A “why is there no Central Authority"All you are showing here is you do not understand what you are talking about. You have tried to jump from Algebra to Trig, and you are not ready for the answers, that is why you will not accept them.God the Father is your ultimate God, he has all the authority you will ever answer to and you need not concern yourself with variables that are out of your scope (a little programmer jargon here)B “Why is there no buck stops here God?”He is God the father.C “You cannot have "central authority" unless those folks who derive their authority know where that ultimate authority comes from?”God created you, that is where his authority comes from.D “You can't just endlessly climb the divine bureaucratic ladder; you eventually have to arrive at a destination--an original source of authority”Authority comes from God the father.
Does you neighbor having kids threaten your authority over your children?
Does your father have authority over your kids unless you give it to him?
Did you ever go “Over your dad’s head“ to your grandpa to try to avoid a punishment from your dad?
How did that work out for you?
As Jesus told a certain civil leader, "You wouldn't have authority over you unless it was given to you from above."
Likewise, no father has any inherent authority. It is derived from our Father above.
For the Christian who says there was no God before Heavenly Father (Isaiah 43), that is satisfactory.
For the Mormon who believes that Heavenly Father received his authority from a previous God, it's a problem.
So I simply quote Jesus' line of argument and apply it according to the principle of regression--tracing authority to its original source: "You, earthly father, would have no authority unless it was given to you from above." "You, Heavenly Father of this earth, would have no authority unless it was given to you from above." "You, Father-god of Heavenly Father of this earth, would have no authority unless it was given to you from above." "You, Grand-god of Heavenly Father of this earth, would have no authority unless it was given to you from above."
Now with an ultimate God somewhere, in computer language the above would go on forever. Mathematically, it's called infinite regression. You cannot proceed infinitely on authority that receeds into impersonal infinity.
You simply beg the question. I ask where the buck stops here God is, and you cite the "creator" issue.
That's like my Mom (everybody remember their Mom this weekend!) responding to me, "Mom, where'd ya get your authority (to discipline me)." Now she might not have, once upon a time, put up with discipline avoidance techniques if that question was posed prior to imposition of discipline.
But if I'm having an adult convo w/her years after the fact; and if we're having a discussion about the "philosophy of discipline," then she would need to answer me in a transparent manner. She can't just say (like you said in effect) and beg the question. She can't just say: "I procreated you, and that is where my authority came from."
Because while on the surface that's true, that kind of authority could lead to her thinking: "I procreated him, and I can 'unprocreate' via abortion or whatever after birth." No parent has absolute authority in such a way if they are subject to another higher power.