(I am not in any way trying to sell the book being used in the picture and am not reviewing it).
Those who have read some of my blogs know that I believe in a God who created the universe and all that is in it. The arguments for His existence are frankly much more convincing and harder to explain away then those that claim He doesn’t, and so I chose to believe that He exists in one form or another. But I’ve been thinking for a while now, is it logically possible for God 4.0 to exist? By that I mean, can it be possible for a god that is at the same time A) All powerful, B) All good, C) All knowing, and D) All present, to exist? Are all these compatible with each other? Here’s my case that maybe that’s not true. Think of this from a philosophical standpoint.
Problem #1
If the universe goes on for eternity, how can God be in all places? The universe never ends, so how can He be in all of it? Being in all places gives the impression that there is a limited amount of places one can be. It would be like saying God can count to the highest number; there is no such thing as the highest number, numbers in their nature never end, so how can one count to the highest one? Same with the universe, how can anyone or anything be in all places when there is no such thing as all places since the universe goes on forever?
Problem #2
If god is all powerful, then that means there is nothing He can not do. He can do anything, as long as it fits in the rules of logic. He can't clap with one hand and such things like that. Then is it not at least POSSIBLE for Him to do wrong? If He is all powerful, and by that I means He controls everything and can do anything logically possible, can you then say it is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to do wrong? And if He CAN do wrong, how can we know to a certainty that He never has? The only thing we’d have to go on is the Bible, and if God can do wrong how can we know that the Bible is true? Wouldn’t an imperfect being try to make you believe He IS perfect?
Problem #3
As I’ve said before, if God is all powerful then that means by definition there is nothing He cannot do that is logically possible. If it were impossible for Him to do something, He wouldn’t be all powerful. He, in other words, controls 100% of the power in this world. There is nothing outside His control. Well if He controls 100% of the power in the world, then that, also by definition, means that nothing else in existence can have any power whatsoever. He has it all, so there is nothing left for the rest of us.
If that is true, then we are not in control of our actions and beliefs, our thoughts and actions are outside out control without our will or consent. There is no such thing as free will if there is a God who is all powerful. Therefore how can a God that is also all good command that his creations, which have no ability to control themselves, act in a certain way and then punish them to an eternity of suffering for failing to do so? And how can He reward others for living in a way completely outside of their control? Without free will, which a God who controls 100% of the world’s power would not allow for, there can be no judgments on people behaviors, and so there can be no morality. Another thought to ponder is that if God does indeed hold 100% of the world’s power, then nothing can happen that He doesn’t control. Every act of every human being is committed by God Himself, not any man.
You can’t have it both ways, either you believe God is all powerful but not all good and that we have no free will, or you can believe that He is all good but not all powerful and that He gave up His power when He created the universe. To believe in both is double-think. Any thoughts?
Problem #1
If the universe goes on for eternity, how can God be in all places? The universe never ends, so how can He be in all of it? Being in all places gives the impression that there is a limited amount of places one can be. It would be like saying God can count to the highest number; there is no such thing as the highest number, numbers in their nature never end, so how can one count to the highest one? Same with the universe, how can anyone or anything be in all places when there is no such thing as all places since the universe goes on forever?
Problem #2
If god is all powerful, then that means there is nothing He can not do. He can do anything, as long as it fits in the rules of logic. He can't clap with one hand and such things like that. Then is it not at least POSSIBLE for Him to do wrong? If He is all powerful, and by that I means He controls everything and can do anything logically possible, can you then say it is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to do wrong? And if He CAN do wrong, how can we know to a certainty that He never has? The only thing we’d have to go on is the Bible, and if God can do wrong how can we know that the Bible is true? Wouldn’t an imperfect being try to make you believe He IS perfect?
Problem #3
As I’ve said before, if God is all powerful then that means by definition there is nothing He cannot do that is logically possible. If it were impossible for Him to do something, He wouldn’t be all powerful. He, in other words, controls 100% of the power in this world. There is nothing outside His control. Well if He controls 100% of the power in the world, then that, also by definition, means that nothing else in existence can have any power whatsoever. He has it all, so there is nothing left for the rest of us.
If that is true, then we are not in control of our actions and beliefs, our thoughts and actions are outside out control without our will or consent. There is no such thing as free will if there is a God who is all powerful. Therefore how can a God that is also all good command that his creations, which have no ability to control themselves, act in a certain way and then punish them to an eternity of suffering for failing to do so? And how can He reward others for living in a way completely outside of their control? Without free will, which a God who controls 100% of the world’s power would not allow for, there can be no judgments on people behaviors, and so there can be no morality. Another thought to ponder is that if God does indeed hold 100% of the world’s power, then nothing can happen that He doesn’t control. Every act of every human being is committed by God Himself, not any man.
You can’t have it both ways, either you believe God is all powerful but not all good and that we have no free will, or you can believe that He is all good but not all powerful and that He gave up His power when He created the universe. To believe in both is double-think. Any thoughts?
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