Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ssc-vax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!akgua!clyde!burl!hou3c!hocda!houxm!hogpc!houti!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!david From: david@ssc-vax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Free will (my 2 cents) Message-ID: <832@ssc-vax.UUCP> Date: Thu, 16-Feb-84 16:11:45 EST Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.832 Posted: Thu Feb 16 16:11:45 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Feb-84 05:38:19 EST Organization: Boeing Aerospace, Seattle Lines: 27 Jon White, in response to Gary Samualson: >If God is truly "outside of time," and capable of travelling into the future to > observe our actions, He must have created the entire lifetime of the universe > at the moment of creation. If He can observe the future, there must be a > future out there for Him to observe. Of course, this means that we are merely > puppets playing out our roles. I don't see how this follows. Watching somebody do something is not the same as making them do it. Personally, I believe that God is not constrained by time; but that is a personal (and not well substantiated) belief. It helps me to get by, and has the advantage that it is not provable (or disprovable). Of course, we are always going to run into the trouble of finite man trying to explain infinite God, but it seems to me that any proof that God has some limit to his power is going to be flawed because it is based on finite reasoning. I often wonder if proponents of such arguments are themselves unaware of the limits that time imposes on their thinking; Jon may demonstrate my point when he said "capable of travelling...". This implies that God can't be in both places at once, and perhaps hints at a personal view of what God is like. No offense intended toward Jon; but I can't help believing God has a few good laughs at some of our conceptions of Him (including, I'm sure, some of my own). But I hope that we agree that the day will come when the Truth will be revealed to us, and we can cast personal prejudices aside. -- David Norris :-) -- uw-beaver!ssc-vax!david