Why would an omnipotent God rest after working for 6 literal or figurative days? Did creation require 6 "days" worth of effort? If God creates mulitple universes for weeks on end without rest, would he suffer? Would the quality of further creation suffer due to lack of rest?
Or does omnipotence imply effortlessness and creation took 6 days instead of an instant because that's God wanted it to take 6 days? That God rested only in the sense that he stopped working?
Does omnipotence imply effortlessness?
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ttruscott
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Re: Does omnipotence imply effortlessness?
Post #11I would suggest GOD does not need to rest but HIS rest / end of work was a symbol for us, HIS sinful elect, of our return to HIM and rest / end of work from toil and suffering: Heb 4:8 Now if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.…Bust Nak wrote: Why would an omnipotent God rest after working for 6 literal or figurative days?
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GOD did not stop working in HIS creation but HE may have stopped creating by divine decrees of creation...That God rested only in the sense that he stopped working?
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.
Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
PCE Theology as I see it...
We had an existence with a free will in Sheol before the creation of the physical universe. Here we chose to be able to become holy or to be eternally evil in YHWH's sight. Then the physical universe was created and all sinners were sent to earth.
This theology debunks the need to base Christianity upon the blasphemy of creating us in Adam's sin.
We had an existence with a free will in Sheol before the creation of the physical universe. Here we chose to be able to become holy or to be eternally evil in YHWH's sight. Then the physical universe was created and all sinners were sent to earth.
This theology debunks the need to base Christianity upon the blasphemy of creating us in Adam's sin.
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Bust Nak
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Post #12
The consensus form Christians seems to be that God as an omnipotent being, does not need to rest and can continue to perform miracles after miracle with a mere thought in an instant, without having to strain himself; but chooses to do things differently when it suits him.
As for "effort" meaing "conscious exertion of power," some of the synonyms of "exert" is strain, struggle, toil. That is the kind of effort I was taking about.
As for "effort" meaing "conscious exertion of power," some of the synonyms of "exert" is strain, struggle, toil. That is the kind of effort I was taking about.
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JehovahsWitness
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Post #13
While I agree with what you said (with the exception of "toil" see below), I think it's worth pointing out that "to strain" (for example) means to exert added or excessive energy. Since we are finite in our energy resources we tend to equate added expenditure with decrease in reserve. However, for a God with an infinite amount of energy increased effort results in no change in his energy level. If you take ten from an infinite number ... you are still left with... an infinite number. Thus whatever "strain" or "struggle" God choses to engage in, by definition, if we are talking about a decrease in energy level, an omnipotent God cannot get tired.Bust Nak wrote: The consensus form Christians seems to be that God as an omnipotent being, does not need to rest and can continue to perform miracles after miracle with a mere thought in an instant, without having to strain himself; but chooses to do things differently when it suits him.
As for "effort" meaing "conscious exertion of power," some of the synonyms of "exert" is strain, struggle, toil. That is the kind of effort I was taking about.
JW
Thus it would not be strictly speaking accurate to speak of God "toiling" if we take the definition below
TOIL Definition
1 : long strenuous fatiguing labor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toil
Toil (noun)
noun
1.
hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/toil
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Willum
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Post #14
[Replying to post 13 by JehovahsWitness]
It is an easy reply...
But you as a man, or the interpreters of the Bible, have no real understanding of omnipotence.
The ability to do anything in the universe, is omnipotence, but it may not be the ability to do anything at all.
No matter HOW much power this creature has, if it is directed against itself, it cancels out. That is an unavoidable constraint.
So rather than ask if there is a rock so big God can't life it, you can ask if God can direct his efforts against himself...
The answer is, of course, just as we can push one hand against the other so to could a God.
So, taking those two premises, we find that defining God as having infinite energy is not appropriate, and an unnecessary assumption.
So to with the creation, if it required effort on your God's part, efforts requiring it exert against itself, then God can still be omnipotent, and yet need to rest.
You'll notice what a powerful compliment this is to your own link, and you may wish to contribute here:
viewtopic.php?t=33511
It is an easy reply...
But you as a man, or the interpreters of the Bible, have no real understanding of omnipotence.
The ability to do anything in the universe, is omnipotence, but it may not be the ability to do anything at all.
No matter HOW much power this creature has, if it is directed against itself, it cancels out. That is an unavoidable constraint.
So rather than ask if there is a rock so big God can't life it, you can ask if God can direct his efforts against himself...
The answer is, of course, just as we can push one hand against the other so to could a God.
So, taking those two premises, we find that defining God as having infinite energy is not appropriate, and an unnecessary assumption.
So to with the creation, if it required effort on your God's part, efforts requiring it exert against itself, then God can still be omnipotent, and yet need to rest.
You'll notice what a powerful compliment this is to your own link, and you may wish to contribute here:
viewtopic.php?t=33511
