[tedquick]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

And yet we keep trying.

Originally Posted by rubicon

God is a concept a thought,a feeling. A person's belief shapes who God is and what he can do. I once asked a priest this question. It is said that God can do anything and all things. The priest said this is true. So, I replied how do you interpret this question. If God can do anything can He build a boulder so heavy that even he could not pick it up? The priest took umbrage at my question. He misunderstood my intent. He regained his composure and then suggested the question was cheap trickery.

I had always believed that such a statement about God can be constructed because humans think too often in linear terms or because we think of events in a dichotomy. Essentially like every person ever born I too have struggled with this concept of God. I have come to a compromise with myself that i will never know the truth while my heart beats. If God exists he knows my heart and if he knows my heart and He does exist then my future is in his safe hands

PS Anyone interested in explaining the boulder puzzle?

I cannot answer the boulder question but instead offer for your consideration the following: God has always been and will always be. What does that mean? And there are innumerable other questions, which by their very nature are directly related to our “God question” (since He created everything) like; what really is time and what is eternity? If the universe did not exist before the Big Bang, and if that space were a void, then what was in the place of the void? If there was nothing, then what was in nothing’s place? Is it even possible to have nothing? Can nothing, in and of itself, even exist? Can it stand alone? These and similar questions can drive one crazy (personally, I literally get dizzy).

But then, is our search for these and other similar questions the very reason that God gave us curiosity in the first place, so that we would search for the unknown, so that we would try to fill in the blanks? We can surmise that, “We are not to know in this life, but our attempts to solve the unknown bring us closer to God”. Or maybe there is some metaphysical answer not resolvable or provable by using the scientific method, or perhaps the opposite is true.

I cannot answer these kinds of questions; I only know that the search for the answers adds another layer of fascination and excitement to the already nearly indefinable joy of life.

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by rubicon

God is a concept a thought,a feeling. A person's belief shapes who God is and what he can do. I once asked a priest this question. It is said that God can do anything and all things. The priest said this is true. So, I replied how do you interpret this question. If God can do anything can He build a boulder so heavy that even he could not pick it up? The priest took umbrage at my question. He misunderstood my intent. He regained his composure and then suggested the question was cheap trickery.

I had always believed that such a statement about God can be constructed because humans think too often in linear terms or because we think of events in a dichotomy. Essentially like every person ever born I too have struggled with this concept of God. I have come to a compromise with myself that i will never know the truth while my heart beats. If God exists he knows my heart and if he knows my heart and He does exist then my future is in his safe hands

PS Anyone interested in explaining the boulder puzzle?

Dear Rubicon,
Building on what you said in paragraph two sentence one, many humans have also come to regard their intellect as trustworthy to know what exists and what does not.
The Bible says that God chooses to hide himself from such as seek him based on their own capabilities or merits.

Nothing is impossible with God..
There was a boulder made by God, sinful man ,who chose to rebel, so that the Righteous Holy Father could no longer pick it up.
He sent his Son, who did not sin, to die for the sins of man, in effect, the Son sent by the Father for no other purpose than lifting the boulder.

[rubicon]

The God question has to be an issue of faith because it is the ultimate mystery of our universe. I believe in some manner most of us feel him. But we can make sense of of the why of many world events, tragedies . To me it takes a strong person to say God will provide, God will decide, its in God's hands

[kittygilchrist]

I am in prayer every day against the evil that carries alongside the good. On the topic, does God see the future? Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. The original earth was a paradise, and God is patient, but He will ultimately have a people after His heart.
This is really not easy to discuss in these little boxes.

[Loudoll]

Wish there were a "like" button to push....I like these posts

[tucson]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Does God Know Everything Before It Happens?

I have been thinking a lot about this over the past few weeks. If God can see every action we are going to make in our futures and how these relate to the futures of everyone else, does this mean that is the best of all possible worlds available to us? It is enough to give one a headache.

Maybe Immanuel Kant was right in that we impose space and time on things and these would have no limitation on God. Kant, Immanuel: Metaphysics*[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

God does knows the future, it's all in the bible about what the future holds. If you don't have one, I recommend, The Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation by Tyndale House Publications. You can find it at Barnes Noble, Amazon and other book stores. It is excellent and very easy to understand in today's language.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by rubicon

God is a concept a thought,a feeling. A person's belief shapes who God is and what he can do. I once asked a priest this question. It is said that God can do anything and all things. The priest said this is true. So, I replied how do you interpret this question. If God can do anything can He build a boulder so heavy that even he could not pick it up? The priest took umbrage at my question. He misunderstood my intent. He regained his composure and then suggested the question was cheap trickery.

I had always believed that such a statement about God can be constructed because humans think too often in linear terms or because we think of events in a dichotomy. Essentially like every person ever born I too have struggled with this concept of God. I have come to a compromise with myself that i will never know the truth while my heart beats. If God exists he knows my heart and if he knows my heart and He does exist then my future is in his safe hands

PS Anyone interested in explaining the boulder puzzle?

Maybe I'm taking this wrong, but you say that God is a concept, a thought or an idea. Concepts, thoughts and ideas exist only in the mind of a man. It sounds as though you saying that God doesn't exist. He's only something that we imagine.

Then it seems that you are saying that God can be whatever we want Him to be. It sounds as though you are saying that man creates God. If that's what you think, do you think that man is more powerful than God?

As far as your little trick question for the priest, the answer is yes. God can do anything. Can he make a boulder so big that he can't lift it and then lift it and still be able to say that he created a boulder so big that he couldn't lift it? Yes. Do I understand how that is possible? No, but then again, I am not God.

As you say, we will never fully understand God. We can only listen to what he tells us and understand as much as we can. Someone once said that you cannot read the Bible with your mind. You have to read it with your heart.

[sunnyatlast]

All lessons by this teacher are excellent, and this one pertains to this particular thread topic. I hope it helps all who see and hear it.

Video
The God Who Knows it All
http://skipheitzig.com/teachings_vie...eID=648&q=high

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by sunnyatlast

All lessons by this teacher are excellent, and this one pertains to this particular thread topic. I hope it helps all who see and hear it.

Video
The God Who Knows it All
http://skipheitzig.com/teachings_vie...eID=648&q=high

Thanks. I will check that video out at some time.

[Taltarzac725]

Foreknowledge and Free Will*[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Here is an article from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Free Will and Foreknowledge. It looks very academic IMHO.

[tucson]

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I (GOD) know the plans for YOU", declares the Lord, "plans for GOOD and not evil, to give YOU a future and a HOPE.

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by tucson

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I (GOD) know the plans for YOU", declares the Lord, "plans for GOOD and not evil, to give YOU a future and a HOPE.

And you shall seek me, and you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you...
jer.29:13,14a

[tucson]

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

And you shall seek me, and you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you...
jer.29:13,14a

Yup! Amen, No need to read about the knowledge,sovereignty,and creator of the universe from secular philosophers.:-)

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by tucson

Yup! Amen, No need to read about the knowledge,sovereignty,and creator of the universe from secular philosophers.:-)

Actually, many of these philosophers were very religious men and women. Some even have a Saint in front of their name. And, the Catholic Church as well as other church scholars spent a great deal of time and training analyzing these issues.

[Deseylou]

I needed this thread today
I have to remember that God knows all my worries
I pray daily, but the evil one keeps trying to interrupt
Debbie