Final-Fan said:
r505Matt said:
So he's almost omniscient and almost omnipotent is what you really mean. You can't say he is omniscient and then say he doesn't know something. Or that he is omnipotent and cannot do something.
Omni means all. Omni doesn't mean almost everything or almost all. If God is omnipotent, he can create another God or destroy himself if he wants. He can make something be and not be at the same time, even if our limited minds cannot understand that. But you cannot ascribe a trait such as omnipotent and then change the meaning. If God doesn't know everything, including what will be happening, then he is not omniscient. If God cannot do something, even if that means contradicting himself, then he is not omnipotent. You can't have it both ways. Omnipotent and omniscient are very strong wording with very exact meanings.
|
I would say that "able to do anything that is logically possible" counts as omnipotent.
|
Good point, I didn't catch that because I was focusing on omniscience. God's omnipotence implies that he can perform any possible action. He can't perform an action that calls for a contradiction of terms. He cannot make something be and not be at the same time, he cannot make a square-circle, he cannot make a stone that he cannot lift. The inabiity to perform actions that contradict his characteristics also don't count against his omniscience (eg. creating a stone he cannot lift, performing an evil action- God's free will v. God's goodness, etc.)