Would an Omnipotent being have a Need/Want to do ANYTHING?

[mitty]

That thought itself was a prefect thought as all thoughts are perfect. But being a question it was without an answer. God wanted to know that answer.

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Wow. If you truly believe that, then you had me fooled. You must be an Athiest on here being sarcastic. pretending to be a Religious person!



If not, then how do you NOT see that statement as being Contrary to an "All Knowing" being!???

I mean, how can you say he had a question...........WITHOUT AN ANSWER!!???? THAT is NOT an ALL KNOWING being! All Knowing means he knows EVERYTHING. There is NOTHING he does not know. That is one part of being Omnipotent!


Again I say, I'm not sure if you are being serious with that statement.


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I don't know about the NT god, but the OT writers didn't think that their god was either omniscient or omnipresent (eg Gen 18:20-33), so I wonder if it made the right hasty decision, and perhaps should have zapped Mr Lot instead for trying to pimp his daughters to a group of old men & boys and later sexually assaulting them in an isolated cave.

[FarWanderer]

Think about this in an Honest, Serious way. If you do, you will see that IF there is some "God", it most certainly is NOT All Powerful, Perfect, and Omnipotent.

I think Spinoza's God could qualify.

The difficult part for Christianity isn't really the "omnis", it's attaching the attribute "personal" onto them.

It is that we are limited in what we can know and do that itself makes us personal, individual beings. In other words, a perfect being is not a being at all.

[instantc]

There is NO "EXCEPT" in Perfection, THAT is my point. Then you say it has a "NEED" to love...........well you said it right there. If it NEEDS ANYTHING, then it LACKS that which it NEEDS! If it were "Perfect" in Every Way, there would be no "Excepts" and no "NEED"......as it would already Lack NOTHING. It would already HAVE that which a Non-Perfect being would Need.

Fine, suppose God needs human love, and otherwise it is perfect. So it is not perfect, it is almost perfect. What's your argument now?

[10CC]

There is NO "EXCEPT" in Perfection, THAT is my point. Then you say it has a "NEED" to love...........well you said it right there. If it NEEDS ANYTHING, then it LACKS that which it NEEDS! If it were "Perfect" in Every Way, there would be no "Excepts" and no "NEED"......as it would already Lack NOTHING. It would already HAVE that which a Non-Perfect being would Need.

Fine, suppose God needs human love, and otherwise it is perfect. So it is not perfect, it is almost perfect. What's your argument now?

Then your god is not THE god and is therefore inconsequential in a discussion about THE god.

[instantc]

There is NO "EXCEPT" in Perfection, THAT is my point. Then you say it has a "NEED" to love...........well you said it right there. If it NEEDS ANYTHING, then it LACKS that which it NEEDS! If it were "Perfect" in Every Way, there would be no "Excepts" and no "NEED"......as it would already Lack NOTHING. It would already HAVE that which a Non-Perfect being would Need.

Fine, suppose God needs human love, and otherwise it is perfect. So it is not perfect, it is almost perfect. What's your argument now?

Then your god is not THE god and is therefore inconsequential in a discussion about THE god.

Or perhaps it is the God, but those who claimed God to be perfect were slightly mistaken about God's qualities in saying that God is perfect, while in reality God is almost perfect.

[10CC]

There is NO "EXCEPT" in Perfection, THAT is my point. Then you say it has a "NEED" to love...........well you said it right there. If it NEEDS ANYTHING, then it LACKS that which it NEEDS! If it were "Perfect" in Every Way, there would be no "Excepts" and no "NEED"......as it would already Lack NOTHING. It would already HAVE that which a Non-Perfect being would Need.

Fine, suppose God needs human love, and otherwise it is perfect. So it is not perfect, it is almost perfect. What's your argument now?

Then your god is not THE god and is therefore inconsequential in a discussion about THE god.

Or perhaps it is the God, but those who claimed God to be perfect were slightly mistaken about God's qualities in saying that God is perfect, while in reality God is almost perfect.

Or perhaps those who created whichever god they created, created it imperfect because they themselves were imperfect and were incapable of understanding perfection?

[Divine Insight]

This thread is a perfect example of imperfection in full bloom.

[Reverend Richard]

Be honest, and think about that.

IF there were this "Perfect" being, it would Want NOTHING. It would Need NOTHING. Why? Because it would Lack NOTHING! It would just.....Be. It would Just...Exist.

I think this concept is at least close to correct.

I'll leave you with this:


"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

-Epicurus

While it's obvious what Epicurus is getting at here, it's not much different from what I believe is the error in all Abrahamic religions - that is, words (scripture written by man) puts God in a box and says that God must be this way, but not that way.

In order to please God we must worship God this way, but not that way. All the while, God remains neutral, while life with its ups and downs carries on without either His help nor His interest. That places humans in the position of trying to label life's outcomes (good or bad) as either a blessing from God, a curse from God, or the work of the Devil!

[bluethread]

My answer is the same as the scientific humanist's answer regarding the universe. It just is. Adonai has said, "I AM THAT I AM". No need no want. He just is and what He has created is what He has created. He will bless whom He will bless and curse whom He will curse. I am blessed in that He has provided me with instructions on how I am to live. Dayenu.

All you are saying here is that you are determined to believe in your religion whether it makes any sense or not. That's all.

No, that is not all I am saying. I am saying what the scientific humanists say about the universe. The question of the OP is how can there be a deity, if we do not have details regarding that deities motivations. The scientific humanists say that there is a certain amount of matter/energy in the universe, that amount has always been here and that amount can not be increased or diminished. It is what it is. There need not be a reason for the universe to be as it is. That appears to be a sufficient explanation for the scientific humanists, why is it not an acceptable explanation for a theist? When was the last time a scientific humanist was challenged on why a random universe does not act in a random manner, and what was the answer?

[Goat]

My answer is the same as the scientific humanist's answer regarding the universe. It just is. Adonai has said, "I AM THAT I AM". No need no want. He just is and what He has created is what He has created. He will bless whom He will bless and curse whom He will curse. I am blessed in that He has provided me with instructions on how I am to live. Dayenu.

All you are saying here is that you are determined to believe in your religion whether it makes any sense or not. That's all.

No, that is not all I am saying. I am saying what the scientific humanists say about the universe. The question of the OP is how can there be a deity, if we do not have details regarding that deities motivations. The scientific humanists say that there is a certain amount of matter/energy in the universe, that amount has always been here and that amount can not be increased or diminished. It is what it is. There need not be a reason for the universe to be as it is. That appears to be a sufficient explanation for the scientific humanists, why is it not an acceptable explanation for a theist? When was the last time a scientific humanist was challenged on why a random universe does not act in a random manner, and what was the answer?

Why?? That's because people LOVE stories, and some people need to be given a 'purpose'. For some, that is what they need.