Can God change his/her mind?

G

Greco

Registered Senior Member
First let's assume an all powerful God. My question then is can God change his/her mind?

Suppose there's a future event in the space time contineum that God wants to be fulfilled. Can God now change his mind and prevent that event from happening?

If the answer is yes he can change his mind does that mean in the initial stages of his plans he wasnt aware that he might change the plan in the future? After all if he knew that he would change his plan then why not change the plan initialy.

If the answer is no he can not change his mind doesnt that limit his powers?

Perplexed.
 
Since God is all-powerful if God decides something
it is done. However God can remain undecided and
so allow himself to change his mind. I think
your asking for God to do something undefined.
God cannot do something surely and change his mind.

One apparant change of mind appears when
God tests Abraham. However the verse
only reads "there you shall offer a sacrafice".
Abraham did in reality offer Issac but God declined.
 
" However God can remain undecided and
so allow himself to change his mind."


If God remains undecided it means that he lacks information to make a decision. How can that be when he has the power of foreknowledge and can look into the future for any information he needs for a decision.
 
Originally posted by Greco
If God remains undecided it means that he lacks information to make a decision. How can that be when he has the power of foreknowledge and can look into the future for any information he needs for a decision.
Click to expand...

Likewise, if you say that God can/did change his mind, then he must have not known the outcome of the scenario in the first place.
 
This is why many people are strong atheists toward the Xian God. An indication of God changing his mind is inconsistent with the definition of omniscience.
 
Originally posted by spuriousmonkey
it almost sounds like god has no free will.
Click to expand...

Not after the initial "creation".

Which is why we don't experiences "miracles" all the time.

If God does/did exist (s)he created the universe and set the rules.

Science is the attempt to understand those rules.
God, is irrelevant, ouside the ponderance of the instant of creation, which I don't think is possible to ever prove.

Pragmatically speaking, God, therefore, is of no real consequence in this life.
 
If i give you my credit card i can't have my budget plan rigid. i have to pay for your expenditure too. however that can't exceed the credit limit. oh, how many times i see someone being happy proving god as an idiot on the assumption he could create but could not plan... enjoy your new found religion.
 
everneo,

If i give you my credit card i can't have my budget plan rigid. i have to pay for your expenditure too. however that can't exceed the credit limit. oh, how many times i see someone being happy proving god as an idiot on the assumption he could create but could not plan... enjoy your new found religion.
Click to expand...

I have no idea what your saying by the above example. What does a limited credit limit have to do with God's omnipotence? Please clairify your example a little better.
 
Originally posted by Greco
First let's assume an all powerful God. My question then is can God change his/her mind?

Suppose there's a future event in the space time contineum that God wants to be fulfilled. Can God now change his mind and prevent that event from happening?

If the answer is yes he can change his mind does that mean in the initial stages of his plans he wasnt aware that he might change the plan in the future? After all if he knew that he would change his plan then why not change the plan initialy.

If the answer is no he can not change his mind doesnt that limit his powers?

Perplexed.
Click to expand...
If the event in question involves human beings then all bets are off because God gave us free will, which was probably a mistake on his part, because that gives us the ability to do things that no being can possibly predict including us.:D
 
Re: Re: Can God change his/her mind?

Originally posted by revbill2001
If the event in question involves human beings then all bets are off because God gave us free will, which was probably a mistake on his part, because that gives us the ability to do things that no being can possibly predict including us.:D
Click to expand...

Then you are saying that God is NOT omnipotent or omniscient since (s)he can't predict what humans will do?
 
Originally posted by Greco
First let's assume an all powerful God. My question then is can God change his/her mind?

Suppose there's a future event in the space time contineum that God wants to be fulfilled. Can God now change his mind and prevent that event from happening?
Click to expand...

No, God, as you defined, cannot change his/her mind. In fact God loses his/her freewill once a specific set of actions takes place, because it would cause God to negate him/her self.

a.God is all powerful=Time has no meaning=exists outside of time
b.God is all powerful=infinite capacity for knowledge/understanding
c.God is all powerful= everywhere at once


a+b=infallibility (d.)

Typical christian god right? all powerful, all knowing, etc.

God creates something God knows before hand how everything will turn out so if there is an undesired effect, it isn't created in the first place. To 'change his/her mind' at a later doubt would
1.) show that god was unsure or didn't know something at a prior time.
2.) make the previous choice 'wrong', making god wrong for choosing it.

Now both are impossible because of d., so from the point of gaining omnipotence, god no longer really has freewill. Things happen because they have to happen that way.

So then there are only two possible conclusions from that.
(assuming god exists in the predefined way of course)

Either god answers to a higher power, because he /she can only act in a set way (set by whom?) or if it is self dictated, then not only does god lose free will, but consciousness also. *(ie, God is the universe and must obey its own rules)

*edit=Ok, consciousness can possibly be kept, but its tricky.
 
Last edited:
Things happen because they have to happen that way.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, God has already decided the course of events- how they will be and what all will happen. Hence how can God changing his/her mind be explained. Unless God planned beforehand that he/she would change his/her mind.
 
Before what?
Basically, god can't change his/her mind before or after anything. Time has no meaning for god.If you impose the barier of movement through time on god, he/she suddenly ceases to be omnipotent.
 
Exactly. So God cannot change his mind. So won't that impose limitations on God? God the all knowing- not being able to reverse his own decision? One of the reasons I don't believe in him anymore.
 
God is all powerfull. It doesnt freakin matter if you debate his power. He still can do anything he wants. God is infallible. God gives everyone free will. God doesnt make mistakes, his creations make mistakes. God has a plan for everyone.The plan is optional, and if you follow it you will benifit from it. But you dont got to follow it. Since we have free will. Perhaps God doesnt make mistakes? Perhaps he would let things happend the way they happend and only interfere sometimes?If God knows what things he will do...doesnt mean he doesnt have free will. God could change the things he can do if he wanted too; just for the heck of it.
Btw, if God exists out time isnt it impossible for a "future" and "past" for God?We cant comprehend this though since we always lived in the universe, which has time.It's like a 2 dimensional world. You draw something on a piece of paper. Lets say this drawing can move around. You draw a box around it..and it cant escape. Now some one comes who lives in three demensions and lifts the flattie out . The flattie is obviously puzzled since the flattie never lived in the third demension. Obviously he cant do the stuff what a three demensoinal being can do..nor understand a three demesnional world. People=flattie
God=Three demensional person (this is just an example, not saying that god lives in three demensions)
 
Last edited:
If God remains undecided it means that he lacks information to make a decision. How can that be when he has the power of foreknowledge and can look into the future for any information he needs for a decision.
Click to expand...
Not so. He cannot look into the future and see if
a baby will go to heaven or hell.
 
Not so. He cannot look into the future and see if a baby will go to heaven or hell.
Click to expand...

How can that be? Hasn't God already planned the future? Dosen't he know all that is to come?
 
The Riddle of Epicurus

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top