Kevin Wampler wrote:
> On 11/11/2010 12:34 PM, Darren New wrote:
>> Kevin Wampler wrote:
>>> As a sort of philosophical point,
>>
>> It actually came up during an argument someone was making, pointing out
>> that an omniscient god is contradictory to free will.
> 
> To the best of my knowledge this argument was first dealt with (IIRC) by 
> St. Augustine.  The analogy with the way in that that my knowledge of 
> your *past* actions doesn't mean that they weren't made freely.  If 
> you're willing at accept a view of God existing outside of time, then it 
> doesn't seem to unreasonable to also posit that God's knowledge doesn't 
> conflict with free will in much the same way.

That's generally the argument I've heard, yes. Or succinctly, it's not that 
God knows what you'll do, it's that God will always have known what you did. :-)

>> an omniscient god is contradictory to logic at all
> 
> How so?  I only see an obvious argument like that for a particular sort 
> of omnipotent God, rather than a merely omniscient one.

If God is omniscient, then he knows whether every program will halt or not.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Serving Suggestion:
     "Don't serve this any more. It's awful."

Post a reply to this message