Who says God is infinite? Upon what evidence are we basing this assumption?
It's a generally accepted thesis in monotheism.
Yes, it's a standard part of God's job description.
Carl
--- Me: Yes, these aren't mussy little pagan gods we're talking about here: This is the Ground of Being. (Caveat: Yes I know the Stoics et al. used Zeus in this sense.)
----- Jon:
." The problem I have with this is this: what sense does it make to talk about two analogously related meanings of "existence"? Either something (whether God or a human or a rock) exists or it doesn't.
--- Me: I don't see this: Clearly existence has different modes. Betelgeuse, the number "three," consciouness, the law of universal gravitation, "justice" and ancient Rome do not all exist in the same sense.
----
Brian:
That's one thing I love about theological speculation. The argument Chris mentioned above rests on an interesting elision. Despite our limitations, humans are capable of referring to things which are outside of our limitations-- not that they exist, or even make sense. This enables us to make claims such as "God is infinite" even when we are finite.
In other words, the finite _can_ grasp the finite.
--- Me: No, this means that they can indicate it (presumably you mean "infinite," not finite) -- say that there is "something, I know not what," not grasp it. The problem with asserting that the mind is capable of understanding things without limit is that it leads to various varieties of idealism (if you are a fan of idealism this is not a problem of course). It was what differentiates Hegel from Kant at bottom, the idea that you can jump behind appearances and get at the "ground" -- which Hegel was only able to justify by arguing that consciousness and reality are at bottom the same thing.
---
BTW, I do not know what Chris's actual opinions are regarding God; he may have cited the above argument out of intellectual interest.
--- I'm an agnostic with a fondness for Heideggerian/Kierkegaardian/Eckhardtian/Wittgensteinian irrationalism and mysticism -- not that I have any interest in arguing about it. Can't argue about it really.
Back to my regularly scheduled postings about Putin.
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