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To: betty boop
While no one can exhaustively "define God," the common, enduring insight of Israel, classical philosophy, and Christianity is that God cannot be internally inconsistent with himself

You have just put a limit on God

142 posted on 12/09/2008 3:41:12 PM PST by Soliton (This 2 shall pass)
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To: Soliton

God puts limits on Himself if you read Scripture.

He cannot change and He cannot lie.


143 posted on 12/09/2008 3:47:22 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Soliton; metmom; Alamo-Girl; hosepipe; svcw
You have just put a limit on God

Great observation, Soliton! Kudos!!!

In rejoinder, may I observe that no concept of "limit" or of "limited" would be rational without reference to the idea of "limitlessness" or "unlimited?" Rational analysis usually consists of the comparison of things in the light of a standard — which expresses the proper ratio. The properties of limitlessness and unlimited are not to be found in any entity of the contingent, spacetime world accessible to direct human sensory experience. By a process of elimination, if such properties or attributes are characteristic of anything at all, they can only be "characteristic" of God.

And so here we are, "assigning qualities," "attributing characteristics" to that which is ineffable, unlimited, infinite, eternal — which concepts themselves arguably cannot even be fully grasped by the human mind.

You see the problem here I'm sure. :^)

And yet — a person placing a "limit" (or characteristic, attribute, quality) on God does not bind God's perfect freedom in any way. But in so doing, paradoxically, he might add to his own imperfect understanding of the world and his place in it by making such a mistake in good faith.

Sigh. I'm sure that's as perfectly clear as mud, dear Soliton!!! I do so enjoy speaking with you!

145 posted on 12/09/2008 5:09:44 PM PST by betty boop
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