Is God omniscient?

[tonychanyt]

Wouldn't God already know what Israel would do?

Yes. That's another example of anthropomorphism. It was common in the OT.

 

[Deborah1$]

Here's another: Jeremiah 26:3: “PERHAPS THEY WILL LISTEN and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.”
Wouldn't God already know? Why Perhaps?

Lastly, this:
Micah predicts through God that Jerusalem would be destroyed but it wasn’t (Mic 3:12); And Jonah predicted through God that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days and it wasn’t (Jonah 3:4, 10). (...)

God “sought to kill Moses” but his wife, Zipporah, stepped in and God backed off (Exod 4:24-26).

Again, I'm always glad when someone provides great explanations.

 

[Deborah1$]

That's called anthropomorphism. God behaved like a man so that man could interact with him under this human convention/framework.



I don't know. Can you display it?

I tried to cut and paste it, but it won't show. Sorry.

 

[tonychanyt]

Micah predicts through God that Jerusalem would be destroyed but it wasn’t (Mic 3:12);

See When was Mi 3:12 fulfilled?

And Jonah predicted through God that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days and it wasn’t (Jonah 3:4, 10).

See Prophecy with an assumed condition

God “sought to kill Moses” but his wife, Zipporah, stepped in and God backed off (Exod 4:24-26).

See Moses was a BRIDEGROOM OF BLOOD to Zipporah

 

[KevinT]

By dictionary definition, omniscient means "knowing everything". By this definition, is God omniscient?

Yes, Isaiah 46:


Psalm 139:


1 Kings 8:


1 John 3:


The above are some strong indications that God knows everything.

Does God know something right before it happens or did God know everything that was going to happen even before the creation?

I'd say the latter.

More interesting still, God knows even possible future in 1 Samuel 23:


But it was not going to happen because David would not stay and let it happen:


In the NT, Jesus asserted in Matthew 11:


God knows everything that happens and the outcomes of things that didn't happen.

See also How does God perform thinking?

I searched our your post on this after I wrote a different post on God's omniscience here.

In classical, Newtonian, thinking, the entire universe is like a giant clockwork. And with sufficient knowledge, someone like God can simply "turn the crank" a bit faster to figure out where a planet will be in its rotation around the sun on a particular future day, or what a human will be doing on that same day. But subsequent research seems to show that God's universe has randomness built into it.

Steven Wolfram, the man behind Wolfram Alpha, has developing a controversial theory of cellular automata wherein every tiny element of the universe just follows simple rules that when combined create the world we see around us. While many think he is on the wrong track, he often mentions an interesting corollary of being "computationally bound." To simplify the limitation, it is that THERE ARE NO FORMULAS that allow one to predict what will happen in the future. Yes, given the rotational speed of the Earth around the sun, it would seem that we can know exactly where it will be a trillion years in the future. But what about randomness found in the behavior of matter at a quantum level? Or the fact that galaxies such as our own Milky Way galaxy can collide with each other? Or that a massive asteroid could hit the earth deflecting its path? Or the Butterfly Effect wherein the tiniest of changes of initial conditions can have tremendous effects on outcome. In the end, you have to wait and actually see what happens. In a Newtonian world view, we would say that God with a perfect understanding of the current state of every atom can know all about the incoming asteroid or colliding galaxies. But if there truly is randomness built in by God, then God Himself could theoretically not know exactly how it will play out.

Would randomness remove the omniscience of God? Yes and No, depending on how one defines omniscience. Imagine a person setting out to drive to the store. They know they are going to the store, and they will make sure they get there. But they might encounter all sorts of bumps in the road or needed detours along the way. But in the end they do arrive just as planned. Another example would be a parent that insists a reluctant child go to school. The child tries this and that approach to be allowed to stay home and "play hooky", but the wise parent heads each attempt off and the child goes to school as planned. In each of these examples, we could say that the person knew the "end from the beginning." They knew their goal, and they had the power to overcome circumstances that arose.

So I would say Yes God in omniscient if one means that God has plans and is able to enact them regardless of random setbacks. And furthermore with great power, able to predict those parts of the universe that have little randomness. I think the Bible texts describing God's ability to see the future fall into this camp.

But I would also say No regarding omniscience if one means that God has the path of every atom in the universe already planned out, and the future is fixed and unchangeable.

KT

 

[KevinT]

Stuff that's always puzzled me:

I welcome any and all thoughts. I have spent days at times since I was a child just thinking on these things and asking God to give me enlightenment. I know no one on this board really "knows," but I'd love to hear various thoughts on the subject because I can't possibly be the only person who has ever thought about such things.

You are certainly not the only person to think about such things. I recently posted along a similar line here that might interest you

Best wishes,

KT

 

[Deborah1$]

You are certainly not the only person to think about such things. I recently posted along a similar line here that might interest you

Best wishes,

KT

I will never be able to figure God out entirely and have come to the conclusion that He just "IS" and a lot of His ways for the most part are understood only to Him as He states. While we have quite a bit to go on in the Bible, there are still a myriad of things that seem puzzling, confusing and sometimes contradictory. It doesn't stop me from loving Him, believing Him or following Him. That's why I appreciate those of you who have studied (far more than I) and who take the time on this board to provide interesting explanations that cause me to truly think and open my mind to new possibilities. You and Tony go to great lengths to provide answers and I respect that.

 

[tonychanyt]

In a Newtonian world view, we would say that God with a perfect understanding of the current state of every atom can know all about the incoming asteroid or colliding galaxies.

Assuming no randomness, Newton was aware of the mathematical limitations in solving the general case of the Three Body Problem.

But if there truly is randomness built in by God, then God Himself could theoretically not know exactly how it will play out.

See How does God perform thinking?