So I was discussing a vaguely related subject with a friend, and my roommate asked this question. My immediate instinct was no, but I couldn't justify this answer. Any thoughts? Am I missing something very obvious? It is late, after all. . .
omnipotence is one huge contradiction. if god is omnipotent, then there is nothing he cant do. can god create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift? if he can lift it, then he cant create a stone he cant lift, meaning he isnt omnipotent. if he cant lift the stone, then that means he isnt really omnipotent. there are TONS of contradictions like these out there
hahaha so true and i don't think omniscient is possible. unless you believe in fate? because if you can know the future, than that means we all have a destiny. So if you choose to believe in omniscient beings, you choose to believe in fate. so i have a feeling you don't believe in fate so this question is no longer relevant to you anymore? Anyways. if omniscience could exist, and fate was real and not a fairy tale, then yes, it would be possible to have omniscient beings. Why wouldn't it be? I can't think of any reason myself haha... So yea why not possible. But then again.. i believe in seeing the future. so wtf do i believe in fate? Hmm... I think you can see the future but maybe it is the power of our consciousness that can alter the threads of fate? through action or w/e. man i don't fuckin know nemore..
Yes. . . I do believe that free will and omniscience are incompatible, but that is a discussion in another thread. What I am wondering is if it is possible, or rather impossible, to have 2 or more omniscient beings. Sort of like how it is impossible to have an immovable object and an irresistible force, or 2 omnipotent beings. I just couldn't find a logical contradiction in terms. Not to say there isn't one. Thats really what I'm asking.
yea i said beingS. i mean if you assume omniscience, then you're getting unrealistic. so in this universe, the omniscient being would have to be psychic, as if he knows everything, he knows the future and our thoughts. so i don't see why two beings like this couldn't be compatible in existence. i mean an omnipotent being can't even be compatible with it's own existence, esp not 2. anyways i don't see any way two omniscient beings could Not exist together.
that assumes that future follows a linear path which if one can be omniscient can not be true. take this scenario for example, if i flip a coin, i know that it'll land on either heads or tails. if there's another condition such that both sides of the coin are heads, and i know it, i will know that it'll always land on heads. an omniscient entity would know every possibility of every event. at the point of divergence, the omniscient entity would know the possibilities created by each possible outcome of the original event. if one omniscient entity could exist then i dont see why 2 couldn't. for an omniscient being to exist however, an infinitely powerful computer would need an infinite power source and an infinite amount of time to calculate an infinite amount of possibilities. out of the 3 conditions, none can be satisfied.
I would say no... only because omniscience is a solitary state of being, that is, perfection. If two beings are omniscient than they are both completely and utterly a like in every way, multiple states of perfection. If there is already one perfect being that knows everything, why make two? Especially if they can't differ in any way considering it is a single state of being.
What is God exactly The last body made of of bodies like if all people on earth made a human then the relm that bodie resides all one He is the most high on the ladder of assention There can be more than.onebut We only will experience that God were inside of
I think this thread confuses omnipotence with omniscience. i'll go ahead and stipulate some definitions, then attempt explain why omnipotence is not contradictory. omnipotent =df infinitely powerful, perfect being, best possible being (God) omniscience =df being with infinite knowledge I don't think it is a contradiction that God cannot create an object so massive he cannot lift it. I'm not sure why people think that God should be able to do things that are metaphysically impossible. We would not expect God to be able to impossible things like making a round square, making 2+2=5, or making an object so massive he cannot lift it. I have never heard of a contradiction that arises with multiple omniscient beings. If anyone can think of one i would be glad to hear it.
There are three omnipotent beings in one. God is a triune God and he has made us in his image with Body (Jesus), soul (God) and spirit (Holy Spirit). And if God has any limitations at all stone lifting wouldn't be a problem, but he just wouldn't do it he had no need to prove himself to you or anyone or himself so the whole argument is silly. Of course he is omnipotent, infinitely so. He could lift the rock and make it too big that he could lift it at the same time. How could this be so? Because he is not governed by any earthly laws of physics or otherwise. God is infinitely beyond logic and comprehension, so to try and understand him by Physics or any of your comprehension is totally flawed. Sammy
they're pretty interchangeable imo does an omniscient being have the knowledge to make itself all powerful? yes. does an omnipotent being have to power to make itself know everything? yes.
First, in what way does this thread confuse omnipotence with omniscience? Clearly what I am asking is if it is possible for more than one omniscient being to exist. This thread has nothing to do with omnipotence, except that someone mistakenly wrote about omnipotence at first. Second, as I stated above, this thread is about omniscience, not omnipotence, so you haven't really answered the question. I apologize if that came across as rude.
I didn't intend mean that you confused the two terms. Clearly, the question you want answered is the title of the thread, which has nothing to do with omnipotence. I was more talking to soulflower who misread the title. Also, it appears that Epoch doesn't understand what is going on since he thinks the terms are interchangeable. I stipulated the definitions to make sure we weren't confusing the two terms or equivocating them. I only talked about omnipotence to refute the claim about God and the stone. I thought I did answer the question in my last two sentences but I looked at it again and I wasn't very clear. There are no contradictions that arise in having multiple omniscient beings so I think it is possible to have multiple omniscient beings. Omniscience is a statement about knowledge. Two separate beings could have complete knowledge of the universe without contradicting eachother. They simply just agree about everything. Or it could be the case that God is multiply located, similar to what Samanthamudgirl said. Also, I don't think you're rude. I just think it is really hard to successfully argue about philosophy over the internet.
btw did you make this thread because you saw me talk about it on facebook with that chinese girl or are you a chinese girl