God can *****NOT**** be Omniscient?

Question

NOTE: Answers that do not directly relate to the question will be reported without hesitation.


If you truly believe that you have free will, then how can you state that God is truly omniscient? If God does not know what you are going to do, then He is no more omniscient than Mystic Meg, TV Astrologer.

I have used this line of reasoning on several occasions when debating religion with theists, and the effect is quite suprising. Theists are quite happy to debate many aspects of their beliefs, but when it comes to free will, the mental barriers slam down into place.

As an afterthought, if God truly cannot see the future, for whatever reasons, then aren't all religious prophecies/predictions completely worthless? If even God does not know if it will come true, then what's the point of it? Or, if God knows it is going to come true (e.g. a certain person will become King at a certain time) then how could the people involved avoid the outcome - where is their free will? :(

Answer 1

..I have always been of the opinion that he does not know. Assuming he exists, it seems to me he is still in the process of creation (creating). Oh he might have a basic plan, but that does not mean he can & will make it happen. Just like man, I think he is still in the process of learning.

He is Not All Knowing!

..many christians make a lot of False Assumptions...

Answer 2

My question to you is this, are you a parent? The answer is not really important except it might help you understand where I am going with this. Have you ever known your child or someone else to do something before they actually did it? You know the person so well that you know their tendencies and how they are going to react before they actually do. Does this mean they no longer have free will?

This is the same with God. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows us inside and out. Therefore, he knows what our actions are going to be before we do those actions. Can we still choose a different way? Absolutely. Do we still have free-will? Definitely.

As for your afterthought, God shows his ability to see the future by the prophesies that HAVE been fulfilled within the Bible. Prophesies made and fulfilled in the Old Testament, prophesies made of Jesus and His life, etc.

Answer 3

I can no the outcome of something before it happens that dose not mean I caused it to happen.

if something is Omniscient then it knows not only everything about you, but what things you can do. As such it knows all possible outcomes for all possible scenarios as well as which is likely to occur. That dose not mean it chose the decision for the person in question.

Answer 4

For the christian that says that god has no time restraint: that was a sad answer if I ever saw one.


I think you bring up an interesting point though, Pretty.

Also, if god allows us to be tormented by his own creation (teh devil) how is that free will?

Answer 5

"does not the existence of unfastened will advise god isn't omniscient? considering the fact that he doesnt understand what is going to ensue because of the fact we are unfastened to do what we would like.?" Omniscience means that God knows what everybody will do with their unfastened will. "on genuine of that how is it that God did no longer understand that giving human beings unfastened will might lead them to sin?" God giving human beings unfastened will did no longer lead them to sin, it in basic terms made it achievable. "if he DID understand we would sin and reject him then he has despatched maximum folk to hell right away by technique of coming up us and giving us unfastened will." God does not "deliver" human beings to Hell. He in user-friendly terms helps them to circulate down the path that ends up in it in the event that they so want.

Answer 6

God DOES know what we are going to do because he IS omniscient. We do not know what we are going to do because we are not God, can you see into the future?? I didnt think so, neither can I.

Answer 7

Man’s freedom to choose between right and wrong is granted by God Himself. This freedom does not, in any way, limit God’s knowledge nor His powers.

God created man and granted Him the freedom to choose between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ for a limited time and in a very limited area of activities. Man is responsible for the ‘good’ and the ‘evil’ that he does only when such ‘good’ or ‘evil’ is done by man’s freewill. I can easily tell the difference between when, in practical life, I am forced to do ‘evil’ or when ‘evil’ is, unintentionally, wrought through my hands and when I opt to do ‘evil’. While in a state of extreme hunger, I did not have any other option but to steal some bread to keep myself alive. Nevertheless, when I lied on the witness stand and falsely implicated an innocent person, in my greed to earn a few pennies, I knew deep inside that I was free to save myself from the detestable act, had I wanted to. The detestability of my act is not affected, in the least, by whether the Omniscient God, knew about it before I committed it, or not. Thus, my freewill is not affected, in any way, by God’s pre-knowledge of any of my actions.

It should further be kept in mind that all my actions, which emanate from my freewill are not dependent upon God’s pre-knowledge of these actions. I know, through introspection, that I am never forced to do ‘good’ or ‘evil’, when I want to do otherwise. In other words, God’s pre-knowledge of any of our deeds does not affect our deeds in any way. Thus, God’s omniscience does not, in any way, affect man’s freewill.

The Question: ‘Can man do otherwise than what God knew beforehand?’ is only a philosophical question. It has no practical significance at all. It would only have had a practical significance had man known about what God knew beforehand and then would have tried to alter it. As things stand, for all practical purposes, man is responsible for the actions that he commits with freewill and this responsibility of man is not affected by whether God knew about man’s actions beforehand or not. Thus, it would not be very accurate to say that ‘God knows that Tom would commit a grave sin two days later’, on the contrary, it would be more accurate to say that ‘God knows that Tom, with his freewill, would commit a grave sin two days later’.

Now let us consider the relationship between God’s omnipotence and man’s freewill: In the course of the test, during the life of this world, God has granted man the opportunity to do what he wants to do. During this time, God does not, generally, hinder man from carrying out his evil desires nor forces him into doing good. This permission is granted by the Omnipotent and the Omniscient, Himself. Thus, because this freedom is bestowed upon man, by God Himself; because man enjoys this freedom only for the time for which God, Himself, has decided to grant man the privilege; because man enjoys this freedom only in the particular circles of activities, in which God, Himself has allowed man this privilege; because, God shall hold man responsible for the decisions that he takes by utilizing this great privilege; and because even with this great privilege, God has complete control over man, we cannot, therefore, say that man’s freewill, during the life of this world and within a limited circle of activities, refutes God’s omnipotence.

The Question: ‘If God is omnipotent, then why does He not stop man from doing evil?’ is actually based on a lack of appreciation of the concept of test, during the life of this world. God, for the purpose of this test, has decided that He would generally not interfere in man’s decisions. A close analysis would show that had that not been the case, the ‘test’, during the life of this world, would have been impossible. It is, in fact, this lack of direct interference from God, in most of the cases, which makes this ‘test’ possible.

Answer 8

God knows what we will choose. We can select to do wrong or select to do right. It is still our will to do the choosing.

Answer 9

The constraints of time and space that you and I labor under do not apply to the Lord ALLmighty

Answer 10

OMG EXACTLY! Free will and omniscience totally contradict each other!!!!