Quick Poll: Omnipotent and Omniscient
Offline Another thread has touched on this.. and now.. I just want to take a general poll on the issue and how people go about defending the position-- or, if people even feel as if their position needs defense.
Can an omnipotent/omniscient God create a truly random process so that, while he would know that it was truly random, would not be able to predict it?
This question is similar to the "Can God create a rock so large that even he cannot lift it?"
However, I believe they might be different.. the latter deals with the interplay of one characteristic with itself (and therefore, suggesting a yes/no answer is appropriate is done in err.. purposefully so.). However, the former.. deals with the interplay of two characteristics.
So.. Just wondering. Poll. Yes? No? Why?
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Predictability assumes a linear flow of time. G_d would know the result and that it was perfectly random. There is no prediction here, ther is knowing. Knowing something and predicting something are different.
The sentence below is false.
The sentence above is true.
This sentence doesn't care.
Hmm.. interesting way of putting it.
Blargg... I guess sometime inbetween clicking edit, and the editing page loading, you posted, locking me out... I'm a little ocd on editing posts for spelling, grammar, and logical procession of thought...
So, too appease the spelling Nazi:
Predictability assumes a linear flow of time. G_d, being outside of time, would know the result and that it was perfectly random. There is no prediction here, there is only knowing. Knowing something and predicting something are different.
The sentence below is false.
The sentence above is true.
This sentence doesn't care.
It depends. Is omniscience knowing everything, knowing everything about this moment in time all previous, knowing everything about this moment in time or knowing everything that can be known?
If it is the first then if omniscience is possible then nothing is random. The outcome of every even is already pre-determined. If knowledge about the future is possible then that future is set in stone.
Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!