Omniscience
Introduction / Index
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Wherever you find people talking about a god they believe in, you'll likely also find them attributing, either explicitly or implicitly, the characteristic of "omniscience" to this god. But what is it and does it really make any sense? I don't believe that it does - omniscience is one of the more problematic aspects of alleged gods. It conflicts not only with the reality we all know, but also with other alleged characteristics which gods tend to have. In fact, the concept of omniscience is so badly flawed that it casts serious doubt upon the validity of traditional god-concepts which have made use of it as a characteristic.
What is omniscience? The most simple and traditional definition is to "know everything." Other variations have developed over the centuries as theologians have attempted to get around its flaws, but for the time being it is better to stick with the simple and original definition. Variations will be addressed as they become necessary. Before reading these arguments, it might help to read the glossary entry on knowledge - some of the arguments depend upon the nature of knowledge, so it is useful to have a better understanding of what that is.
Omniscience vs. Knowledge
Is the basic concept of a god even compatible with the concept of knowlege? If not,
then a god cannot be omniscient.
Omniscience vs. Free Will
Is omniscience compatible with free will - either ours or god's? It is possible that
we don't have free will or that a god doesn't have free will, but those are characteristics
most believers aren't willing to abandon.
Omniscience vs. God
Is omniscience compatible with other characteristics of god, like the humanity
of Jesus, for example?
Omniscience vs. Goodness
Is being omniscient compatible with being morally good? Or is it rather than a truly
omniscient god must also have some immoral aspects?
Omniscience vs. Humanity
Can an omniscient god know as much as a human being? Can an omniscient god
even know the set of all truths?
So what can we conclude? A god which has omniscience as a quality probably does not exist, since that conflicts fundamentally with numerous other qualities typically attributed to gods. Omniscience is a rather incoherent concept to begin with, and theists who nevertheless wish to argue it have to explain it independently of the sort of knowledge which is typically attributed to humans. And even after omniscience is severely limited so that it no longer appears to be contradictory, it become an unrecognizable omniscience - we are left with a supposedly omniscient god which knows next to nothing that we do.
So an omniscient god either does not exist, or is quite irrelevant.
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