If God could wish for anything, what would it be?

[quote author=iago link=board=2;threadid=2712;start=45#msg21565 date=1063865643]
You clearly know nothing about philosophy, and your posts about it are unwelcome.
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Yes, I will stay out of this one.

I will take a random guess and say he'd wish he didn't have to be infalliable. It sure would make his life easier I'd think.

Death - living forever must be unthinkably boring.

There are many Gods.. the Christian god, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Augistine's interpretation of Christian, etc.
[Edit] Also Descarte's interpretation of God.. that one is the most believable in my opinion.

But generally, God's perfect anyway, so there would be no wish he could make that he couldn't do anyway..

Christians, jews and muslims all worship the same god.

Worship the same God, techincally, yes. But interpret him the same way? No. Interpretation has a lot to do with worship, so I'd have to disagree with you there.

~Death_Ryder

Don't muslims worship Allah? If that's the case, then no, they don't.

I started thinking about this when I saw a shooting star the other night, and wondered what God would wish for. He can do anything he wants... But what are his desires? What would make him really happy? Could he actually wish?

I believe Allah actually means God.

[quote author=j0k3r link=board=2;threadid=2886;start=0#msg22621 date=1064921416]
Don't muslims worship Allah? If that's the case, then no, they don't.

I started thinking about this when I saw a shooting star the other night, and wondered what God would wish for. He can do anything he wants... But what are his desires? What would make him really happy? Could he actually wish?
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Allah is still their God.

And God doesn't have desires, they are a human emotion. God doesn't have emotions.

Which God we're talking about was never specified, so I'm talking about the only one I really know: Descartes' god, from his book "Meditations."

And no, I've never read the bible or went to church.

Well, I read a science fiction short story once... I don't fully remember it, but I think it was along this theme:


An "allmighty" conscient power binds intelligent beings to research for it. (this "God" apparently doesn't know everything)

In the end, what they end up researching (although the being doesn't direct them to it) is how to end the existence of that being. This is also what that being desires, having lived "forever" and not wanting to keep living an endless meaningless "life".


If anyone else has read the same story, please tell me who wrote it and where I can find it to reread it. Also tell me if I remember it completely wrong! :P

Allah is the arabic word for god. If a christian was speaking arabic they would refer to god as Allah.

he'd ask for a new computer with a terabyte raid connected to it ;)

An innate part of a wish is desire. If you do not desire something, you do not wish you had it. Since God is all powerful, he would have the power to 'get' - although perhaps 'bring into being' would be a better way of putting it - anything he wanted. Therefore, the concept of a 'wish' to a deity would be meaningless. The question is therefore moot.

PS:

[quote]
Death - living forever must be unthinkably boring.
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God would have neither a concept of 'living' (since he does not die) nor of 'boredom'. Boredom is the result of a mind that is not interacting with anything, or performing any task. Since God is omnipresent and omnipotent, there could not possible *be* a moment when he *wasn't* interacting with something - unless the entire universe just 'stopped'.

Yes, I agree with Arta.. that's pretty much what I said, he doesn't need a wish :)

I disagree -- I think he wants a wooden phallus.

It doesn't matter, everyone already knows i'm god. 8)

[quote author=Arta[vL] link=board=2;threadid=2886;start=0#msg22668 date=1064961125]
God would have neither a concept of 'living' (since he does not die) nor of 'boredom'. Boredom is the result of a mind that is not interacting with anything, or performing any task. Since God is omnipresent and omnipotent, there could not possible *be* a moment when he *wasn't* interacting with something - unless the entire universe just 'stopped'.
[/quote]

That's incorrect. Boredom is the result of a mind that doesn't need to think, doesn't have a challenge, pretty much a mind that doesn't risk failure. Since God is omnipresent and omnipotent, he would then be bored, all the time. The easier something is to do, the more boring.

There are different types of boredom, like me being bored in computer engineering because I know all of the course already (simplicity). There is also bored due to repetitive failure and giving up doing something, like me in english (lack of understanding). The only other boredom I can think of would be due to boredom caused by not doing what you want to be doing, like me in english (lack of interest).

This question (which I forgot to mention) stems more along the lines of is God capable of wishing, like the question 'is god capable of making a rock so big that even he can't lift it', and my own made up one, 'is god powerful enough to kill himself'.

[quote author=Adron link=board=2;threadid=2886;start=15#msg22832 date=1065125688]
[quote author=Arta[vL] link=board=2;threadid=2886;start=0#msg22668 date=1064961125]
God would have neither a concept of 'living' (since he does not die) nor of 'boredom'. Boredom is the result of a mind that is not interacting with anything, or performing any task. Since God is omnipresent and omnipotent, there could not possible *be* a moment when he *wasn't* interacting with something - unless the entire universe just 'stopped'.
[/quote]

That's incorrect. Boredom is the result of a mind that doesn't need to think, doesn't have a challenge, pretty much a mind that doesn't risk failure. Since God is omnipresent and omnipotent, he would then be bored, all the time. The easier something is to do, the more boring.
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You're applying human emotions to something that is not a human.

[quote author=iago link=board=2;threadid=2886;start=15#msg22866 date=1065141177]
You're applying human emotions to something that is not a human.
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You're assuming that god wouldn't model human boredom after his own boredom.