesn't really apply to a different God who can do anything.
Quote:But here is what I wonder: Does God not lie because he is powerless to lie, or does God not lie because he has the power to lie, but chooses to not lie? If the latter, rather than the former is true, then I'm thinking God truly is all-powerful, but chooses (by reason of wisdom and love) to restrain his power.If he cannot lie/ his nature doesn't permit him to lie then he has no choice in the matter. He wouldn't be the same God that those who worship him defined him as; he would be completely different. This is the penalty for having so many "omni"s to your name.
Quote:But please tell me: Do you think omnipotence is having the power to do everything, or do you think omnipotence is not only having the power to do everything but also doing everything?I hope we can get back on topic soon and leave my mistakes in definition in the past.
Omnipotence is the capacity to do anything. If you are able to do something then you have the chance to perform the action at any point in time. If your nature is perfectly good, then you would be unable of killing someone unjustifiably. You would be incapable of the act. If you were perfectly loving, you would be unable to see those you love in pain that served no purpose and if you knew everything you would know that the pain that those people were suffering was unnecessary. Stuff like that.
My conclusion is that there is no reason to believe any of the dogmas of traditional theology and, further, that there is no reason to wish that they were true.
Man, in so far as he is not subject to natural forces, is free to work out his own destiny. The responsibility is his, and so is the opportunity.
-Bertrand Russell
Man, in so far as he is not subject to natural forces, is free to work out his own destiny. The responsibility is his, and so is the opportunity.
-Bertrand Russell