What follows is my opening statement from a new debate at Ne Plus Ultra, which has not yet been posted there. I welcome comments, especially from visitors who may know a thing or two about symbolic logic, as I am sure there is much to refine or discard.
http://uberkuh.com/files/opening.pdf
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Fri, 2005-09-30 12:28
You write "It is necessarily true that a creator creates for a purpose."
How do you come to that conclusion?
Also the statement "[..] one who is omnipotent has no desire to create, given that such a desire entails a lack of attainment or power." does not make 100% sense to me.
Imagine you became allmighty over night. I'm certain you (or at least most people) would go and create (destroy?) something, either because they have been lacking it so far or just because they want to figure out if they are ACTUALLY omnipotent or for any other reason.
Of course I rely on the assumption that "God" was not always omnipotent, but you did not preclude that option.
Fri, 2005-09-30 14:40
First, assuming a creator need not necessarily create for a purpose, no Christian would agree that God creates without a purpose. Secondly, that said, I find that a creator must create for a purpose. Here is why. A creator is an agent. An agent acts, by definition. Action entails intention. Intention requires an objective to attain, which in this case is the act or result of creating. To have an objective to attain is to desire the attainment of that objective. To desire the attainment of an objective and to act on that desire is purposeful. Thus, a creator's creation is a product of purpose.
Fri, 2005-09-30 17:13
Thank you for the quick reply.
You are right that God is probably believed to have a purpose. I now get your point about purpose.
Though, what I am actually curious about is your opinion about the other statement that I mentioned.
Fri, 2005-09-30 17:55
This is trickier to explain. An omnipotent being lacks no power. To lack power entails an inability to attain an objective. God is said to be omnipotent and also a creator. As I explained in my previous comment, a creator is purposeful and purpose implies desire. Desire implies an objective to attain or, in other words, a lack of fulfillment in this regard. Thus, a creator necessarily lacks attainment of an objective before creation and fulfills it during creation. Therefore, before creation or when a desire to create is known, it follows that a creator is not omnipotent. God cannot be an omnipotent creator as this constitutes one of my favorite words, an oxymoron.
You are correct that I did not preclude God from lacking power at some time in the past. God is defined as omnipotent in the Bible, but he is also shown to be lacking in power all over the place in that he not only creates but changes his mind. So, given that the Bible is Christianity's only source of supposedly inerrant knowledge about God, we find an evidential contradiction.
Thank you for visiting my website. I appreciate your thoughtful comments.