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Timi_Celcer
Guest
I know God is almighty, but doesn’t God’s nature decreases his mightiness. I mean he cannot say 1+1=3. Doesn’t that decrease his mightiness?
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dshix
Guest
No, why would his mightiness decrease his mightiness? God does not decrease his mightiness by not contradicting himself; rather, he confirms it.
If God COULD say that 1+1=3, he would be decreasing his mightiness by dividing himself, by contradicting himself.
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Beryllos
Guest
Good question. Is God less powerful because he is a God of truth and love? Perhaps the greatest power is in truth and love. What do you think could be greater?
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clem456
Guest
Why can God not say that 1+1=3?
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dshix
Guest
Because to do so would be to contradict his own nature.
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clem456
Guest
The Trinity?
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dshix
Guest
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hicetnunc
Guest
1+1=3 is not a formula for the Trinity; not sure where you got that from. In fact, it is illogical, and God’s power is not limited by illogic, because it is metaphysically nothing—a bit like the concept of a square circle, which has no being and so poses no challenge to God’s power. The Trinity is three persons in one God. There is no contradiction in this; the 1 and the three point to different realities, just a three sides of a triangle make 1 shape.
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clem456
Guest
Yes.Heh.
I’m sure you know what I mean.
I was initially responding to this:
God can say anything he wants, and says many things we don’t understand fully. Mathematics is not God, it is a human language that expresses how things work for us. So we can begin to understand God’s mightiness, but
God is fundamentally a mystery to us, and that adds to his mightiness, in my opinion.
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Beryllos
Guest
God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. – 1 Corinthians 1:25
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clem456
Guest
No God is not a formula. I was expressing the idea put forth by some that the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, the Spirit is that love breathed forth.
I was not trying to put forth a mathematical formula for God.
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hicetnunc
Guest
I hear you…thanks for the clarification, although ‘formula’ in philosophy and theology is not limited to simply mathematical propositions, but linguistic and logical ones too.
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steph_86
Guest
I agree with this statement:
I think that a more apt term to describe God’s Almightiness, is Omnipotence. God is Omnipotent, meaning that, there is no limitation to His Being, to His Power. And His Power is Love or His Being. He is Infinite in His perfections and Eternal.
However, things that involve a logical contradiction, are outside of God’s Omnipotence. God is not simply a Spirit, or a Communion of Persons, He is also Eternal Reason. God’s Reason is different in comparison to the reason or intellect of rational creatures. Angels by their reason comprehend things in one act, a kind of act of vision, intellectual and intuitive; however, they have to proceed from one concept to another concept. Humans reason discursively, and progress from one idea to another idea, and laboriously compare one to the other in order to comprehend one concept.
On the other hand, God’s Reason sees, understands, and comprehends Himself, Reality, and all that is possible in one Single Act through the contemplation of His Essence. His Eternal Reason, as revealed by the Divine Word, is the Law or Providence by which He governs all created Reality.
Hence, God can achieve and effect all things, however, He cannot achieve and effect that which involves a logical contradiction. According to St. Thomas, a thing such as unmaking that which has been made, cannot be effected by God. In other words, the Lord cannot turn back Time, and unmake the actions of creatures.
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empther
Guest
Duplicate thread! 
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Timi_Celcer
Guest
But still its hard to understand how God is everything, while he is not everything. He is limited by His nature, so He cannot do everything. I want to be ready if someone asks me this sort of question but im not sure how im going to answer.
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fred_conty
Guest
He could have made 3 a 2 and could have made a 2 a 3. But he prefered to make a 2 a 2 and a 3 a 3.
As a matter of fact, we could have done the same thing as well. But we didn’t and He didn’t.
It is all semantics. Any number can represent anything we wish. So if someone wishes 1 + 1 = 3 they can. But they can’t use it in a society which has chosen 1 + 1 = 2, because the gas and water cos won’t like that. However if everyone decides on 3 for 1 + 1 , then everything is sync again.
As a matter of fact, we could have done the same thing as well. But we didn’t and He didn’t.
It is all semantics. Any number can represent anything we wish. So if someone wishes 1 + 1 = 3 they can. But they can’t use it in a society which has chosen 1 + 1 = 2, because the gas and water cos won’t like that. However if everyone decides on 3 for 1 + 1 , then everything is sync again.
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Timi_Celcer
Guest
One of the explanations could be that 1+1=2 is God’s creation so he can change it whenever he wants it to 1+1=3. But how can we explain such a paradox? We all heard it. Can God make a rock so hard He couldn’t lift it? A possible answer might be no, He can’t because He can’t contradict his nature. But if He can’t contradict His nature, doesn’t that make him not almighty?
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dshix
Guest
No. I’m not sure how you don’t see it, but just… no.
Why would being able to contradict yourself make you less powerful? Doesn’t that imply divisiveness in yourself?
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davidv
Guest
The problem with this line of thinking is that it gives legitamacy to a meaningless questions, such as the rock one. These questions do not have meaningful answers, and as such, provide no insight into the nature of God. They also lead people to erroneous conclusion about God.
A contradiction, such as a square circle, cannot exist, Not being able create it, is not a limit and has no bearing on His almightiness.
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Aloysium
Guest
So for God to be all powerful to some people, He would be able to make real the situation where 1+1=1+1+1.
Given that such a thing as 1+1, He has brought into existence, to say that it is the same as 1+1+1 would be to render the statement meaningless: the equivalent of “ghssd+hvud=nsdh-3h2b2” - a pointless use of symbols that represent nothing (such things do exist as is demonstrated by this thread.)
Given that such a thing as 1+1, He has brought into existence, to say that it is the same as 1+1+1 would be to render the statement meaningless: the equivalent of “ghssd+hvud=nsdh-3h2b2” - a pointless use of symbols that represent nothing (such things do exist as is demonstrated by this thread.)
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