God. Omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent God. Well, maybe not that last part always. But all powerful and all knowing? Probably true for most Gods. It is that concept of an infinite power that makes God God. Honestly, if God did not have that supernatural omnipotence and omniscience, would he/she/it/they be anything more than essentially a powerful alien being? Consider that an alien civilization a thousand years more advanced than us could wow us with their technology. An advanced enough alien civilization could create wonders we couldn't fathom using nothing more than science which has had those thousands, if not millions, more years to develop. What would appear as miracles to us would be little more than the alien equivalent of turning on an electric light. A sophisticated alien could turn water into wine, part the Red Sea or make it rain toads.
But to know everything that is happening, has happened, and ever will happen? That seems to be more than any civilization could ever accomplish. Control and knowledge of everything is the essence of a God. The infinite capacity of God is more than any mortal being could ever hope to acquire. Finite beings cannot, by definition, acquire infinite knowledge. Conversely, all knowledge that is finite can be acquired by finite beings. Anything short of omniscience could, arguably, be merely an advanced, but mortal, intelligence. This infinite knowledge, this omniscience, is therefore the point at which mere intelligence becomes divine. To be a God and not merely a super advanced mortal, you must be omniscient.
But this has all been explained before by much smarter people than I. What I want to talk about is the implication of this omniscience on me and my morality. Or, more specifically, my utter indifference as to morality where an omniscient God exists. Now, I like to think of myself as a good person. I went to law school with intentions of practicing public interest. I love my family and friends. Hey, I'll even help them move if it comes to that. Maybe even offer to be a designated driver and actually stay sober one night. Maybe. All I'm saying is that I feel a need to do well by the people I love. But, I also have a tendency towards apathy. Oftentimes I would rather sit on my ass doing nothing than go into work and help those silly fools who put their trust in me. I would rather come by money easily than honestly if I knew there would be no repercussions. And, realistically, the help I provide to my friends and family is based in self interest. I do things because I want that friendship, I want support, I want reciprocation. I want I want I want.
The point I'm trying to make is not original, of course. I, and most people, are not altruistic. We all act for our own best interests. We are all self centered. We all want to win the lottery so we can stop contributing to society in any productive manner. We all want something for nothing. We all want to hit that asshole we know in the face real hard. Many of us, however, are prevented from acting out these egocentric fantasies by an appeal to something bigger than us. We say that our conscience gets in the way, that it isn't right to steal or assault. We appeal to morality as a guide for how to limit our own self interest. Morality. Pesky, pesky morality. If only there were some way around morality . . .
Now, I was never a religious person. I grew up in a secular household. My father was raised Catholic and rejected it so completely that he adopted a reactionary form of atheism. I guess he figured that, if Nietzsche is right and God is dead, my dad wanted an opportunity to pound a nail in that coffin. My mom had some form of "spirituality" but never identified it or pushed it on us kids. If anything, I'd say I developed into a staunch agnostic. But, lately, Ive been a bit strapped for cash and a bit pissed at several people. Unfortunately, my conscience (or morality or ethics) has prevented me from resorting to assault of thievery to solve these problems. That's where God comes in. After much thought, Ive decided to believe in God so that I can be free from any guilt over what I do. By believing in God, I expect to lose any need for morality and any hesitation over questionable actions.
You see, I've decided that, if there is an omniscient God, He (I know some of you might have a problem with me using the misogynist pronoun "He", but I'm not about to write "He/She/It/They over and over) has no place in His world for morality. God can't care how we act or what we choose to do and here's why: There is no place for free will in a universe where there is an Omniscient God. Yup, thats it. Above, I defined omniscience as knowing everything that was, is, and will be. It is knowledge of everything independent of the dimension of time. Although it is difficult to conceive of, God observes everything that was, is, and will be in one instant. He lives outside of time. Obviously, this knowledge has many implications. But, there is only one that I am concerned with. If God knows everything that is going to happen in the future, that means everything is predetermined. How could god have knowledge of the future otherwise? If He knows what is going to happen, this can only be because it is an unchangeable, knowable future. And, that means no free will. Every move I make, every step I take is written out and predetermined. Every smile I fake, every claim I stake has nothing to do with choice and everything to do with predestination. The universe is a book that has already been written.
This revelation really made me think about my life with God. If I have no free will, if my life is predetermined, I also have no responsibility for my actions and no incentive to produce anything positive. God cannot punish me for stealing that plasma TV that looks so good on my wall because I had no choice in stealing it. Although you might think its wrong for me to steal childrens clothes from the orphanage, God already made that choice for me when he wrote the book of the universe and are you really ready to say that God made a bad decision? Not only does my belief in God preclude any need for moral responsibility, it also allows me to sit on my ass all day. After all, if we have no responsibility for our negative actions, we also cannot take pride in our positive accomplishments. Sure, the Beatles may think that they changed the face of music by writing hits like Come Together and Strawberry Fields but, c'mon. Those songs were written by God at the inception of the universe. He had knowledge of everything that would be at that point and that included Hey Jude. The Beatles are nothing but plagiarizing hacks just like Picasso and Einstein. They deserve no more praise for their accomplishments than I deserve damnation for throwing rocks through windows for the sheer joy of hearing the shattering sound. So thanks, God, youve really simplified everything for me. Smashy smashy.
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