From: livesey@solntze.wpd.sgi.com (Jon Livesey) Subject: Re: Omnipotence (was Re: Speculations) Organization: sgi Lines: 35 NNTP-Posting-Host: solntze.wpd.sgi.com In article <1993Apr5.171143.828@batman.bmd.trw.com>, jbrown@batman.bmd.trw.com writes: |> In article <2942949719.2.p00261@psilink.com>, "Robert Knowles" writes: |> >>DATE: Fri, 2 Apr 1993 23:02:22 -0500 |> >>FROM: Nanci Ann Miller |> >> |> >> |> >>> > 3. Can god uncreate itself? |> >>> |> >>> No. For if He did, He would violate His own nature which He cannot do. |> >>> It is God's nature to Exist. He is, after all, the "I AM" which is |> >>> a statement of His inherent Existence. He is existence itself. |> >>> Existence cannot "not-exist". |> >> |> >>Then, as mentioned above, he must not be very omnipotent. |> >> |> |> What do you mean by omnipotent here? Do you mean by "omnipotent" |> that God should be able to do anything/everything? This creates |> a self-contradictory definition of omnipotence which is effectively |> useless. |> |> To be descriptive, omnipotence must mean "being all-powerful" and |> not "being able to do anything/everything". |> |> Let me illustrate by analogy. |> Suppose the United States were the only nuclear power on earth. Suppose |> further that the US military could not effectively be countered by any |> nation or group of nations. The US has the power to go into any country |> at any time for any reason to straighten things out as the leaders of the |> US see fit. The US would be militarily "omnipotent". Did you check with the Afghans before posting this? They might disagree. jon.