Omnipotence and Arbitrary Actions

I finally figured out how to splice clips together. Go me.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• god
• omnipotent
• arbitrary
• actions
• creation
• rube goldberg
• pointless

[jmckind]

You bring up a great point about omnipotence and the Rube Goldberg machine that I had never really thought about in this way previously.

[Sannit]

@rootepiepsilon A cop isn't the best metaphor. If a cop decides to speed for no reason, the law can find him guilty of it and will punish him accordingly. But God's law doesn't rule over God. He can break it whenever he feels like it (if I understand you correctly....I'm still not sure whether you think He's all-powerful or not), and will not be punished for doing so regardless of the reason, so the law effectively does not apply to Him.

And, again: genocide. That's not against His own law?

[Sannit]

@rootepiepsilon You said that He can break the law, and then immediately say that He can't. Unless you're talking about two different people, and unless He could break the law before but is literally physically incapable of breaking the law now, the context doesn't matter. Can He break the law or can't He?

[rootepiepsilon]

@Sannit well the only problem I have is that u made some wrong assumptions and now ur video is: well based on wrong assumptions

[rootepiepsilon]

@Sannit uhhh....okay...out of context

[rootepiepsilon]

@Sannit A police officer gave me a speeding ticket. I really hate that in order for Him to catch up with me he had to speed too. Why doesnt he get a ticket? But if a cop is speeding excessively w/out any cause that cop is violating the law & is guilty . Does that mean that as long as the law enforcement officer has a cause s/he can break the law that they swore to protect, without being found guilty? No; that cant be so.

[Sannit]

@rootepiepsilon From your comment: "...He can break the law but the only reason He can't..." This is as plain a contradiction as there can be.

[Sannit]

@rootepiepsilon Sorry if I misunderstood; I didn't entirely comprehend some of what you were saying.

But let me get this straight: God created laws to govern the universe, and now voluntarily follows those laws *despite* his onmipotence, just to prove it can be done? I'm assuming these laws don't include the actual physical laws, or else miracles would be impossible, but only the moral ones set forth in the Bible. Like not killing, or not being jealous, or not instigating rape/genocide.

[Sannit]

@rootepiepsilon Again, I think you misunderstand the meaning of the word "omnipotent." Still, you admit that, while God *voluntarily* abstains from certain activities (like lying - which I would dispute, actually, but this isn't the place), he is still, if I understand you correctly, *capable* of doing anything. And thus my video applies once more.

I would like to point out, for the record, that we have descended into not-related-to-the-video-we're­-commenting-on territory. Just sayin'.

[rootepiepsilon]

@Sannit No duh...He doesn't need the law..the law is for us who are not omnipotent. Sure He can break the law but the only reason He can't is because He said that He wouldn't lie and He only said so because He wanted to be a fair judge. How would u feel if a judge acused u of murder and he had a criminal record?