Reply to Salman on re logic

Submitted by Plato (United Arab Emirates), Jan 11, 2007 at 02:27

You will have to excuse my poor English. I was not trying to say that God needs a computer. That was only by way of an example. Since god's powers can overwhelm humans I used a more down-to-earth example.

You say: "Like I stated in my previous reply, God won't make you do one thing or another -- He would rather let you sin on your own or do good deeds."

My major point is not that God won't make you do one thing or the other but rather that he knows exactly what you are going to do well in advance of your creation. In which case what is the point of your wandering around on this earth for a few years before being lodged in your rightful place for eternity (heaven or hell).

You wrote: "You're using circular logic to try and make a point which is more or less invalid. My 'fate' may be written (see my previous reply), but it is not pre-determined. Through free-will, and praying for mercy/forgiveness/blessing (dua), you can change your 'fate' (http://www.islamawareness.net/Dua/power.html)."

Let me go through with this again with you. "My fate may be written but it is not pre-determined". Then what was written was wrong, wouldn't you agree if the that fate was changed by prayer etc.. So what Allah has written is wrong. How can that be. Let me put it another way. God wrote down (knew) you would end up in Hell. But you prayed did good works and perforce God had to send you to Heaven. So what happened to what he wrote (knew). You still think this is circular logic?

I think you are in a tough situation Salman. My guess is that your reason for insisting on such curious logic is that Koran itself says that it abrogates previous revelations with better or equal ones. Which means that God does not know during the first revelation that there were better ones available otherwise what was the point of the first revelation.

002.106 YUSUFALI:

So god writes something and substitutes them with something else later! The tablet that is kept preserved in heaven must have suffered a lot of erasures! It is easy to see why you insist that what god has written can be changed later by prayers etc. Here Allah is saying that he has power over all things including the power not to be aware he has better verses up his sleeve when revealing some verses.

None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".