"Can God surprise himself?"
Whom ever is asking this question is showing their ignorance of God. They at least admit (if only for the sake of argument) that God is both omniscient and omnipotent what they don't realize is that God is also a triune being and He answers their question Himself in His own word. Jesus being fully God tells us Himself that He doesn't know everything and in fact will Himself be "surprised".
Mar 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
So yes an omniscient and omnipotent God can surprise Himself.
Rock argument against God's omnipotence and omniscience?
- Ngakunui
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Re: Rock argument against God's omnipotence and omniscience?
I find that the type of reasoning people have towards the subject is why they're so confused.
Honestly: reality is not confined to the same concepts that human language is. It may seem silly at first that reality is actually unrestrained by how people perceive it, but if you can imagine all the incorrect, minor assumptions people have made that "logically" speaking should have been correct, it's not too hard to figure out. Just don't think within your language.
But on the topic, the question assumes that God already has made a rock that he cannot, for whatever reasons, move. Something is really only impossible for God if he chooses for it to be. In other words, He can create a giant rock on some distant world- if he decides not to move it for all eternity, and promises not to, then it's impossible for him to do because he decided not to move it. It's silly to say he "made something too heavy", because it's assuming that he's confined not only to the partially observed nature of "laws" of the universe, but to a very linear, and eventually self-contradictory linear way of thinking.
As for if God could be surprised, that also depends if he wants to be or not.
I don't mean to be acting like the Spanish Inquisition to anybody, but the nature of the question seems to almost be asking if God has any weaknesses, and what they are. As if it's meant to make people question his authority, and make some concerned.
Honestly: reality is not confined to the same concepts that human language is. It may seem silly at first that reality is actually unrestrained by how people perceive it, but if you can imagine all the incorrect, minor assumptions people have made that "logically" speaking should have been correct, it's not too hard to figure out. Just don't think within your language.
But on the topic, the question assumes that God already has made a rock that he cannot, for whatever reasons, move. Something is really only impossible for God if he chooses for it to be. In other words, He can create a giant rock on some distant world- if he decides not to move it for all eternity, and promises not to, then it's impossible for him to do because he decided not to move it. It's silly to say he "made something too heavy", because it's assuming that he's confined not only to the partially observed nature of "laws" of the universe, but to a very linear, and eventually self-contradictory linear way of thinking.
As for if God could be surprised, that also depends if he wants to be or not.
I don't mean to be acting like the Spanish Inquisition to anybody, but the nature of the question seems to almost be asking if God has any weaknesses, and what they are. As if it's meant to make people question his authority, and make some concerned.
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Re: Rock argument against God's omnipotence and omniscience?
I'm with you. Can God walk from Central Park to Fifth Avenue taking two steps forward and two steps back? According the accepted "laws" as we know them, then No. But to think like this is wrong: God simply doesn't exist within the boundary of accepted "norms" that we do. So God might well be-able to combat my obove scenario. We have no idea what any of this means from "God's side".LXX wrote:Can God create at a rock so heavy he can not lift it and can God suprise himself?
NO!....Theology lesson over with. To limit God with our understanding of science and math and any other human undersatnding is to make God smaller than He is. Watch Rob Bell's "everything is spiritual" video and this might help.
God bless
LXX
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