MisterGreen

He does know everything, but in a way that maintains free will. He knows the results of our actions. Every single one. We choose those actions. His omniscence is based upon them. If I saw the future, and it came true, does that mean I made it happen? No. That's the point I'm trying to get across.

Free will is the ability to make a choice, decide b/w A or B. Knowing what can happen as a result of said choice does not take away the ability to make that choice and others following it. We still have free will. No, we do not. From our very first choice that we made we've only made a chain reaction of different choices. If he knows the result from one choice then he knows what the rest of our life is going to be like from the second we come out of the womb. If we make a choice, it opens up many other choices. We choose from them, and God knows what can happen from the various choices we make. He doesn't pre-determine our choices. It's only set in stone if you make it so.

I never said he knows the future, I said he knows the possibilities. The future is to me unknowable, simply by the fact that it does not exist until it takes place, at which point it is no longer the future. He may know how likely it is we will pick each individual possibility, but he cannot "know" which one we will pick because it is not decided until we pick it. (And again with the omnipotent. Omnipotent is all-powerful, not all-knowing. Look it up.) I also never said that anything would happen outside the realm of those possibilities. Just because the possibilities are limited, does not mean everything is predetermined. The Christian God is also omniscient. He cannot be omniscient (and thus, not a Christian God) if he does not know the future. It's very simple. The definition of omniscient is knowing everything infinitely. God knows an infinite amount of futures. But he doesn't control it. Omniscience has nothing to do with control. Simply knowing something that can occur doesn't give you control over something unless you act upon it. So if we eat a cheesecake, he knows everything that could possibly happen to us because of it. But he doesn't make us eat the cheesecake, but he knows what can and will occur if we do. Yes he could control us if he wanted, but he doesn't. Why? He wants us to have freedom of choice. Oh I get it. You're saying that God, who is omniscient and infinitely knowing, does not know what happens after we eat the cheesecake. Wait, what? He knows every possible outcome of every decision we make, but doesn't control our decisions. If we choose to do something, God knows what will happen. His omniscience is based upon our decisions.

I never said he knows the future, I said he knows the possibilities. The future is to me unknowable, simply by the fact that it does not exist until it takes place, at which point it is no longer the future. He may know how likely it is we will pick each individual possibility, but he cannot "know" which one we will pick because it is not decided until we pick it. (And again with the omnipotent. Omnipotent is all-powerful, not all-knowing. Look it up.) I also never said that anything would happen outside the realm of those possibilities. Just because the possibilities are limited, does not mean everything is predetermined. The Christian God is also omniscient. He cannot be omniscient (and thus, not a Christian God) if he does not know the future. It's very simple. The definition of omniscient is knowing everything infinitely. God knows an infinite amount of futures. But he doesn't control it. Omniscience has nothing to do with control. Simply knowing something that can occur doesn't give you control over something unless you act upon it. So if we eat a cheesecake, he knows everything that could possibly happen to us because of it. But he doesn't make us eat the cheesecake, but he knows what can and will occur if we do. Yes he could control us if he wanted, but he doesn't. Why? He wants us to have freedom of choice. So he maintains omniscience and we have free will at the same time.

Tell me, why do we know right from wrong? Most likely, originally, our parents. Or a bible, or our environment. And if we believe god created everything, then that's all from him. Think of it this way. If God created the universe, I would imagine it like setting up a giant domino line, or domino art, or whatever. he flicks the first domino, and everything else is set into motion. While he doesn't directly control what the 1000th domino down the line is doing, what he did in the start, and how he set it up, predetermines it. You can't create free will. It simply is, or isn't. God didn't make the Universe like a long set of dominoes, It's more like God threw billions of different reactive chemicals together and he knows every possible outcome that can occur, and has the power and know how to handle it, but he doesn't know what the outcome of each specific chemical is going to be, and nothing is pre-determined. In other words, life is not so linear. He knows everything you can do, not everything you will do. We have free will.

He doesn't see the future, he knows every future that is possible. You choose the path to take.

God could have, but he didn't do that. Why? He wanted us to choose for ourselves, a creature free from his control and something that could make it's own decisions and choose right or wrong. Like I said, he doesn't want puppets. It's not that God knows everything we will do, He knows everything we can do. We are not pre-programmed like a computer. Sure we know the difference between right and wrong, but when it comes down to it we can choose whatever we want to do.

I think of God like a father. He indirectly caused my existence, he helps me through things, but ultimately I have to make my own decisions.

Did God create everything? If God created everything, is he not responsible for the products of what he created? Do choices come from the genetic and our external experiences working together? Did God create everything that makes up our external experiences? Did God create our genetic makeups? Even if we "choose" to defy God, that doesn't matter because everything that goes into a "choice" was made by God. Everything that analyzes everything that goes into a choice (genetic) was made by God. God is responsible for "sin" even if we choose what we do. He is responsible for every single item that goes into the product of a choice. [/hide] That is where I disagree. He gave us the choice to do what we want. Just because he made us doesn't mean he should be responsible for everything we do. He doesn't want puppets. So he "gave" us the "choice" to do what we want.. doesn't that make him responsible for sin? Everything that goes into a "choice" is made by God.. Yes he made us able to choose for ourselves, but in a random fashion. He simply knows every possible outcome chosen by us.

Can I get a source, please? http://www.biblelife.org/election.htm Just go to Man's choice to good and evil, and read that.

[hide=] Did God create everything? If God created everything, is he not responsible for the products of what he created? Do choices come from the genetic and our external experiences working together? Did God create everything that makes up our external experiences? Did God create our genetic makeups? Even if we "choose" to defy God, that doesn't matter because everything that goes into a "choice" was made by God. Everything that analyzes everything that goes into a choice (genetic) was made by God. God is responsible for "sin" even if we choose what we do. He is responsible for every single item that goes into the product of a choice. [/hide] That is where I disagree. He gave us the choice to do what we want. Just because he made us doesn't mean he should be responsible for everything we do. He doesn't want puppets.

Einstein did believe in God, but not a personal God. http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/einstein.html A little passage from said article- "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings." However, it would also seem that Einstein was not an atheist, since he also complained about being put into that camp: "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."

God gave us the choice to do whatever we like. That's all there is too it. Just because you make something doesn't mean that the creator has full control of it. If I make a kitchen knife, and someone uses it to kill people, is it my fault? No, It is the murderers' fault, I never intended for someone to kill people with it. God could control us if he wanted, but he wants us to decide for ourselves what we should or shouldn't do. I love this conversation- [hide=]The professor of a university challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?" A student answered bravely, "Yes, he did". The professor then asked, "If God created everything, then he created evil. Since evil exists (as noticed by our own actions), so God is evil. The student couldn't respond to that statement causing the professor to conclude that he had "proved" that "belief in God" was a fairy tale, and therefore worthless. Another student raised his hand and asked the professor, "May I pose a question? " "Of course" answered the professor. The young student stood up and asked : "Professor does Cold exists?" The professor answered, "What kind of question is that? ...Of course the cold exists... haven't you ever been cold?" The young student answered, "In fact sir, Cold does not exist. According to the laws of Physics, what we consider cold, in fact is the absence of heat. Anything is able to be studied as long as it transmits energy (heat). Absolute Zero is the total absence of heat, but cold does not exist. What we have done is create a term to describe how we feel if we don't have body heat or we are not hot." "And, does Dark exist?", he continued. The professor answered "Of course". This time the student responded, "Again you're wrong, Sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in fact simply the absence of light. Light can be studied, darkness can not. Darkness cannot be broken down. A simple ray of light tears the darkness and illuminates the surface where the light beam finishes. Dark is a term that we humans have created to describe what happens when there's lack of light." Finally, the student asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" The professor replied, "Of course it exists, as I mentioned at the beginning, we see violations, crimes and violence anywhere in the world, and those things are evil." The student responded, Sir, Evil does not exist. Just as in the previous cases, Evil is a term which man has created to describe the result of the absence of God's presence in the hearts of man. After this, the professor bowed down his head, and didn't answer back. The young man's name was ALBERT EINSTEIN.[/hide]

Since when are you Jesus? Rap is a style of music, how could that lead to hell? (Even if I prefer rock..and yes I'm Christian.) Lol troll. WHAT! He's not jesus. :cry: I know. I'm pointing out the fact that he's not, which makes him wrong.

Since when are you Jesus? Rap is a style of music, how could that lead to hell? (Even if I prefer rock..and yes I'm Christian.) Lol troll.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080209215824AAnrv8G http://www.afb.org/braillebug/askkeller ... ueid=20073 A more reputable source. "As a child, Helen Keller had been told that Mother Nature had made the sky, trees, water, and all living creatures. However, as she grew older, she inquired about God, and was baffled. Her friends tried to tell her that God was the creator, and that he was everywhere, that he knew all the needs, joys, and sorrows of every human life, and that nothing happened without his foreknowledge and providence. Helen Keller was drawn irresistibly to such a glorious, lovable being, and longed to really understand something about him. " "In one of her letters, Helen told Bishop Brooks that she had always known about God, even before she had any words." -my source

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080209215824AAnrv8G

I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I work hard in school, and get decent grades. Never really had a plan though.

I'd love to see your sources. You can't say that everything that is unknown is explained by God. If it's not known, it means we haven't figured it out yet. Keep in mind that once upon a time, there were only four elements. Heh, my source is a video on string theory in chemistry... lol :roll:

Eh, don't get T.V. service. Used to, and I wish I still did. [/spam]

Well the old saying goes that God helps people who help themselves. But praying can help if all else fails. God will bring rain and drought to believers and non-believers. The punishment or reward comes after you die.

It's all about context. There's a time and place where that could and should be discussed. I personally don't want to hear about your sex life. I find it annoying. It's like listening to a male enhancement commercial in real life. . . . Still wish I had tv again though.

You could.. -Write a story (could be a paragraph or a full length novel) -draw -listen to music -read -hang out with some friends -go for a walk -exercize

I think there's a God and Jesus and all that jazz. No way to prove it 100%, but if you think about the formation of the Universe, you get some really crazy stuff. Scientists tried to see what happened during the Big Bang (Or whatever actually happened, could be anything) using a mathematical equation that reversed current paths of galaxies and stuff. What they got was nonesense. So... I think there's more to the formation of the Universe than "l0l 3xpl0shun H4x." Oh, and uh, the reason that God let's people be evil and stuff, it's because he's not a communist. (LOL) We have the freedom to do what we want, and when we die we get get graded, so to speak. The laws from way back in the old testament were relevant at the time period... Now it seems shocking because our culture differences.