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Additional Properties of God
We are conscious. Nothing exists that is greater than God. Therefore, God is conscious. All the power in the universe is pretty much wasted if you are not aware of it. There is no equivalency such that our consciousness is worth as much as the ability to create suns or some other grand power. This means that for God to be greater than us, God must be conscious. Sections after this one will use different language in a reflection of our new understanding of God. God can no longer be considered as an inanimate object, but must be seen as a being with self-knowledge and will. God's consciousness cannot be based in the physical universe, for the same reason that our consciousness cannot be based in the physical universe.
It now becomes more accurate to refer to God as creator rather than merely cause. God, being the conscious will behind the universe, is the creator of the universe. There are two possibilities: 1) God created matter from God's will, and then used that matter to create the universe. 2) Matter is uncaused, and God formed that matter into the universe. In possibility two, matter is part of God, because everything that is uncaused is God. However, we realize that the difference is largely one of semantics. In both cases, in the beginning there was only God (everything that is uncaused); and later there was God and the universe, shaped according to God's will. In both cases, the conscious, spiritual God is the one in control. In both cases, the universe is of God, but not fully God. Realize that we have defined the beginning to be the time when there were only causes and no effects. Whether or not matter existed in the beginning is now understood to not be an important question.
At this point, pantheism must be eliminated as a possible faith tradition because it claims that the universe is fully God. In addition, most forms of pantheism deny that God (the universe) is conscious. Panentheism must also be eliminated, because it treats God's soul and God's body as balanced and interdependent. This is not the case because God's spiritual nature is always in control. If God affects the universe, and then the universe affects God, it was what God intended all along.
We are now in a good position to describe many more properties of God.
God is immense. God is present everywhere in the universe(s), because God moves it (them) and sustains it (them). It is impossible to avoid God by traveling in space.
God is eternal. God is present at all times in the universe(s), for the same reason. It is impossible to avoid God by traveling in time.
Note, additionally, that modern physics (general relativity and especially Big Bang cosmology) teaches that matter, energy, space, and time are all tied together. When we talk about the universe before matter and energy, we must also conceive of a universe before space and time, and a time when the laws of physics that we are familiar with do not apply. This causes terms like "before" the universe and "outside" the universe to become awkward half-truths. It is more accurate to say that God is not bound by space or time. God can exist inside space and time because God created them, and has power over them, but that is not God's natural state. Not only does this mean that God exists everywhere in space simultaneously, but God also exists everywhere in time simultaneously. As a consequence, God knows the future as well as God knows the past, and God does not evolve or grow with time.
God is omnipotent. By omnipotent, I mean that there are no forces in the universe(s) that are great enough to move God. God created the universe(s) and God has total power over it (them), as God so desires.
God is omniscient. By omniscient, I mean that God is more knowledgeable than any and all other beings in the universe(s). If God is the cause of all knowledge, then nothing that is caused could learn more than God. However much we learn, we cannot learn as much as God.
Objection 1:
By making God conscious, I am making God in my own image. Isn't that awfully vain?
Reply:
I am not making God in my image. What I am saying is that God must be greater than I. This is a statement of humility, not vanity. It would be of greater arrogance to say that God is not conscious, because then I would have something that God does not.
Objection 2:
I define eternal, infinite, omnipotent, etc. a bit oddly. Normally people say all-powerful, all-knowing etc., without qualification, while I define these terms with respect to the universe(s). Why is that?
Reply:
As I have defined the terms, they are completely defendable. It is difficult to define (and therefore defend) God's properties "outside" of a universe, because I know very little about the "outside" of a universe. On one hand, Big Bang cosmology teaches us that asking about what God is like "outside" of a universe requires us to ask what God is like in a place with no space or time. On the other hand, we know that God existed "before" space and time, and as such God is not bound by them, and must exist "outside" them.
Objection 3:
God knowing the future contradicts free will.
Reply:
Just because God knows what will happen does not mean that he controls it. That is, just because I know that John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln does not make me responsible for it. Just because I know that the sun will rise tomorrow does not mean that I cause it to happen.
Objection 4:
There are examples of God changing his mind (Amos 7:3, Jeremiah 18:8, Exodus 32:14). Since God changes with time, he must not exist equally at all times.
Reply:
It is more accurate to say that it appears to the prophet in question that God is changing his mind, while in actuality God is placing a test upon the prophet, the city in question, or humanity. God knew all along that we were going to pass the test.
This does not mean that God is static like a rock or a corpse. It is closer to say that God is static like the ocean. That is, the ocean is always the ocean, but it is always full of energy and dynamism.
This page was last changed on 2011/08/28