williams@kirk.DEC (John Williams 223-3402) (09/10/84)
> OK. 'Lifting a rock' is a (consistent) task description. > Hence, from 'God is omnipotent' it follows that God can lift a > rock. You pick the rock. In fact, 'lifting every rock' is a > consistent task description. Thus, from 'God is omnipotent' it > follows that God can lift every rock. It therefore follows that > 'a rock to heavy for God to lift' is NOT logically consistent but > self-contradictory. Hence, in turn, 'creating a rock too heavy > for God to lift' is NOT a consistent task-description. So the > phrase fails to impose a limitation on God's omnipotence by > specifying a *task* which an omnipotent being could not perform. > Yours for clearer concepts, --Jay Rosenberg Omni( fill-in-the-blank ) specifies something that is external to that system. A paradox posed as a violation of reality implies that the laws governing that system cannot be changed. An omnipotent being could change the laws governing that rock prior to the attempt at lifting it. This would give omnipotence two distinct meanings. For a closed system, it would signify an independence from influence from that system, with that system coming under complete control, including the laws which establish that system. For an open system, it is a measure of how much you are able to control the environment, although there is no way of changing the laws of physics and evolution. It is true that the paradox occurs when one considers a *GOD* to reside within the universe of which he has gained omnipotence. If this *GOD* resides outside this universe, then he would be able to exert control, as opposed to influence. He would be able to make changes, as opposed to modulations, to the environment. This can be thought of as a way of clarifying the fact that we exist within the universe and hence are unable to change the laws of physics, we are only able to modulate the environment. This paradox is comparable to the problem of splitting a black hole. There is evidence that this has occurred, namely, the *BIG BANG*, which is strong indication that something exists outside this known universe. It implies that the laws of physics are enforced by something external to this universe. ----{ john williams }---- (DEC E-NET) KIRK::WILLIAMS (UUCP) {decvax, ucbvax, allegra}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams (ARPA) williams%kirk.DEC@decwrl.ARPA williams%kirk.DEC@Purdue-Merlin.ARPA
williams@kirk.DEC (John Williams 223-3402) (05/01/85)
> 3- the universe has finite age, but no first moment. > It may be distasteful to some, but need not contradict the assumption > that each moment has a predecessor. It's extremely difficult for > the vast majority of humans (me included) to hypothesize the > difficulties of such problems. Anyone who's ever checked out > texts on general relativity is aware of how bizarre and unintuitive > regions near black (or white, I suppose, in this case) holes can be. > Following a timelike path backwards towards the initial discontinuity > would be analogous to asymptotically approaching an unreachable point, > assuming you could go backwards thru time in the first place. > Can anyone out there who understands general relativity comment? > Is there such a thing as a person who understands general relativity? > -michael Yes. This is possible. It requires that the universe be continuous with laws that apply irrespective of scale. Einstein was not too far off the track, according to many current theories, is stating that the universe was finite and unbounded, and spherical in shape. The current theories indicate that the universe is curved, ( the known universe, that is ) but is not curved enough to completely curve in on itself. The comparison between the known universe and black holes are compelling. It is possible that black holes are actually smaller universes that are exploding, but virtually unobservable because of the time dilation effect. This introduces the idea of a force opposing gravity that, because of time dilation, causes the universe to be an unstable oscillator in certain regions, regardless of scale. In other words, the curvature of space in the known universe is simply a localized region in the grander scheme of things. John.