ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος

Aug. 21, 2012 at 8:23pm with 17 notes

Reblogged from deconversionmovement

Dilemmas

joshuadylan:

secularsociety:

Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle means that we can’t simultaneously know the velocity of a particle and its position in space. The very concept of true omniscience is therefore moot. So even if there was an entity approaching what we conceive of as god, it could not be omniscient, as this would invalidate the very universe it created.

I’m sure some philosopher or other has already articulated this better than me though.

But that subjects the Creator to the very laws that he created, which is not a necessary conclusion derived from there being laws of nature.

Yet Christians have agreed, albeit by mistake, that their god is subject to laws that he created, namely the laws of thought. Whenever a theist is confronted with the omnipotence paradox, they respond by saying that god will not do the illogical; therefore, he is subject to logic as he cannot violate the law of identity for example. In any case, your god’s omniscience is disproved in the Bible; one need not go beyond that. For instance, how can an omniscient god who foresees all oncoming events regret creating man—so much so that he feels that the only solution is drowning them? Omniscience would be incapable of any display of emotion. Put the spotlight on yourself: if you could know everything that will happen in your life, would you be angry that your girlfriend cheated? Would you even enter a relationship with her knowing beforehand what will come to pass? Omniscience would require impersonality and not personality; unfortunately, your god is a personal god—one who supposedly intervenes in his creation. His nature is self-contradictory. In any case, the original post makes a valid point; anything that acts against the laws of nature is what people like you call miracles. Well, such violation of laws doesn’t occur in this world.

And for what reason does omniscience necessarily meant that emotion is invalidated? Say you knew ahead of time that your father would die at a specific time in a specific way. That knowledge does not, in any meaningful sense whatsoever, entail that the death will not emotionally affect you. It’s quite the logical leap to claim that omniscience implies non-emotive qualities.