Omnipotence

[Philosophe]

The Christian view of God is as an all-powerful being, is it not? God has the power to do anything... Do any Christians feel the need to reconcile an all-powerful god with the logical arguements against the existence of such a being? If so, how?

If you don't, and God is God and thats enough, thats cool

 

[PollyAnna]

For me...

God is an all-powerful being...God has the power to do anything

AND

God is God and thats enough
I don't really care how HE came to be or how the EARTH came to be. All I know is what God has done in my life and that's enough for me to KNOW without doubt that he exists.

 

[Philosophe]

Well, alright, but that doesn't really have anything to do with what I was asking. If thats your view, thats fine, I was speaking to those who do wonder about how an omnipotent being may exist.

For example, if God is all-powerful, does he have the power to disprove his own existence?

 

[PollyAnna]

Ah, ok. I thought you were also wanting to hear from those of us who feel that it's enough knowing God is God. Sorry about that...


Then to answer this question "Do any Christians feel the need to reconcile an all-powerful god with the logical arguements against the existence of such a being?" I say NO, I don't.

 

[Prometheus_ash]

"Do any Christians feel the need to reconcile an all-powerful god with the logical arguements against the existence of such a being?"

For logically inclined christians, yes, yes they do. That would be why such theistic philosophers, such as Locke and Descartes, existed, and why General apologetics gets any hits at all.

Indeed, some of those that convert away form christianity do so for percisly because of those logical contradictions.

So, to answer the question "do any christians feel the need to reconcile an-powerful god with the logical arguments that against the existence of such a being?" it would be plainly yes.

 

[Philosophe]

"Do any Christians feel the need to reconcile an all-powerful god with the logical arguements against the existence of such a being?"

For logically inclined christians, yes, yes they do. That would be why such theistic philosophers, such as Locke and Descartes, existed, and why General apologetics gets any hits at all.

Indeed, some of those that convert away form christianity do so for percisly because of those logical contradictions.

So, to answer the question "do any christians feel the need to reconcile an-powerful god with the logical arguments that against the existence of such a being?" it would be plainly yes.

Any ideas on how this is approached? Does it usually come down to something like "god is beyond our understanding"? Or are there more concrete lines of reasoning or rationalizing the existence of an omnipotent being?

 

[Buzz Dixon]

SOme philosopher said God could do anything except change history.


My question is, how would we know?

 

[Philosophe]

SOme philosopher said God could do anything except change history.


My question is, how would we know?

Interesting. Didn't God create history? Why would he change his own perfect creations?

 

[pete123d]

The way I see the issue is God is an omnipotent abstract being who does not conform to natural laws. God has to be considered outside the realm of science, since He is everything. He does not have physycal attributes similar to a natural being. I have to emphasize the fact that God is more of an abstract concept than a concrete being, threfore He cannot be subject to physical rules.

 

[Prometheus_ash]

Any ideas on how this is approached? Does it usually come down to something like "god is beyond our understanding"? Or are there more concrete lines of reasoning or rationalizing the existence of an omnipotent being?

There is a logical argument that logic cannot apply to god (several of them actually) an early form of which can be found in Descartes meditations, and a much clearer form can be found in Kierkenguard's Fear and Trembling.

The way I see the issue is God is an omnipotent abstract being who does not conform to natural laws. God has to be considered outside the realm of science, since He is everything. He does not have physycal attributes similar to a natural being. I have to emphasize the fact that God is more of an abstract concept than a concrete being, threfore He cannot be subject to physical rules.

When I was a theist I would have been inlcined to agree with this, but there are problems with limiting god to an abstract. For starters, it takes away the person god archetype, which some like, it but better answers the question of where god is (everywhere and everything). However, if he is abstract (intangible) it raises how a nothing nowhere can interact wit this something somewhere physical world.

-Ash