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Can God have Any original Thoughts now, or has He fixed them?
- Thread starter Yeshua1
- Start date
There appears to be an assumption in the question that things can be "new" to God - as in His never having considered it that way before. I don't think that characterizes the mind of God at all.
The following verses - Isaiah 14:24 - "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen." and Psalm 33:11 - "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." ....
... these verses don't imply that God is wearing blinders and has never considered alternate plans of actions merely because He is focused on the only Holy plan of action. God is not ignorant of any other plan or purpose - natural or supernatural. His singleness of plan and purpose doesn't make Him unaware of anything.
God has no epiphanies, no revelations, no eye-opening discoveries and no divinations.
Why not? Because He IS epiphanous, He reveals, He opens OUR eyes, and He is all that is divine in the first place.
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There is a difference in God's thoughts/knowledge and ours.
God possesses de se knowledge which means His knowledge in absolute, complete and doesn't require experience to know something.
Mankind possesses in re knowledge which means our knowledge is limited, incomplete and does require experience to know something.
God's knowledge and man's knowledge are entirely different, just like God and mankind are entirely different beings.
God has complete, absolute and infinite knowledge of all things. All things are original in Him and originate from Him.
God possesses de se knowledge which means His knowledge in absolute, complete and doesn't require experience to know something.
Mankind possesses in re knowledge which means our knowledge is limited, incomplete and does require experience to know something.
God's knowledge and man's knowledge are entirely different, just like God and mankind are entirely different beings.
God has complete, absolute and infinite knowledge of all things. All things are original in Him and originate from Him.
Tom Butler
New Member
Since one of God''s attributes is immutability, the answer to the OP question is No.
God cannot have a new thought, for that would represent a change.
God cannot know something he didn't know before, for that would be a change.
What God knows he has always known.
What God decides he has always decided.
When we change our mind, we change our will.
When God changes his mind, he wills a change--a change he has willed from eternity.
God cannot have a new thought, for that would represent a change.
God cannot know something he didn't know before, for that would be a change.
What God knows he has always known.
What God decides he has always decided.
When we change our mind, we change our will.
When God changes his mind, he wills a change--a change he has willed from eternity.
True story.
saturneptune
New Member
Very well put.
saturneptune
New Member
You have a good ability to think outside the box. I have seen some threads started lately relating to eternity, theology, and God. One said, where did God come from? Another asked when did God write the names in the Book of Life? I think there were a couple of others also. My point is, eternity has no time or space as we know it, or understand it. Words like when and where do not apply. Certainly, the hardest one to ponder on some of these subjects is why. Good post.
humblethinker
Active Member
...yawn...
saturneptune
New Member
The purpose of posts is not excitement.
That must mean the world, and every event that takes place therein, was never a new thought of God, so we and absolutely everything we do never had an origin in the thoughts of God... which is equivalent to God never having a choice about us. It is, perhaps, the mental illustration of "If God can do anything, can he create a rock so big the can't lift it?" Hypercalvinism would be an infinite understatement for this.
I agree that God does not have any new or original thoughts, but, I think we overuse immutability somewhat. God is Omniscient and Timeless, and knows all things, but I do not think that an original thought would contradict his Immutability. Immutability, as I understand it is his inability to change his essential nature or the essence of his being. IMO we are better to appeal to Omniscience and his eternality than Immutability. Just a thought. <----but not an original one :laugh:
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convicted1
Guest
God knows all because He has seen all. There's nothing for Him to learn, because He already knows it....my finite mind can not wrap around what I just typed, but it's the truth.