Is God really Omnipotent?

[Uber Genius]

Predestination affirms choice and responsibility, I think many people miss that...

Calvin himself missed that, claiming God was responsible for people sinning. In what way is determinism in any way compatible with free will?

God is the author of sin:

The Reformed agree that God knows what would happen under all conditions, but they reject the notion that this knowledge is ever ultimately based on man's autonomous decisions. Human decisions, they argue, are themselves the effects of God's eternal decrees (see Acts 2:23, Rom. 9:10-18, Eph. 1:11, Phil. 2:12-13).
John M. Frame "Scientia Media" from Evangelical Dictionary of Theology

Autonomous means free of influence.

If those are as Calvinist John Frame suggest above an effect caused by God's decree we are equivocating to say they are "free." We have emptied the word "free" of all its meaning!

John Piper (Calvinist Pastor) says the following about God being the author of sin:

“Everything that exists—including evil—is ordained by an infinitely holy and all-wise God to make the glory of Christ shine more brightly. . . . Adam's sin and the fall of the human race with him into sin and misery did not take God off guard and is part of his overarching plan to display the fullness of the glory of Jesus Christ."
Further we can apply Frame's causal analysis suggesting that Adam's sin, "Was an effect of God's eternal decree."
So God decreed Adam would sin after telling him not to. Adam having no autonomy (ability to act in concert with his rationality to obey God's command instead sins as was decreed by God as "part of his overarching plan to display the fullness of Jesus Christ!"
This makes the fall into a divine marionette show with God telling Adam not to sin and then decreeing that he sin!
We're way past sovereignty of God now.

Notes:

John Frames quote see:

Molinism (Middle Knowledge) | Monergism

John Piper quote see:
Does God ‘Author’ Sin?

 

[Uber Genius]

Yeah but to create the galaxy one only needs to create an explosive weapon powerful enough that it would create a galaxy. We as humans have created nuclear weapons that demonstrate similar effects. And we are not omnipotent.

Does God really sustain the galaxy, allowing comets and asteroids to destroy it? Allowing super novas to destroy solar systems?

So since beryllium is necessary for all life and is a product of binary stars where the gravity of one star draws off material from the other and then distributed same to the rest of the universe through the process of a super nova, the answer is, "Yes God uses destruction in a massive way to create life."

So what? It is not intuitively clear that an all-powerful God wouldn't create using a destructive process like a super nova. Pleas explain why you conclude, "Therefore God is not all-powerful."

 

[Uber Genius]

Calvinism is flawed to a person who doesn't understand it. We don't believe people are robots who cannot make choices, quite the opposite.

This is starting to go off-topic unless the OP grants us to talk about it further.

Missed this. I will demur on the coherency of Calvinism.

 

[devin553344]

So since beryllium is necessary for all life and is a product of binary stars where the gravity of one star draws off material from the other and then distributed same to the rest of the universe through the process of a super nova, the answer is, "Yes God uses destruction in a massive way to create life."

So what? It is not intuitively clear that an all-powerful God wouldn't create using a destructive process like a super nova. Pleas explain why you conclude, "Therefore God is not all-powerful."

Well I wasn't concluding, I just started to have doubts. But I got my answers and got straightened out

 

[Uber Genius]

God apparently made heaven perfec

So Revelation 12 which records a divine rebellion of 1/3 of the angel in heaven fits into your conception of "Perfect?"

An Enochian Fall led by divine counsel members recorded partially in Gen 6, but built out fully in 1 Enoch 6amd following is inside of your definition of perfect?

Why is suffering so central to God's redemptive work? Why think that by obedient suffering in a broken world fighting against hostile forces isn't a process like a super nova that on it's ace appears destructive but is necessary to transform free agents to obedient servants who will rule and reign with Christ on his throne no less? Now that is an epic hero story for both God and his true disciples that endure to the end!

 

[marineimaging]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

Can you prove that He is omnipotent?

(I hate saying these words) but you are absolutely incorrect. God answers EVERY prayer. It just might not be the answer your like. Such as, let's say, living forever on earth. No. Such as being healed of a disease. No. Such as acquiring the job you want. No. No and not now and absolutely not are all answers just like yes to your eternal salvation are answers to a prayer. The Word of God is clear in what we had in the beginning and what we lost with Adams failure to refrain from sinning. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent and all eternal and nothing will change that.

 

[Uber Genius]

This very non-Edenic and unheavenly world we're in now, where both good and evil are experienced- or literally known-is actually a perfect place: perfect for finding out just how lousy imperfection is, for finding out how bad evil is so we may choose between it and good, to find out just how much we need the ultimate Perfection: God.

God wants us to choose, that's just how much He values our freedom, how much He wants us, on our own, to will rightly. And we live here amidst many, many wrong choices, daily made, some of them our own choices and the very first being that of Adam & Eve. We're here to be educated the hard way, to learn, for one thing, that Adam & Eve were wrong in their decision to disobey God, dismissing Him as their God for all practical purposes. Here's a teaching I'm familiar with:
310 But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better. But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world "in a state of journeying" towards its ultimate perfection. In God's plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection.

And more regarding humans specifically, discussing the moral realm in creation of perfection vs imperfection:
1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.

1732 As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach.

What is the source of the quotes?

 

[PaulCyp1]

Omnipotence has nothing to do with perfection or imperfection of the universe. Omnipotence means that God has infinite power. There is nothing He cannot do because of lack of power. That doesn't mean He cannot choose to make other things that are imperfect. In fact, if He couldn't do that, He would not be omnipotent.

 

[fhansen]

What is the source of the quotes?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

 

[Hawkins]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

Can you prove that He is omnipotent?

Omnipotence ties to whether His will can be done. Perfection on the other hand means whether the resulted product matches its design purpose.

Does it make the world a perfect place? That relies on what is the design purpose of this world. It's perfect if the current world matches its design purpose. So do you understand God's design purpose of this world?

I don't think you do! Because you don't, you thus have no way to assess whether this world matches perfectly to its design purpose.

An analogy:
We won't say that a mirror is not perfect because it can't talk like men do, as it's not the design purpose of a mirror. A mirror is designed to reflect images instead of talking like a man. Without understanding the exact purpose of a mirror design, we have no way to assess if it's perfect!

 

[Uber Genius]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

thx

 

[NW82]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

Can you prove that He is omnipotent?

• He did make the world perfect, but man broke it through sin. Changing that would change the impact of man's free will.
• He does answer all prayers, just not in the way we may want or see, and sometimes the answer is no. I struggle with this myself, not so much from the no but rather the why to to the no.
• Yes Yahweh is omnipotent, and omnipresent, the first and the last

 

[danielmears]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

Can you prove that He is omnipotent?

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 The longer I live the more in awe I become as I ponder God, the Alpha and the Omega, and God's word, from the fountain of living water. We are living in a spiritual realm, a righteous system where everything behind the physical is spiritual. Glory to God, but to gain understanding and knowledge one must truly turn to the scriptures for guidance. This, Word, that God gave us, has been since the beginning and is filled with power, energy, which moves in accordance with spiritual law. A believer needs to grasp this, that all things are possible with God! This is omnipotence, all powerful, for all natural law gives way to spiritual. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 We are also given authority to bind and loose as in heaven also on earth but all of this requires faith. Jesus shows us in the scriptures how the word operates and tells the people over and over that it was their faith that made all of the miracles possible. I believe as you delve deeper into the word you will find power, love, beauty, goodness all around. The more I study God's word the more in awe I become! The fact that all of this is real is absolutely mind blowing! May God bless you and fill you with His love, light and spirit! May all of our eyes be open to the wonders of God, our ears inclined to His voice. May we love God and one another with a fervent heart and be doers of the Word!

 

[Artra]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

Can you prove that He is omnipotent?

He did make the world a perfect place. In a perfect place He can share the perfection with others as well, which is why He created free will. The problem is for true free will to work God has to be as hands off as possible, and that means His creations can defy Him and even seek out to make the world an imperfect place. Giving free will is good, like giving money to someone in need is good. You can't control what they do with it, and they can always use it for evil or selfish purposes, but you gave them the choice. Even if you know what they'll do you didn't choose for them; you let them strive to be good themselves.

He does answer all prayers, just not in the way you'd like. For comparison, as a child you ask your mom for a cookie, and she says she'll give it to you if you clean your room. That's an answer, and a fair one. Now you don't want to clean your room, so you demand that she give it to you. She says no and that she made her command clear (EDIT: I say this because if you are praying then you should be on some pursuit towards the Bible) That's an answer. You go on a tantrum, invoking her wrath.

You are getting an answer from God, it's just not the one you necessarily want or understand.

As for proving He is omnipotent, does He have to make His omnipotence known to us for us to receive Salvation? Lucifer knew completely the Glory omnipotence of God, and he's now the main reason why we can't know. God can't show Himself to hardened sin because He doesn't want to be worshiped by sin and it can't be in His Kingdom. He'd rather people worship Him for His wisdom and love and not omnipotence. If you follow Him because of omnipotence, your heart's not exactly in the right place.

I am still practicing the faith though, so you can reject my response if you want. Believing His omnipotence is something that's up to you to find out, no one can force it into your heart, and you're free to reject it if you choose.

 

[Bonzobob]

Predestination affirms choice and responsibility, I think many people miss that...

But, if you are finding answers to your question, I hope it leads you to see God is in control

God is omnipotent, and created a perfect world, Adam and Eve sinned because they were lied to by Satan. Satan was Lucifer and was one of the hihger angels, but rebelled because he wanted to be god. He then set about destroying God's creation, but his days are numbered, one day he will be destroyed and he knows it.
By the way God does answer ALL prayers, no, is an answer.

 

[devin553344]

Thanks guys, I had a brain lapse and now see that God is omnipotent

 

[TheOneWhoEats]

I'm late to this party, and this is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I don't think we can observe the workings of the world and take those as signs that God may not be in control. There may be reasons for not doing certain things or for allowing certain things to happen, etc. Is God capable of fixing everything? Perhaps. I don't know, but probably. But capability doesn't equate to what you can see now, I guess.

 

[devin553344]

I'm late to this party, and this is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I don't think we can observe the workings of the world and take those as signs that God may not be in control. There may be reasons for not doing certain things or for allowing certain things to happen, etc. Is God capable of fixing everything? Perhaps. I don't know, but probably. But capability doesn't equate to what you can see now, I guess.

Thanks "theOneWhoEats'. God Bless You

 

[~Zao~]

Well I believe that God is omnipotent but my question is ... is Christ at this time?

 

[1213]

I've started to realize that God may not be fully omnipotent. For instance he doesn't make the world a perfect place, but heaven he does? He doesn't answer all prayers? So is he omnipotent?

When God created, everything was good. Then people wanted to know evil and were expelled from paradise to this first death. I think this death is perfect for its purpose. People wanted to know good and evil like God knows and here it is truly possible to learn what they mean. Luckily this is only short lesson that doesn’t last forever.