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Old 09-20-2005, 05:33 AM
VanVeen VanVeen is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 78
Default Re: Do Christians (or Jews) Need God to see the Future.

The short answer to your question is "no", though I'm sure many theologians have defined omniscience such that it encompasses knowledge of futurity.

Let's dig a little deeper, shall we?

Omniscience is traditionally defined as knowledge of all true propositions. What does this mean? Well, it depends on who you ask! Many philosophers recognize limitations on the class of all true propositions an entity must know to qualify as omniscient. The incompatability of foreknowledge with the notion that human beings possess 'free will' has led many believers to argue that true propositions about the future do not exist. Alternatively, some have argued that while true propositions about the future may in fact exist, there is a sub-class of indexical propositions knowable only to entities with causal and temporal constraints (God, as he's usually defined, has neither!). In the latter case, God knows only those truths which are knowable given his nature as an eternal, unconstrained entity.

When discussing 'God' and his divine attributes one should always keep in mind that we define both God the concept and the attributes he possesses. You can't say, "well, in order to be omnipotent God must be able to do things which are logically impossible; since I am an amateur logician and I find that nonsensical, God is BS". That's a grade 8 argument against God's existence and betrays an ignorance of philosophy in general, not to mention modern analytic philosophy. Acknowledge this and many of the arguments on this forum dissolve in a flash. There are *highly sophisticated arguments on both sides* these days. Be best to brush up on your literature.

You can take it from there, I hope.
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