Can God divide by zero?

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sidbrown said:
Pronunciation is irrelevant to the discussion.
For the infinite set of integers: { …,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,…} there is no first or last number. If you want an example of a set of infinite numbers, with a first and last number, you can consider the closed interval [0,1], which is the set of all x with x between 0 and 1, where x can take on the values of 0 or 1. If you restrict x to be a rational number, then this will be a countable, infinite set.
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Representational crankery.

scientopia.org/blogs/goodmath/2011/01/06/representational-crankery-the-new-reals-and-the-dark-number/

God bless,
jd
 
Spock said:
Nope, they are not. They approach the same concept in a different fashion.

What is your point? Look at the Cantor-set (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantor_set) which has a “size” of zero, and which has infinitely many elements.

If you wish to talk about any specific subject you cannot avoid its specific terminology. Sometimes the chosen terminology is unfortunate. It happens in mathematics, too. To call certain numbers “rational” and others “irrational” to call certain numbers “real” and others “imaginary” were particularly bad choices, causing a lot of confusion. But mathematics is nothing but a mind-game, which can be applied to actual reality very well.

Retirement + trips + vacations + fun + family + books + games + … ad infinitum.
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scientopia.org/blogs/goodmath/2011/01/06/representational-crankery-the-new-reals-and-the-dark-number/

I like that term: representational crankery, where an undescribable number = its representation.

God bless,
jd
 
Lydia_Dyer said:
Interesting question and it reminds me of one I heard in college that no one could ever answer–
If God is Omnipotent, can He make a stone so big that He cannot lift it?

There must be something wrong with the premise here, But by golly I can’t figure it out.

Anyone care to try?
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The premises on what omnipotence is, is wrong.

Omnipotence means being capable to everything that is possible, not illogical impossibilities.

It’s like asking can you equate 2 and 5 or a square circle… such things simply cannot exist by virtue of what they are.

Philosopher Edward Feser gives an clear answer in his blog:
edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2010/02/dawkins-on-omnipotence-and-omniscience.html
MaxRosen said:
I’m going to propose a radical answer to this question. It’ll probably get me banned but here goes.

Let’s look at Matthew 26:36-39

If Jesus is God incarnate who is He praying to in the Garden of Gethsemane? This is a question Muslims ask quite often when they try to convert Christians.

Or take Mt:27;45

Again Muslims frequently ask Christians who was Jesus praying to from the cross if he was God incarnate?

So here is the crux (no pun intended) of the matter:

Can Jesus be SIMULTANEOUSLY a mortal man, God incarnate, the Son of God and God? Can He be SIMULTANEOUSLY a mortal man suffering the agony of the cross and God?

It seems a “logical impossibility”.
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God is not boud to logic, but logic, one might say, is one of the attributes of God.

Also the dual nature of Jesus might seem a logical impossibility, but it’s not.

Muslims who attack Christian in suck way are ignorant of (classical) Christian Theology (eg Aquinas who answered many of such questions, especially in his Summa Contra Gentiles).
 
What is interesting is that God allows us to use language and logic to create paradoxes out of the same language and logic that we use to understand the universe around us and communicate with others.

Maybe paradoxes exist so that we can reflect on the limitations of our knowledge?

If anything I have said is against the Catholic Church, let it be anathema.
 
Spock said:
You gotta be kidding.
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Nope. This is a sign of me getting bored with this. I know what actual means. I also know what infinity means. (I think most people do.) I know Infinity is not a number. I know it is a conceptualization of a gigantic exigency, number, plane, magnitude, whatever, that will continuously enlarge, but, will never, except for purposes of momentary conceptualization, be fixed. Now, while there could be an actual infinity somewhere at some time, we are totally unaware of an actual one existing now. A mathematical representation is not an actual infinity. As you said in an earlier post, it is an abstraction. I know you understand this, but, I am surprised that others don’t.

I also know that others simply have not thought it through - that what they mean, in fact, is a kind of Infinity, called potential Infinity. Not to be confused with *potential energy *or potency, as in motion’s definition as the act of the potential precisely as potential. To even think of something that is fixed, completed, and finalized, yet unbounded, ongoing forever, and without end, is mental cloudiness. It comes from buying into the line for years.

God bless,
jd
 
JDaniel said:
Nope. This is a sign of me getting bored with this. I know what actual means. I also know what infinity means. (I think most people do.) I know Infinity is not a number. I know it is a conceptualization of a gigantic exigency, number, plane, magnitude, whatever, that will continuously enlarge, but, will never, except for purposes of momentary conceptualization, be fixed. Now, while there could be an actual infinity somewhere at some time, we are totally unaware of an actual one existing now. A mathematical representation is not an actual infinity. As you said in an earlier post, it is an abstraction. I know you understand this, but, I am surprised that others don’t.
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Well, I sure don’t know what you mean by “actual infinity”. Do you mean “physical infinity”? By the way, infinity does not “grow”, does not change. Numbers are concepts, we agree there. If you write down “1” for example, it is the representation of concept of one. One divided by nine (1/9) is the representation of that point on the number line. Just like 0.11111… And so is sqrt(2), and so is “pi”, etc… The fact that these actual numbers cannot be represented by a final number of decimals presents no problem, either mathematical of philosophical.
JDaniel said:
I also know that others simply have not thought it through - that what they mean, in fact, is a kind of Infinity, called potential Infinity. Not to be confused with *potential energy *or potency, as in motion’s definition as the act of the potential precisely as potential. To even think of something that is fixed, completed, and finalized, yet unbounded, ongoing forever, and without end, is mental cloudiness. It comes from buying into the line for years.
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That is a serious assessment. I don’t think that my mind is “clouded”. Look at the Koch-snowflake, where an infinitely long line encompasses an finite area. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_snowflake) Some people have a problem with conceptualizing negative numbers, some people have problems with understanding fractions. That is a little sad, but to say that those who can conceptualize these ideas have a “mental cloudiness” is a bit too strong. 🙂
 
JDaniel said:
A mathematical representation is not an actual infinity.
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So when one expresses the fraction 1/9 in decimal form as 0.1111111…,
this is not actually infinite? If so, at what point does the expansion actually stop, Would it be the 100th place or the 1000th place or at what point exactly does this expansion actually stop?
 
dividing by zero is the mathematical equivalent of infinity. Infinity is a term that means without bounds or never ending. In the natural universe everything has bounds, but they are incalculable, so we go with infinity.

So, to answer the question, can God divide by zero? I’d say that God is divide by zero as he has no bounds… or yes he can
 
nelsbells said:
dividing by zero is the mathematical equivalent of infinity. Infinity is a term that means without bounds or never ending. In the natural universe everything has bounds, but they are incalculable, so we go with infinity.

So, to answer the question, can God divide by zero? I’d say that God is divide by zero as he has no bounds… or yes he can
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Division by zero is usually done in mathematics as a limiting process. For example, to say sin(0)/0 = 1, might mean lim(x->0) sin(x)/x = 1. But sin(0)/0 is not a well defined quantity as it stands, because lim(x->0) sin(2x)/x = 2.
 
Since zero is a no thing, then so too your question ! That is akin to asking, " can God put a square peg into a round hole ?" The answer must be the same since this question too is completely illogical.
 
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