[DavidL]

Very good questions.

Views of Christianity seem to mix a "knowledge-based doctrines-and-legalism" on the one hand, and a more "existentialist relationship-with-God/Christ" on the other. I lean heavily toward the latter.

From what I've read, this is predominantly a Poker forum, where I would expect arguments to be heavily reliant on probability, logic and philosophy. Perhaps you are seeking these types of answer to your questions; perhaps my response will disappoint you.

To hopefully give you insight into my perspective, I used to find it difficult to understand how God could forgive and forget sins (emphasis on the 'forget') and still remain omniscient. Then I read the (non-Biblical) proverb "Love is not blind – it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less".

God is love. Love is patient and kind. It is not envious, nor proud, nor boastful. It keeps no count of wrongs, it rejoices in the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. Love begs everything, but demands absolutely nothing.

God is omnipotent, but He has shelved his power sufficiently to permit the creation freedom of choice. That is to say, to freely respond in love. Love can not be coerced; it requires a free will response. If the response is negative, love gives all the more, until it can give no more; but God's capacity and desire to give are infinite, and His exhortations stop short only at violating the freedom of response.

That is the purpose of the creation: to ultimately choose eternity with God, or eternity apart from God. This is, I believe, the consummation of the 'tests' that you talk about: underlying all of the commandments and the covenants lies the question of allegiance: do we willingly side with our creator, or set ourselves apart from Him? It is not a question of breaking the rules, then, but of breaking God's heart.

Robots could have been created to forcibly obey laws, if unconditional obedience was God's priority, comprehensive proof of His omnipotence, but to the point where these automatons were effectively nothing more than an extension of God Himself.

This is the consummation of all the commandments: to "love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as you yourself would like to be loved". To give unselfishly and lavishly to others: therein lies true fulfillment, and therein one begins to assimilate the prefect character of one's creator.

Let me try to give another angle on the "existentialist" view. The Bible says on the one hand (as I've already alluded to) "God is love" and "love keeps no count of wrongs" but elsewhere "if you do not forgive your brother, your heavenly Father will not forgive you". An apparently literal contradiction, but not necessarily, if we adopt an experiential angle: "if you choose not to forgive, you will never experience the wonderful freedom and reconciliation that forgiveness brings, and you will alienate yourself from the character of the One who forgives you".

To try to answer some of your questions:
What is God capable of doing? With God, all things are possible.
Can he renounce his powers? I believe that He has, in the manner and to the extent to which I've attempted to describe.
I assume that God is not composed of matter. He is spirit, whatever that means. He is the author of life, and the creator of the substance of the universe: matter, energy and time. He is subject to no-one, thus His capacity to give is totally free.
Could he manifest himself as a human being that dies like everyone else? He has done, in the form of His Son, Jesus.
Can he extinguish the existence of heaven? I guess so, but one feels led to ask why He would want to do this.

The first will be last and the last will be first. He who humbles himself will be exalted. He who wants to be considered greatest must become the servant of all. Society admires, and indeed favors, the wealthy, the strong, the talented; but this is the great reversal: God, who had everything, emptied Himself in order that the creation could be rescued, evil conquered, and a reconciliation effected.

Am I making any sense? Many may disagree, but I find that a doctrine based faith is vulnerable to Biblical emphasis and interpretation. There are so many sects who claim to hold a monopoly on truth, yet their views on what they would consider to be key issues are divergent; they can not all be correct. That is the downside when logic and philosophy are deemed to be the essential instruments in the quest for "religious understanding". It is not about understanding; it is embracing the character of God, as exhibited in the life example of His Son.

Peace and love
David