On Omnipotence and the Negation of Free Will

-

 

Omnipotence and the Negation of Free Will

 

If there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent deity, then our concept of free will is an illusion.

Consider this: such a deity (let’s call it God, as so many are wont to do) knows everything you will ever do, every decision you will make, from cradle to grave. It is impossible for you to do anything other than that which he has already seen; you cannot surprise God, you cannot do anything contrary to his plan. Nothing will ever happen that he did not know about beforehand, and in fact directly caused, as the creator/controller of the universe. Were there such a deity (and I’m fairly confident there is not), he would be responsible for every tragedy, every atrocity, every natural disaster humanity has ever endured. If there is such a deity, humanity owes him nothing. In fact, I would say he has some serious explaining to do.

Now, some of you may be saying to yourselves: What about the Devil? Isn’t he responsible? Doesn’t he tempt men to do evil? Great question! Here’s my answer: The very idea of an adversary to an omnipotent being is ridiculous. An all-powerful being could wipe out a “lesser” entity like the Devil (who is, according to Christian mythology, a mere fallen angel) in an instant. The whole game is rigged because one side has literally all the power. So if there is a Devil, sometimes God lets him win. Which is also pretty messed up because it’s the human race that pays the price.

Namaste.

Reverend CJ Carlin

10/24/2021

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 24, 2021 at 2:53 PM

    To this I ask, "if we are all created by this Omnipotent being? thus coming forth from it own loin. Residing within it, seeing as it is everything and everywhere. Is It not the experience, the journey, and the destination? Rather, a question arises, are we all(humanity) this diety being? Like how the ocean is the tsunami. Like how the air creates the tornado. Like the earth creates volcanoes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Sacrifice and the Path

-
  On Sacrifice and the Path   Sacrifice is a prevailing theme of many world religions, whether you are giving up life, time, or money. The idea is that you have to pay for salvation somehow; nothing is free, after all. Some religions have an entire laundry list of things you cannot do, things you must give up entirely in order to practice their faith. Some ask for money, either through tithes or “charitable donations.” The entire Christian faith is based on what is an objectively barbaric form of human sacrifice. The message is clear: to be saved, you must offer up something in return, or forgo something you once indulged in. A sacrifice must be made. Pagan spiritual traditions incorporate energetic reciprocity: to invoke the favors of the gods, certain offerings are made. These offerings can be physical or energetic in nature, either cream and honey to please the Fae folk, or personal psychic energy expended during a healing rite. These sacrifices are more personal (as pagan pra
Read more

Beware the False Dichotomy

-
  The appeal of the dichotomy is understandable. It’s psychologically soothing to have two clear options, so we can act accordingly. Unfortunately, life is messy and complicated, and many of the dichotomies we embrace as a society are not only false, they are actively damaging. Consider the false dichotomy of “fight or flight,” of which I’ve written before. If you believe you only have two possible responses to perceived threat of trauma, you won’t realize that freeze, flop, and friend may be more appropriate to the situation. You could end up punching your boss, because running away is for cowards. Even worse, however, are the dichotomies we apply to sex, sexuality, and gender: you’re either gay or straight, male or female. What we are finally beginning to acknowledge is that these things exist on a spectrum, and the old labels just don’t work anymore. But there are still those who cling to these false dichotomies and refuse to recognize anyone’s identity if it doesn’t fit in a bo
Read more

Path Doctrine on the Seven Deadly Sins

-
  Topic: Path Doctrine on the Seven Deadly Sins Today’s sermon is about the Christian list of seven “deadly sins” and how they relate to Path teachings. Some of these so-called sins are of the body, some are of the mind. But they must be subject to rational dissection so we can extract whatever value they may have. Lust is a body sin, and an easy one. The sex lives of others are none of our business, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult and no harm is being done. If you are not hurting anyone or treating other people as things, feel free to lust after and even have sex with as many people as you want. Greed is one of the sins that you only commit in your head; the only problem with greed is that it can turn you into a power-hungry asshole. But there are wealthy people who still try to make the world a better place, so there is nothing wrong with greed itself. Gluttony is a body sin, and is contrary to the Virtue of Balance. If you find yourself overindulging, mayb
Read more