I think God has only one "fixed property": He cannot lie. Speculating about any others seems a tad above my pay grade.
I think the difference of views boils down to: It seems you view logic and mathematics as if they were effectively attributes of God, while I see them as creatures of God. That is, they unfolded from God's spoken Word in the Beginning — the Logos, Who was God and was with God. Since God cannot lie, we know they are "true"; and because it was God Who spoke the Word, we know they are not arbitrary, but built into the very fabric of the Creation, which itself is aimed at a final cause.... Because of them, the natural world is intelligible to the human mind, made in God's image.
I really liked your Bach analogy r9etb! (I've used something like it myself in the past, only substituting Michelangelo and his magnificent David.) And I take your point that Bach is somehow ineffably "in" his musical creations. And that he is "a priori constrained by defined musical structures." Perhaps we can say that Bach's music is the image of Bach, who in turn is the image of God....
God was never "constrained" by anything other than Truth (or so it seems to me) in the Beginning. And so He created mathematics and logic as fundamental structures of the natural world. He is not Himself the mathematics and logic — i.e., they are not merely attributes of the divine Nature — but they "reflect" Him, their truthful Source. Just as the music of J. S. Bach "reflects" his spirit.
Anyhoot, FWIW.
BTW, I'm not at all hostile to your view, r9etb. You ably describe what you see, and your analysis is engaging. It's just that I see things a little bit differently, I gather.
I'm not saying that my view is "better" than yours, only that it's not the same as yours.... And it's marvelous to discuss these issues with you!
Thank you so very much for sharing your insights with us!
Well, as to my part ... yes and no. I think we agree on the fact that God created the universe and acts within the universe -- and I'm positing that the nature of the universe, the way it's put together, is a reflection of the nature of God Himself, and not only the consequences of decisions God could have made either way.
God does stuff; and to do so, He has to act some way. Why would we assume that the way He acts, does not reveal something to us about the nature of God Himself? ("For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made....")
If we consider math and its extraordinary power to describe the universe .... well, what exactly is math, anyway?
The principles of mathematics are evidently something we discover. And as those principles are apparently not anchored in time or space or matter, one might even go so far as to suggest that mathematical principles are in some sense "eternal." Perhaps mathematics is part of the way God expresses Himself: when He spoke the Word, surely He used a language -- surely He had concepts with which to express what was on His mind? And being made in His image, perhaps we're able to understand the language, too? (Not saying that math is the only part of that language....)
I think God has only one "fixed property": He cannot lie. ... God was never "constrained" by anything other than Truth (or so it seems to me) in the Beginning.
Truth as opposed to what? If Truth, what about non-truth? Or ... if God is "I AM," what about "Not I AM?" I'm sure you see where this is leading...
If God is "constrained" by Truth, doesn't that make somehow make logic an essential part of God's nature, rather than something He created after the fact?
I'm not saying that my view is "better" than yours, only that it's not the same as yours.... And it's marvelous to discuss these issues with you!
I agree that it's marvelous -- not least because we're able to enjoy the give and take, and to discuss things without rancor. You're a real gem, ma'am, and I'm fortunate to know you.