The Search for God Page 2.1.2.1.3
Have you ever marveled at the knowledge someone has on Jeopardy? Or been frustrated by someone who seems to have every answer and is willing to share incessantly? We understand what knowledge is. But could a being exist that has all knowledge?
At first, this seems a rather straightforward question; sure it seems possible. But then we get into the particulars.
Can a being exist that possesses all knowledge?
- Would that mean this being would know the position of a subatomic particle?
- How?
- Would this being have knowledge of what humans perceive as the future?
- If this being could be surprised by future human activity, would the being have all knowledge?
We have been developing a theory; a theory that God exists which is based on certain attributes, which are based upon certain laws within our universe. I have put forth the theory that an all-knowing being exists.
So how could such a being possess all-knowledge? Well, I see a few options.
- The time option
- The being option
- The presence option or Combinations thereof.
The Being Option
The being option would be that this being exists as the universe. In this scenario, God would know all the inner workings of itself. God would be the universe. This would be akin to a human perceiving every DNA change, every blood cell movement, and every nanometer growth of a hair follicle.
The difficulty here is one of time. Would this being be subject to time? The second issue is, would this being be changing? This God would be becoming. If the universe was somehow its own “body” or being, knowing every change would seem plausible.
If the universe imploded, would this being cease to exist? Or since the universe is expanding, is the being expanding, growing? Does this being exist outside itself? What I mean then, is what is outside the universe or this being.
This all-knowing being is possible, but in light of other attributes like timelessness, unchanging, transcendence, and future knowledge this being would be limited. This being lacks all knowledge of the future and since this being lacks knowledge of the future, it would lack knowledge of its future self.
This being is somewhat like humans only on a universal scale. I like the concept, I can wrap my brain around such a being, but additional questions would be raised. If the current theory of God does not work out, I might have to revisit this concept.
The Time Option
The second way to gather all-knowledge is the time option. This is not that this being lived so long that it now knows everything. This is not because this being is eternal.
When we speak of all-knowledge, this is not that this being is becoming and increasing in knowledge, but that this being possesses all-knowledge because time is irrelevant to this being. This being would move across time forward and backward, as we move across the planet.
This being exists in our past, present, and future. This being resides outside of time. In this situation, this being would know the future because he “sees” all the events. Is time a web or linear for this being?
Well, how do humans position themselves in space, side to side, up, and down. We move freely. I find this conceptualization of time quite challenging.
Timeless
In this instance, this being would possess all-knowledge because every instance of time is akin to a photo. We take a photo to remember a specific instance. This being, from his perspective, could stop time. He could review each nanosecond of time everywhere in the universe.
Time does not affect this being. Tomorrow is as today. Okay, mind blown. Most likely, this being would reside outside our universe and be an observer of time and space, rather than bound to time and space. This being is not viewing itself, but rather outside and inside itself possessing knowledge.
Every nanosecond at each location, this being could spend an eternity reviewing and knowing the objects present. This being is not “learning,” it just “knows” everything.
The Presence Option or Combinations Thereof.
The third option involves how this being gathers information inside this universe if this being is present everywhere. In the last instance, we get this picture of a being on the outside looking in. In the first instance, we reviewed a being inside looking inside itself and becoming something different.
This view of omnipresence would augment the timelessness perspective that this being could be outside and inside at the same time. So this being is not the universe, but still inside the universe. Is there some sensor or material or part of his being that is inside our universe?
So the knowledge obtained is not like a scientist observing a slide on a microscope, but observing the slide inside the slide and around the objects on the slide. Somehow like tendrils or sensors within or around objects within the universe. This being would be said to be omnipresent.
Our senses are attuned to the visible light spectrum. This being’s senses are attuned to subatomic particles, and dark matter, and can shift to be present at the smallest quantum level or zoom out to the entire universe, every nanosecond an eternity.
If a being existed with timeless omnipresent omniscience (all-knowing) that being is completely mind blowing and incomprehensible to my mind.
Rationality
The question becomes, are these options rational? Not, are they comprehensible or easily understandable, but are they rational? Sure, they are rational. Things are rational when they don’t contradict the laws of logic.
Let me say something about the being who is the universe and the timeless, omnipresent being. We spoke previously about the identity of being or different orders of being. A rock has being, a human has being, and a being with a mind, will, and ability has being in whatever form it takes.
Levels of Being
A being who is the universe would be lower in order. This “lower order” being is rational, but would be changing, prompting further questions of what is outside this being. What is the universe being becoming? A being outside time is a higher order being in terms of knowledge.
The higher-order being would know what the universe is going to become. The timeless, omnipresent being would possess all knowledge and still fit with the other attributes we are looking for.
I could be wrong, the universe as a being could be the correct view of a being who possesses all knowledge, but that being would be a lower order being than an omnipresent, timeless, all-knowing being. We will examine all communications purported to be from God to determine if an all-knowing being exists.
If an omniscient, omnipresent being exists, then there can only be one. This being would be unique, one-of-a-kind. If two omnipresent, omniscient beings existed, they would be one. To know everything and to be everywhere these beings would have to completely overlap and would be one.
If you can think of another way to have all knowledge, please message me or put something in the comment section.
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- A timeless, omnipresent omniscient God is a rational and higher order of being than a universal all-knowing being.
- Why is that significant?
- We are searching for a single, unique, eternal, timeless, omnipresent, omniscient living being.
- If you agree, the next steps.
- If you disagree, please consider reading.
References and Links
How can God have all-knowledge?
Can two all-knowing beings exist?
Where does God claim all knowledge?
Omniscience, Yahweh and the Trinity
Is God All Knowing?
What is Omniscient?
Is God All Knowing?
Omniscience Paradox Debunked
A Knowledge with No End: The Omniscience of God
- Omniscience
- What does it mean that God is omniscient?
- God’s Attributes: God’s Omniscience
- God Is All Knowing
- Why Would God Be the Best Explanation for the Existence of the Universe?