How do/don't you rationalize God

Sebbybear said:
Can't edit my post, so sorry for posting twice. Why does a perfect being need open will? What exactly IS "open will?" Is that the ability to make choices? Because that's only a thing in a temporal setting and can't possibly apply in a situation where all times are one. Are we defining a perfect being, or a regular being that takes perfect actions?
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Can you please give me links to websites that explains such questions or any rare knowledge about God.
 
I don't know about websites, but if you're interested in theology, there are a lot of great books about it! Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica is a ponderous beast and it takes forever to get through, but if you want to go deeper than "common knowledge," this is THE foundational text on pretty much everything God-related. I'm Catholic, so most else of what I recommend is going to be Catholic, too, but if that's okay with you, I've got more... :D

As far as God existing outside of time, Thomas Aquinas lays out logically why that must be the case, but a lot of the things I say about it just have to do with the fact that I find that an interesting state to be in, and I think about it a lot. :)
 
Sorry again! Why is there a time limit for editing???

I say neither free will nor predestination really exist in situations where there is no time, because each action/decision necessarily has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and is preceded by causes and succeeded by effects, etc. But if time isn't a factor, then the things you do are less like actions and more like facets of what you are. Basically, if all times are one, everything you "do" happens instantly and at the same time, and is all part of the greater "you" that exists all at once in this strange timeless space. When people see God doing or saying things, what they're experiencing, from his perspective, is kinda like a cross-section of his existence. When we say "perfect being," we could also say, "perfect IN being."

So appropriate that he introduces himself as, "I am."
 
Sebbybear said:
I don't know about websites, but if you're interested in theology, there are a lot of great books about it! Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica is a ponderous beast and it takes forever to get through, but if you want to go deeper than "common knowledge," this is THE foundational text on pretty much everything God-related. I'm Catholic, so most else of what I recommend is going to be Catholic, too, but if that's okay with you, I've got more... :D

As far as God existing outside of time, Thomas Aquinas lays out logically why that must be the case, but a lot of the things I say about it just have to do with the fact that I find that an interesting state to be in, and I think about it a lot. :)
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Are you a proponent of Natural Law Theory?
 
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Sebbybear said:
Can't edit my post, so sorry for posting twice. Why does a perfect being need open will? What exactly IS "open will?" Is that the ability to make choices? Because that's only a thing in a temporal setting and can't possibly apply in a situation where all times are one. Are we defining a perfect being, or a regular being that takes perfect actions?
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No, open will is not the ability to make choices. I'm speaking in the terminology of a framework that I developed, called Open Monism. Since you're not familiar with it, I would need to lay out the argument in more detail first, with the required definitions of terms. I will do it when I have more time – hopefully at some point this weekend. :)

And we are defining a perfect being, not a regular being that takes a perfect actions.
 
Pin said:
Are you a proponent of Natural Law Theory?
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Yes, you could say that. I'm at least severely skeptical of the idea of right and wrong being subjective.

Ren said:
No, open will is not the ability to make choices. I'm speaking in the terminology of a framework that I developed, called Open Monism. Since you're not familiar with it, I would need to lay out the argument in more detail first, with the required definitions of terms. I will do it when I have more time – hopefully at some point this weekend. :)

And we are defining a perfect being, not a regular being that takes a perfect actions.
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Sounds good! I look forward to hearing it. :) But, uh, when explaining things, please try to start at the beginning. I'm smart, but not well-educated in philosophy. (I had to Google "Natural Law Theory.")
 
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