Intermediate step to beginning of life uncovered

[Benton]

(06-16-2015, 11:44 AM)WhoDeyWho Wrote: The fundamental question I have is if God already had foreknowledge of my actions prior to my even being, what exactly is he expecting to "see" by supposedly giving me "free will"?

 
 

I'm not God, I have no idea what He was thinking.

But, my personal belief goes back to non-linear concepts of time. He knew it once he did it. 1 billion years ago, 10 billions years from now, it's all the same moment to Him. To us, too, but we don't perceive it that way. Even though sometimes you do perceive time as non-liner.

An example of that is when you see a woman. Your mind recounts the past to see if you know her, if she reminds you of anyone, etc. You also think about the future at the same time – is she someone you want to know, what's she going to look like in 20 years, does she have a job. There isn't really thinking in the present, the present is already over, but you are digesting that moment also — what she's doing, what she looks like then, what's happening around her — as you interpret those other two frames (the past and future). You're thinking non-linearly.

Quote:Hasn't he already "seen" it?  Doesn't he know precisely what everyone "would do with it"?  Which begs the question:  what is the point exactly?

Of life? If no one has figured it out in a billion years, I don't think those of us on a message board are going to crack that nut.

Quote:Why would he watch the movie of my life (after creation) and expect anything to play out any differently than what he already saw prior to my existence?


His knowledge can't be made any clearer.  That's why I could never grasp this notion that life is some sort of test.  The grades were already assigned before you even existed.  

I defer to Modest Mouse and other philosophers. The universe is shaped exactly like the Earth, if you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were. Personally, I don't think it's a test. I think like most parents, He made life, tossed out some rules — not because of any maliciousness, just trying to teach some basics -- and then let it work itself out over a few billion years.