The Attributes of God: Omniscience and Fate

Related Posts: Immutable, Omnipresence; The Fall of Man: Defense of the Doctrine; Election; Creation ex nihilo; Omniscience and divine Learning; Whence God? Talking about God Omniscience and Fate Immutability leads to timelessness. And timelessness leads to ubiquity. If so then God is omnipotent and free from all spatial and temporal limitations. God is also omniscient. … Continue reading “The Attributes of God: Omniscience and Fate”

Related Posts: Immutable, Omnipresence; The Fall of Man: Defense of the Doctrine; Election; Creation ex nihilo; Omniscience and divine Learning; Whence God? Talking about God

Omniscience and Fate

Immutability leads to timelessness. And timelessness leads to ubiquity. If so then God is omnipotent and free from all spatial and temporal limitations. God is also omniscient. In contrast, the LDS belief in spiritual omnipresence does not entail timelessness or immutability, and it still allows us to believe God knows all things.[1]

A typical definition of omniscience is that God knows all truths and holds no false beliefs. Traditional omniscience includes God’s certain knowledge of past, present, and future. Of knowing past, present, and future, absolute knowledge of the future is most controversial.

In this post I explore how omniscience affects beliefs about freedom, moral responsibility, and the nature of man. If one billion years ago God knows that today I have a veggie sandwich for lunch, and because God cannot be wrong, I have no choice but to realize my fate. If God knows me completely, does that mean I am a mechanism? If I am a mechanism and/or my future was determined without me, can I be held morally responsible for my actions? Continue reading “The Attributes of God: Omniscience and Fate”