God's Omniscience

So the more I think about it, the less convinced I am that God is omniscient in the way we generally understand it. We generally think that omniscience means that God knows everything about everything, including the future. He knows exactly what will happen when, no matter how mundane.

I think that this definition of omniscience destroys agency. Allow me to explain. Let's say God knows that I am going to to have to choose between choices A, B, and C tomorrow. Moreover, He knows that I'm going to choose B. Now, many argue that His knowledge of my choice does not determine that choice, but I'm not so sure. I think a requirement of choice is possibility, and God knowing that my choice will be B eliminates A and C from being possibilities.


Think of it this way. Let's say you come to a three-way fork in a road. Paths X and Z, however, are covered or camouflaged such that you never knew they were there. Thus, you chose Path Y. Would you really say that you chose Path B, though? I know I wouldn't. For me it's not a choice unless I know all the options available. I can't choose Path Y unless I know that Paths X and Z are also viable options.


Now, obviously there is a difference between the two scenarios: my knowledge/understanding of the circumstances. In the first case, I know that A and C are also viable options. In the second scenario, I don't know that X and Z are. Which raises the $64,000 question: Do you need different viable options or do you just need knowledge or understanding of different viable options in order to have agency?


I think you need both. Obviously you need some sort of knowledge or understanding of the different options available to you, but I think that those options have to actually be available. However, if God knows--for certain--which option you are going to choose, then how can you call A and C actual options? You can't choose A, because it's already been determined that you will choose B, and you can't choose C for the same reason; God may not have determined it, but it has been determined. Because it can't be any other way. And because you can't have a choice determined and still have it be a choice, I'm not so convinced that God's omniscience includes knowledge of our future choices.

Hiatus

So I haven't posted anything for a rather long time, and lately I've been trying to figure out why. The best answer I can come up with is that I was trying to fully process all the stuff I was working out before. It's one thing to come to a new understanding or new way of thinking about life and how to live, but it's quite another to actually live that way; to live according to that new understanding. I think that's what I've been doing, so I wasn't really able to think about any new stuff. I think I've managed to process it enough now, though, because I've now started thinking about new questions that I'm going to be discussing here. So stay tuned. Or don't. Either way, I'm going to be posting stuff, so it doesn't make a huge difference to me.