philosophy about god

[Dis]

I never could believe in an "active" god. I probably never will. Is it possible something created the universe- yes. But something that controls events on 1 itty bitty planet, I will never believe.

**** happens. Hey that saying always applies.

So why is there evil? What is there to say what evil really is? Humans have defined evil- and that definition varies. Perhaps a god does not consider human evil- evil.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
UR and Sky, I think the question about the rock should be put this way: can an infinitely powerful being lift a rock with an infinite weight?

Then again, I guess an omnipotent being could just change the laws of gravity to lift anything he likes.

Even then, I suspect we might get to a Kant-like argument: if reason is in itself its own goal, we could argue that omnipotence similarly is: omnipotence is not stronger than itself. It is in this paradox that we find the idea that true understanding of omnipotence would be unaccesible to the human mind. Just like the result of 28/0 could be (well, I'm not so good in math, so I might be wrong here).

I don't see any paradox. Say you have two omnipotent beings. One can hurt the other, certainly, unless the other prevents it. There is no paradox because in binding the actions of the other omnipotent being, you remove the omnipotence of it. I can comprehend "all-powerful" pretty easily, so the argument that I can't doesn't really work...

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Thriller


So if the universe is all that exists, what is a "parallel universe"?

And what about anti-matter? In what type of universe does this exist (or should I say, not-exist?)?

you don't know what anti-matter is

it exists just fine in our universe

Jon Miller

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Thriller


So if the universe is all that exists, what is a "parallel universe"?

And what about anti-matter? In what type of universe does this exist (or should I say, not-exist?)?

"Parallel universe" is merely bad terminology; what it means is a contiguous region of spacetime that is not our own.

What does anti-matter have to do with this?

[Snowflake]

Ok so he is omnipotent. Can he create something that nothing/nobody can destroy it? If he can then can he destroy it?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Dissident
I never could believe in an "active" god. I probably never will. Is it possible something created the universe- yes. But something that controls events on 1 itty bitty planet, I will never believe.

**** happens. Hey that saying always applies.

So why is there evil? What is there to say what evil really is? Humans have defined evil- and that definition varies. Perhaps a god does not consider human evil- evil.

I agree wholeheartedly - I can accept scientifically a "first mover", though I see no reason to assume one, but a "supernatural" being participating in our universe is scientifically impossible.

wrt evil, I personally think that there IS no answer, because to answer "why is there evil" you have to presuppose that someon created evil. I think "evil" is merely a coincidence of the universe.

I still say, however, that without both "good" AND "evil" the universe would be a pretty dull place

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by HongHu
Ok so he is omnipotent. Can he create something that nothing/nobody can destroy it? If he can then can he destroy it?

If he creates an object that is by its nature indistructible, then no, he can't destroy it. HOWEVER, this does not result in a paradox, because in the creation of that object he has removed his own omnipotence - he has removed his ability to destroy the object.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
Again, about God- if God is perfect, then he must be omnipotent. So yes, if the Bible says that God is perfect, or you believe him to be, then logically he is omnipotent.

I do not recall God being described as "perfect" in the Bible. I believe this a Greek idea.

However, the concept that God is perfect leads inevitably that God is the Universe since the sum total of the Universe is perfect. It is the only thing that is perfect.

Btw, this is essentially Einsteins view. This man was no dummy.

[Kuciwalker]

How do you come to the conclusion that the Universe is "perfect"?

In fact, perfect is a purely subjective term - I don't see how it implies omnipotence.

[Ned]

Are the laws of nature ever wrong?

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by skywalker


If he creates an object that is by its nature indistructible, then no, he can't destroy it. HOWEVER, this does not result in a paradox, because in the creation of that object he has removed his own omnipotence - he has removed his ability to destroy the object.

Exactly. The paradox is that nobody/nothing can be omnipotence. Because there has to be one choice between these two options: either he cannot create something that cannot be destroyed by anything, or he cannot destroy something that he created. In both cases he is not omnipotent. In other words, an omnipotent unit is not possible.

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by Ned
Are the laws of nature ever wrong?

It is like asking: "Are truth ever not true?"

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Ned
Are the laws of nature ever wrong?

So? You have yet to provide an OBJECTIVE definition of "perfect". I don't see how perfect necessarily equals infallibility.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by HongHu


Exactly. The paradox is that nobody/nothing can be omnipotence. Because there has to be one choice between these two options: either he cannot create something that cannot be destroyed by anything, or he cannot destroy something that he created. In both cases he is not omnipotent. In other words, an omnipotent unit is not possible.

NO! There is no paradox! He is omnipotent BEFORE he makes the decision, and is either omnipotent or not omnipotent AFTER the decision. That's like saying that a car can't be green, because you could paint it red.

[curtsibling]

The whole idea of a god is leftover from a time when we were scared at the cause of lightning storms and volcanoes.

It's time for man to accept and assume his mantle as the earthly motivator!

Enough of this primitive dogma!