The Bible is written from a finite beings perspective and not everything is to be taken literally or as a true historic representation of God’s behavior in the past.
This really isn’t much of an argument, but rather just a simple assertion.
God’s nature doesn’t change but He causes change. He is not inert and static but active and dynamic; otherwise He wouldn’t be identified with Love which is always creative and often unpredictable. If nothing ever develops in Heaven it would be Hell!
You fail to understand the purpose of Scripture. You are under the impression that scripture provides an absolute metaphysical and historical representation of God’s nature and his actions. I do not go to Scripture alone to understand what God objectively is. It gives us some idea of God but if all of it is taken literally as you seem to take it then there is a great many errors in it. Anyone who seriously studies Catholic tradition can see for themselves that the Catholic church does not look to the bible alone for their understanding of God; we are not sola scripture. There is a huge philosophical tradition that has existed for thousands of years along side the faith. There is is also many schools of biblical interpretation within the church itself. You cannot dictate to me that how you approach scripture needs to be refuted. Why should i accept your interpretation when it is clear that you are unaware of the great body of Catholic tradition itself?
God is a timeless act. That does not mean that God is static, but it does mean that what God does is and has always been what it is and has not changed and will never change forever. God’s nature does not act in physical sequences and is not dynamic in a physical sense.
I never dictated anything to you. I simply asked for some reasoning or scriptural proof for your assertions. And asking for scripture does not mean that I endorse sola scriptura. I am assuming that we are talking specifically about the Christian god here, so it would seem appropriate to use scripture at least somewhere in the discussion.
I apologize if i came across as treating you as an ignorant pleb, but it seemed you were saying that because Scripture presents God as a changing entity existing within time and space that therefore the only reasonable conclusion is to think God changes. This is equally just an assertion since i would have to believe that the bible is simply a metaphysical and historical analysis of God’s behavior. I guess i don’t see why i have to begin with that assumption. It seems to me that the bible portrays or represents the spiritual and conceptual development of Israel in regards God and their faith in his divine justice; which ultimately culminates in the birth of Christ and coming to grips with that revelation.
If by this you mean that God is the fullness of actuality, the fullness of creativity, the fullness of life, then i agree that God is not a static passive entity but instead is the very reality in which we move and have our being.
Well this is pretty difficult. I mean, what is time? The classical notion that Galileo and Newton held is completely wrong, as modern physics has so aptly demonstrated. And Einstein’s might very well be wrong too since we know that there has to be a unifying theory for general relativity and quantum mechanics, but it hasn’t been successfully formulated yet. I think it is safe to say though that light, which is arguably time itself, has some relation with material matter. Time itself seems to be nothing more than relative material perception. So to say God exists outside time is correct because God is spirit.
God’s will is identical with his nature.
I stated quite clearly that His nature is immutable.
Change of will is not a sign of imperfection. If God is the highest authority, even if He did change His will, He would still be perfect. That’s been my point all along. And my argument of time is totally relevant. If all it means by “existing outside time” is that God is spirit, then it no longer precludes the idea that spirit cannot cannot function in a similar manner.
Changing your mind doesn’t necessarily mean you are inconsistent. The development of doctrine is a human example of how the truth is never static. God’s goodness and creativity are unlimited and unending. Otherwise Heaven would be more like Hell! Cynics believe it must be boring to live forever but that is because of their limitations, not the limitations of reality. Anyone who appreciates the value of life knows we’ll never want to vanish as if we had never existed. It would make a mockery of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. That is why it is important to reject the notion that God is indecisive and ignorant if He is dynamic and progressive. There is no limit to the potential of divine love…I have no idea what you mean by a perfect being.
What it does mean is that there is potency in your mind and will. There is change, and God does not change.
What I mean by God being perfect is that he is perfect by virtue of being of the highest authority and the creator of all things. For me, that alone entitles him to worship. Qualities are ancillary to this issue for me.