[PLUG-TALK] Re: PLUG-talk Digest, Vol 7, Issue 15
Russ Johnson
russj at dimstar.net
Thu Apr 14 20:27:34 UTC 2005
plug_0 at robinson-west.com wrote:
>Omnipotence and free will are not mutually dependent nor are they
>mutually exclusive. Regardless of knowledge level, a variety of
>choices are available to a person at any given moment. God's
>omnipotence is not being used to force the world into a state
>of perfection. Proof of God's omnipotence despite the imperfect
>world we live in is proof of free will. Knowledge of an event
>in way gurantees an impact on that event just as Keith's decision
>to be an atheist doesn't ensure that others will make the same
>mistake.
>
>
>
All arguements that have been put forth previously.
It matters not whether YOU know what you will do.
It matters only if ANYONE or ANY BEING is aware of your actions or
decisions prior to carrying them out.
As one of the links I posted yesterday clearly states, Omniscience
requires one to "know all". Knowing all requires Him to know what
decisions I make. If I can't make a different choice, (or avoid any
choice) then I have no free will. If I can make a different choice, then
God isn't Omniscient, because he didn't know what decision I made.
(http://ffrf.org/fttoday/1997/august97/barker.html)
Now, some will argue that God, being timeless, doesn't have a past,
present or future. He just is. OK, fine. He just is. But that part of
him at now (call it 't') and that part of him at t+30 minutes, are the
same God, right? So at both points, He knows what I will be doing. This
means I have to do what He knows. Otherwise, he's not Omniscient.
As far as Omnipotence... If God can change his own decisions, (a
requirement for Omnipotence) He can't be omniscent, since he then
wouldn't know everything. If he knows everything (a requirement for
omniscience) then he can't change his decisions, so he's not omnipotent.
Russ
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