If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
AverageBozo
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If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

First of all, let’s get the blasphemy out in the open. You are probably not God, however the premise is a starting point to be supported or disputed.

The premise is plausible, though, if not provable to anyone but yourself. After all, isn’t everything you experience the product of your consciousness, sort of like a movie written and directed by you?

IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?

A trivial question, you say? But look at the ramifications: if God were God, how can s/he be omniscient?
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Thomyum2
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by Thomyum2 »

AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am First of all, let’s get the blasphemy out in the open. You are probably not God, however the premise is a starting point to be supported or disputed.

The premise is plausible, though, if not provable to anyone but yourself. After all, isn’t everything you experience the product of your consciousness, sort of like a movie written and directed by you?

IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?

A trivial question, you say? But look at the ramifications: if God were God, how can s/he be omniscient?
The way you've put this is the classic 'loaded question' - like asking 'when did you stop beating your wife?'
In other words:

Q: IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
A: I do know everything.

Or can you put the question a little differently?
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
— Epictetus
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Pattern-chaser
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
How do you know that I don't? 😉
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Steve3007
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by Steve3007 »

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Pattern-chaser
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Pattern-chaser wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:41 am
AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
How do you know that I don't? 😉
More to the point: why do you think I don't know these things, puny mortal?
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AverageBozo
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

Thomyum2 wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:12 am
AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am First of all, let’s get the blasphemy out in the open. You are probably not God, however the premise is a starting point to be supported or disputed.

The premise is plausible, though, if not provable to anyone but yourself. After all, isn’t everything you experience the product of your consciousness, sort of like a movie written and directed by you?

IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?

A trivial question, you say? But look at the ramifications: if God were God, how can s/he be omniscient?
The way you've put this is the classic 'loaded question' - like asking 'when did you stop beating your wife?'
In other words:

Q: IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
A: I do know everything.

Or can you put the question a little differently?
Good point.

Asked differently: how is God omniscient?
AverageBozo
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

Pattern-chaser wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:41 am
AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
How do you know that I don't? 😉
I guess I don’t believe God can be omniscient. I am therefore wondering how it is that many say that God is omniscient.
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AmericanKestrel
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 11:47 am
Thomyum2 wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:12 am
AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 10:03 am First of all, let’s get the blasphemy out in the open. You are probably not God, however the premise is a starting point to be supported or disputed.

The premise is plausible, though, if not provable to anyone but yourself. After all, isn’t everything you experience the product of your consciousness, sort of like a movie written and directed by you?

IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?

A trivial question, you say? But look at the ramifications: if God were God, how can s/he be omniscient?
The way you've put this is the classic 'loaded question' - like asking 'when did you stop beating your wife?'
In other words:

Q: IF you are God, why don’t you know everything from the past, present and future?
A: I do know everything.

Or can you put the question a little differently?
Good point.

Asked differently: how is God omniscient?
Omniscient is not in God’s vocabulary, it is a mortal’s. God is limitless, there is nothing that we know to compare god’s qualities. so no words to describe.
"The Serpent did not lie."
AverageBozo
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

How is it that God is limitless (your word)?
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AmericanKestrel
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 3:45 pm How is it that God is limitless (your word)?
Depends on how you define god. In Advaita god is not a creator god but existence that fills everything, no place where it does not exist, transcends time and space, is causeless.
"The Serpent did not lie."
AverageBozo
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

So God can be defined with omniscience by one religion and defined without omniscience by another—right?
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AmericanKestrel
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

AverageBozo wrote: June 23rd, 2021, 4:04 pm So God can be defined with omniscience by one religion and defined without omniscience by another—right?
Yes, depends on how you define god.
"The Serpent did not lie."
AverageBozo
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AverageBozo »

Thanks.
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LuckyR
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by LuckyR »

Because humans are the smartest animals on earth, we never developed a word to describe beings smarter than humans, besides gods. If you look at Greek gods, they weren't all that smart.

The omniscience idea came much later. But if you think about it, omniscient could mean (to an Iron age thinker) "knows way more than any human". Or it could mean, "knows all information that can be known" (which would exclude the future, for example).

Bottom line, it is intellectually dishonest to apply 21st century definitions to Iron age word usage.
"As usual... it depends."
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AmericanKestrel
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Re: If you are God, why are you not omniscient?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

LuckyR wrote: June 24th, 2021, 2:59 am Because humans are the smartest animals on earth, we never developed a word to describe beings smarter than humans, besides gods. If you look at Greek gods, they weren't all that smart.

The omniscience idea came much later. But if you think about it, omniscient could mean (to an Iron age thinker) "knows way more than any human". Or it could mean, "knows all information that can be known" (which would exclude the future, for example).

Bottom line, it is intellectually dishonest to apply 21st century definitions to Iron age word usage.
If the idea of god, or a being, an existence, is the source of everything, and transcends all three times and space, it is also the source of all knowledge. Since we have nothing else in our universe, within our limited knowledge, to compare such a state, we lack the vocabulary to describe it. It can only be described as what it is not.
Such an idea of god is in itself timeless.
"The Serpent did not lie."
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