• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Can God remember everything?

BoogieWoogieWookie

Thinker
BoogieWoogieWookie
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
243
Location
USA in the Bible Belt
Ok. I don't start many threads here because there is just so much stuff that has already been discussed. This is particularly true of religion and threads discussing the existence or nature of God.

I would be interested in seeing responses to this question from both believers and non-believers. It presents somewhat of a paradox considering all the "omni" designations usually attributed to God. Theists, please do not reply that this is one of those unknowable, forbidden questions. I am looking for thoughtful speculation and any conclusions the question might lead to.

Anyway, the question is, can God remember the very first thing that he did?
 
BoogieWoogieWookie said:
Ok. I don't start many threads here because there is just so much stuff that has already been discussed. This is particularly true of religion and threads discussing the existence or nature of God.

I would be interested in seeing responses to this question from both believers and non-believers. It presents somewhat of a paradox considering all the "omni" designations usually attributed to God. Theists, please do not reply that this is one of those unknowable, forbidden questions. I am looking for thoughtful speculation and any conclusions the question might lead to.

Anyway, the question is, can God remember the very first thing that he did?
Click to expand...

Since god is eternal and unchangeable he never had a first thought.
 
BoogieWoogieWookie said:
Anyway, the question is, can God remember the very first thing that he did?
Click to expand...
If you accept the standard Christian model of God being a continuum, and always present (omnipresent) in the past, present, and future, then "memory" is an irrelevant attribute, since for God it is always "now" though we do not function that way.

If you accept a different model, wherein God is bound by a timeline, there is no reason that an immortal wouldn't have a perfect memory, particularly of his/her own actions. Likewise, an immortal might now and again forget ... what was it I was talking about? :D

To answer you question: can God remember the very first thing that he did?

The answer for the second model is yes. God can.
 
Last edited:
tsig said:
Since god is eternal and unchangeable he never had a first thought.
Click to expand...

Does that mean he never had any thoughts? If god is eternal and unchangeable, and he existed before the universe, then what would have caused god to create the universe?

What would cause something unchanging and perfect to do something it wasn't already doing?
 
Third Eye Open said:
Does that mean he never had any thoughts? If god is eternal and unchangeable, and he existed before the universe, then what would have caused god to create the universe?
Click to expand...
A thought, or a non-thought. Either is an appropriate response.
What would cause something unchanging and perfect to do something it wasn't already doing?
Click to expand...
It felt like changing to something more perfect. :confused:
 
Since he managed to give Moses two different sets of the "Ten Commandments" (the repeat being required when Moses dropped the first set), it's obvious that his memory is even worse than mine. Unless,of course, the differences were intentional. In which case He certainly is very devious. :covereyes
 
Also, I don't think God has done anything "first" yet to remember. There is no first cause or ending for that matter, to compare a "first" to.

Also, WTF is a memory? Replaying an event in your mind with different elements attached? Even if a memory is only a snapshot of a moment in time ... since time has no verifiable beginning or end, there is only "one memory" to consider: the Universe as we know it. And the memory is happening, it's not finished, nor has it begun.

It's the middle part of a memory that has no beginning or end yet.
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
Since he managed to give Moses two different sets of the "Ten Commandments" (the repeat being required when Moses dropped the first set), it's obvious that his memory is even worse than mine. Unless,of course, the differences were intentional. In which case He certainly is very devious. :covereyes
Click to expand...
It is also possible that Moses is the one with the memory, or organizational, problem ... ;)

(IIRC, he has been attributed as the author of the Pentatuch).

DR
 
BoogieWoogieWookie said:
Ok. I don't start many threads here because there is just so much stuff that has already been discussed. This is particularly true of religion and threads discussing the existence or nature of God.

I would be interested in seeing responses to this question from both believers and non-believers. It presents somewhat of a paradox considering all the "omni" designations usually attributed to God. Theists, please do not reply that this is one of those unknowable, forbidden questions. I am looking for thoughtful speculation and any conclusions the question might lead to.

Anyway, the question is, can God remember the very first thing that he did?
Click to expand...
Well the bi bull mentions books i.e. The book of life and such so if god needs books then apparently he can't keep everything in his head.
 
The answer is "No" because omnicient, omnipotent and omnipresent beings do not exist. How can something that doesn't exist possibly remember anything?
 
Darth Rotor said:
It is also possible that Moses is the one with the memory, or organizational, problem ... ;)

(IIRC, he has been attributed as the author of the Pentatuch).

DR
Click to expand...

Not likely (about Moe's memory) as we have a "record" of both versions so someone must have written them both down. :confused:5
 
BoogieWoogieWookie said:
Ok then, could he remember what he was doing 10googolplex years ago?
Click to expand...
Eternity (in the most theological definition) is not an infinite regress of time. There is no such thing as "ago". There is no such thing as "before" and "after". As Aquinas defines it "no beginning, no end, no succession, no change".

But as I often point out, even the world's greatest Christian apologist, William Lane Craig sometimes gets this hopelessly muddled and starts talking as though eternity was in infinite regress of time.
 
Third Eye Open said:
Does that mean he never had any thoughts? If god is eternal and unchangeable, and he existed before the universe, then what would have caused god to create the universe?
Click to expand...
If God is eternal and unchangeable then God did not exist before the Universe, there is no such thing as before the Universe (St Augustine).
What would cause something unchanging and perfect to do something it wasn't already doing?
Click to expand...
I am not even sure that it is meaningful to say that an eternal God is doing anything at all if there was no change and no succession.

And then there is the question as to whether an intention could lead to an action if there was no succession.

I think the common theological model is that for God action is simultaneous with and contingent upon intention.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom