Afternoon InquisitionReligion

AI: The New and Improved Ass Kicking Thursday Afternoon Afternoon Inquisition.7

I received another suggestion for the “The New and Improved Ass Kicking Thursday Afternoon Afternoon Inquisition”. As you may recall, these are questions you all send in when you have something important you’d like the readers to discuss, or when you can tell that I’m totally out of good ideas. (Use the comments or contact page to suggest more.)

Today’s topic comes from Skepchick reader and frequent commenter, davew, who seems to be on a religious philosophical trickeration bent with his Inquisition. See what you can do with it.

Says davew:

Suppose you accept the premise of Christianity:

Is God a theist or an atheist? Does Jesus have faith? Does Jesus have free will?

The Afternoon Inquisition (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Skepchick community. Look for it to appear Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 3pm ET. And the New and Improved Ass Kicking Thursday Afternoon Afternoon Inquisition is something Sam made up. Look for it to appear when Sam is out of ideas, sick, or just too drunk to even blink.

Sam Ogden

Sam Ogden is a writer, beach bum, and songwriter living in Houston, Texas, but he may be found scratching himself at many points across the globe. Follow him on Twitter @SamOgden

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30 Comments

  1. I don’t think Jesus could have free will. He was sent to save mankind. If he had free will then he could have decided not to. God does not play dice with salvation.

  2. So Sam what is it this week? Out of ideas, sick, or just too drunk to even blink? I supose god must be a atheist cause if he/she/it believed in a god he/she/it would be flawed and would not be all knowing and all powerful. I mean an ant would think we humans are gods but were not.

  3. I’m assuming if God believes in godself (and hence a theist) then God would have to obey the same rules all other theists do. Sending your kid to have a pretty lousy weekend culminating in his death with apparently full knowledge of what was going to happen would, imho, violate at least a few of the rules, so I’m kinda thinking not.

  4. Well, if capital god were a theist, wouldn’t he have to believe in a higher power? Xtianity says there’s no higher power than god, so god must be an atheist. Fiat Lux, or whatever Latin phrase that means “so there.”

    Incidentally, the local church recently posted this message on their billboard; “Satan is no atheist.” Not sure what their point is…

  5. The question is moot. I just can not accept the premise. I love you guys but really! These AI questions are way too obtuse for me!! God an atheist? WTF?

  6. God would have to be an Athiest, why would God belive in a higher power? BUT would Satan be an christian? He knows God is real and knows about Jesus sounds like a christan. So the battle between out souls is the “good” guy is an Atheist and the “bad” guy is a christan. I think I hurt my brain. :)

  7. @Laika: The AI questions are meant as conversation starters leading to wherever they lead, and having seen davew’s posts for some time now, I suspect that tongue was firmly embedded in cheek on this one.

  8. Jesus got into Eastern stuff during college and became all about inner peace and balancing auras or something. I hear he’s chillin’ with his old lady at a communal farm in Upstate NY or something.

  9. @mrmisconception:
    Yeah I get it. I am just a literal minded, reality based kinda person that has trouble debating God believing in God. My world involves dogs and cats, poop and pee.

    PS happy birthday Harry Houdini!!

  10. God is a full out theist and jealous as he commanded his people to have no others before him which excluded his wife too.
    Jesus has as much free will as any of g0ds sheep..
    do what g0d says or get roasted..FOREVER!
    And jesus is NOT in Upstate NY!!
    He is hiding in Montana and is well armed!

  11. @llong: interesting point, really… had Jesus disobeyed and gotten out of Jerusalem Thursday night would God have sent him to hell? hmmmmm…..

  12. @Laika: Yeah I get it. I am just a literal minded, reality based kinda person that has trouble debating God believing in God. My world involves dogs and cats, poop and pee.

    OK, in that case, God’s a poop-pee head. :)

  13. Suppose you accept the premise of Christianity

    Accepting even the basic premises of Christianity involves breaking the rules of logic. You can’t answer any of those questions because your premise contradicts itself. However you alter reality so the beliefs of christianity become intelligable will answer those questions.

  14. Of course God believes in himself.

    Cause he’s good enough,

    and he’s smart enough,

    and doggone it people LIKE him!

  15. As an adult, I have more freedom than I did as a child. However, I have fewer choices because I also see the world differently. If we accept the premises of Christianity, then I believe God would have more freedom than an adult human. I also believe God would have fewer choices. (further, I would believe being “god” could be defined as this type of thinking.)

    Jesus had the ability to turn rocks into bread to feed himself, but did not have the choice. Similarly I have the ability to run my car off the road into a crowd of elderly ladies, but I don’t have the choice.

    This is not a question of free will, however. Rather it is free won’t. The more things you are aware of and the more abstractly you are able to conceive the consequences of actions, the more you are able to not do specific actions while still doing other actions.

    As a child, if I didn’t like something (let’s say mashed potatoes) I’d say, “I don’t like mashed potatoes.” I lacked the ability to both say that I didn’t like something AND not be offensive AND sometimes even knowing I’m being offensive. As an adult, if I don’t like something I’d be more tactful. I might not even say anything at all. Yes, officer, I was speeding; no, sir, I didn’t notice your halitosis.

    @anonentity: You’re talkin bout my Buddy Jesus! Two thumbs up!

  16. I guess Jesus doesn’t have free will because he knows everything that will happen. But then again, he knows everything that will happen, and he could change what he knows will happen. But since he knows what will happen, does that mean he knows that he will try to change things towards free will, therefore he won’t change things? Does the fact that he knows everything that will happen take account of the fact that he knows everything that will happen? Grrr… Infinities annoy me, they produce nonsense results.

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