joebudda said:
Is god capable of non-existence? Does he have the ability to zap himself into non-existence?
If so, how would we know, or could we even know if god ceased existing? Could god have ceased existing a while ago but we just dont know yet?
What do you suppose would be some of the repercussions if god ceased existing?
Well... what god are you talking about? Most likely my answer will be no.
1. If you are talking about a god that doesn't really exist, then nothing that can exist can further cause itself to not exist any more than it already non exists.
2. If you are talking about a god as a figment of someone's imagination, like an imaginary friend that has powers, then again we're back to the fact that it's just someone's imagination. The person could make that particular imagination disappear though.
3. If you are talking about a lesser god in the sense that he's was made by some other more powerful god, then perhaps this is the one case where I would say, yes, this lesser god could end his own existence perhaps. In a sense that we are gods perhaps in a relative sense compared to say a monkey, we too can purposefully end our own lives.
4. If you are talking about the Christian God along with what christian theologians say about him, then you are talking about a God who is perfect, incredibly powerful (although limited in a sense*), absolutely moral/good, uncaused, willful, absolutely logical, all-knowing, unchangeable, and a number of others I'm leaving off. By definition good is something that is loving, full of life, benevolent, desiring joy for others, etc... So if God is absolutely good, then there is no way he could be destroy himself. In essence though he is the prime existance (ie, nothing was before him, nothing caused him, he created everything). Being the prime existance though means that nothing can change him. Well, even if you didn't accept that, if you're pure love, pure logic, all-knowing, all-powerful, then you're going to answer the same question everytime absolutely correctly. So if God would commit suicide, then it would have already have happened the moment it became possible. But the "moment it became possible" is nonsensical because I already said that nothing causes him or changes him. He simply IS. If you asked him what his name is, he would tell you, "I AM". And quite profoundly that would be the most accurate name a being has ever had. So the idea of God not existing is akin to the idea of true being false. So in the end, this viewpoint also says No, God couldn't commit suicide.
I bet you thought this would be an insightful thread, didn't you?
