Why God Does Not Think.

[Revoltingest]

Mayhaps you were standing too close to your multiple engineering degrees when you weighed in on my post. But by any account the visual of God blubbering like a sad drunk at closing time sorta made my day.

Me degrees sit on top of the freezer in me dank basement.

 

[RuixinGlass]

Mayhaps you were standing too close to your multiple engineering degrees when you weighed in on my post. But by any account, the visual of God blubbering like a sad drunk at a closing time sorta made my day.

 

[BSM1]

Me degrees sit on top of the freezer in me dank basement.

Fahrenheit or Celsius?

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Please note with caution, if not actual alarm: The following thoughts are my own. Basically, I got bored so I started thunking them up. Unlike most of my thoughts, which tend to be about pole dancers, these thoughts delve into theology. I recommend that you take them with aspirin because they are sure to give you a pounding headache with caution because they are only preliminary, tentatively held, late night thoughts. I present them here for your amusement. .


It is sometimes said that god "thinks" this or "thinks" that. But what does it mean here for god to "think"?

When a human thinks it is always within the context of time. Thoughts do not instantly arise. They take time to arise, time to be thought. Is it the same for god?

God is sometimes said to be beyond time (There are theological and logical reasons for saying this). If that is so, what can it mean that god has thoughts? Thoughts occur within the context of time, as I've noted. But if god is truly beyond time, and not merely something that merely progresses through time to endure forever, then how can god's "thoughts" resemble human thoughts?

If god's "thoughts" do not resemble human thoughts, then what can be their nature?

Here, we must get into a little theology. Suppose we were to say that, "God is unlimited", as Aquinas and others have said. If god is unlimited, then god cannot be divided into parts for then the parts would be limited. One-half of god would by definition be limited to one-half of god.

But if god is unlimited, then god cannot think within time, for thinking within time would divide god into parts.

To see this, suppose the opposite were true and that god existed within the context of time. God would then be able to think. But it god could think, then god would be limited. That is, there would be a time before, after, and during one of god's thoughts. Yet before one of god's thoughts, and after one of god's thoughts, god would be limited in the sense god would not be having that thought.

For instance, suppose god were to think (within time), "The new carpet in Johnny's room is blue and oh my! What is Johnny doing to himself under the covers there!", then before god had that thought, and after god had that thought, it could be said "God is limited in the sense that there are thoughts of god's that god does not at one time or another have."

So what, if anything, is "thinking" for god?

Well, god's thoughts must occur out of time, and since time is basically what separates one event from another, that means all the thoughts god has had, is having, or will ever have in all of eternity happen at once.

Which logically means, of course, that while god might have sentience -- awareness -- god does not have thought. God does not think. At least not in any human sense of the term, "think".

______________________________

Yes. Yes. It's true. I have no life.

Fascinating! Truly fascinating! (You really don’t have a life! Lol!)

No, I’m just playin’

Lat me ask you this....just because God resides ‘beyond time and space’, does that mean He has to stay there?
Your comments made me think of Isaiah 55:8-9 ( speaking about the Abrahamic God, Jehovah, of course.)

And if residing ‘out of time and space’ makes an entity’s thoughts occur ‘all at once’....then what about their activities? Do they do them all at once?

It just doesn’t sound reasonable. But hey, who am I ? Nobody.

 

[Revoltingest]

Fahrenheit or Celsius?

I'm fluent in both.

 

[Faithofchristian]

Please note with caution, if not actual alarm: The following thoughts are my own. Basically, I got bored so I started thunking them up. Unlike most of my thoughts, which tend to be about pole dancers, these thoughts delve into theology. I recommend that you take them with aspirin because they are sure to give you a pounding headache with caution because they are only preliminary, tentatively held, late night thoughts. I present them here for your amusement. .


It is sometimes said that god "thinks" this or "thinks" that. But what does it mean here for god to "think"?

When a human thinks it is always within the context of time. Thoughts do not instantly arise. They take time to arise, time to be thought. Is it the same for god?

God is sometimes said to be beyond time (There are theological and logical reasons for saying this). If that is so, what can it mean that god has thoughts? Thoughts occur within the context of time, as I've noted. But if god is truly beyond time, and not merely something that merely progresses through time to endure forever, then how can god's "thoughts" resemble human thoughts?

If god's "thoughts" do not resemble human thoughts, then what can be their nature?

Here, we must get into a little theology. Suppose we were to say that, "God is unlimited", as Aquinas and others have said. If god is unlimited, then god cannot be divided into parts for then the parts would be limited. One-half of god would by definition be limited to one-half of god.

But if god is unlimited, then god cannot think within time, for thinking within time would divide god into parts.

To see this, suppose the opposite were true and that god existed within the context of time. God would then be able to think. But it god could think, then god would be limited. That is, there would be a time before, after, and during one of god's thoughts. Yet before one of god's thoughts, and after one of god's thoughts, god would be limited in the sense god would not be having that thought.

For instance, suppose god were to think (within time), "The new carpet in Johnny's room is blue and oh my! What is Johnny doing to himself under the covers there!", then before god had that thought, and after god had that thought, it could be said "God is limited in the sense that there are thoughts of god's that god does not at one time or another have."

So what, if anything, is "thinking" for god?

Well, god's thoughts must occur out of time, and since time is basically what separates one event from another, that means all the thoughts god has had, is having, or will ever have in all of eternity happen at once.

Which logically means, of course, that while god might have sentience -- awareness -- god does not have thought. God does not think. At least not in any human sense of the term, "think".

______________________________

Yes. Yes. It's true. I have no life.

Let's see according to what is written in the book of Isaiah 55:8-9--"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
My ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth , so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts"

You do do know ( thoughts ) are a thinking process.
Therefore God is saying "For my thinking are not your thinking" "and my thinking than your thinking"
The evidence points out, that God does think.

 

[Willamena]

Well, god's thoughts must occur out of time, and since time is basically what separates one event from another, that means all the thoughts god has had, is having, or will ever have in all of eternity happen at once.

Which logically means, of course, that while god might have sentience -- awareness -- god does not have thought. God does not think. At least not in any human sense of the term, "think".

We (sentient types) tend to think within a context of space and time. One example is causation, which implies one thing happening after, hence because of, another. By contrast, I like the way Thich Nhat Hanh describes interdependent arising, as apart from the context of time. The relation of arising that is not causality but dependence inspires an image built entirely self-sustaining, without a hidden substantial permanence like space-time supporting it. Indeed, space-time arises, like everything, within the system.

 

[Ponder This]

So what, if anything, is "thinking" for god?

What, if anything, is 'thinking'?

 

[BSM1]

What, if anything, is 'thinking'?

Hmmm....let me think about it.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Sunstone if you accidentally create world peace with one of these threads I will privately be jealous and refuse to talk to you any more.

I think reality is more likely to overlap with God than to be God. As an analogy the known universe intersects with the whole universe but is still larger and more complex.

 

[Ponder This]

Hmmm....let me think about it.

Let me know if any thoughts occur.

 

[Trailblazer]

A sign I saw on the Baptist Church said that God is always on time. That is not exactly how I read so I will have to copy it down next time I walk by and then I will post the whole message.

 

[Trailblazer]

The sign on the local Baptist Church says: “God is never in a hurry, but he’s always on time.”

I guess that is supposed to mean that we do not always get what we want when we want it, but rather we get it when God decides that it is time. That’s probably true, given everything is predestined to happen at a certain time.