Is God finite or in-finite?

by gubberningbody 8 Replies latest jw friends

  • gubberningbody
    gubberningbody

    If God is finite, then how did he come to be?

    If God is-infinite, what does it mean to say "God exists!" when existence is defined by boundary conditions and the in-finite is not?

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Interesting. In pantheism, 'god' is everything. We are all god. It;s hard to describe the 'god' of pantheism. The only way, reallly, is for the other to experience it. Must be infinite.

    S

  • gubberningbody
    gubberningbody

    That's the rub, Satan.

    The business of being is to be finite.

    To exist is to be finite.

    No actual infinities "exist", "potential" infinities do, but the term "actual" as applied to infinities is oxymoronic.

  • Farkel
    Farkel

    Such concepts are incomprehensible to humans at this stage of our development.

    Farkel

  • Narkissos
    Narkissos

    You might find Paul Tillich interesting.

  • gubberningbody
    gubberningbody

    I'll look into him Narkissos.

    I haven't spent much time reading the thoughts of theologians because I find them doing things to or with philosophy to bolster ideas they've already decided must remain. (Of course with my ADD I often kick an author to the curb if he or she can't get to the point. In my world, I'm the only one that gets to filibuster with my time.)

    Fark,

    I submit that suggesting that an idea that violates the law of identity will in time become comprehensible is to suggest that some day mathematics will cease to be valid.

  • Elsewhere
    Elsewhere

    Before we can answer this question we must first:

    1. Identify the measureable properties of this deity
    2. Construct a device which may be used to measure the properties of this deity
    3. Use this device to collect data about the deity
    4. Use data to calculate the age of the deity
    5. Use data to calculate how long the deity will persist
    6. Profit!

    (For those of you who are South Park impaired, #6 is a South Park joke.)

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Gubber

    'No actual infinities "exist", "potential" infinities do'

    Actually, POTENTIAL is a term that i sometimes used to describe the pantheist 'god'.

    S

  • gubberningbody
    gubberningbody

    I like #6 the best, Elsewhere

    In any case there are numerous problems associated with the business of dealing with a finite deity (which is to say, one that exists).

    In many ways this problem has the appearance of the same problems faced by particle physicists:

    You have to take measurements of some phenomena which does not fit into a given model.

    What are these?

    What phenomena exists which has no explanation at present?

    Natural law?

    Organizational principles?

    Why something rather than nothing exists?

    (I'll come back to this)

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