Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 65 (9164 total)
2 online now:
Newest Member: ChatGPT
Post Volume: Total: 916,914 Year: 4,171/9,624 Month: 1,042/974 Week: 1/368 Day: 1/11 Hour: 0/0


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Free Will and Biblical Prophecy: Are They Mutually Exclusive?
cavediver
Member (Idle past 3674 days)
Posts: 4129
From: UK
Joined: 06-16-2005


Message 212 of 227 (496855)
01-31-2009 5:50 AM


Forget about gods and prophecies...
General Relativity (GR) is a phenomenally successful model of reality at the large-scale. GR shows us that circular paths in time (closed-timelike curves, or CTCs) are not only theoretically possible but, in some space-times, endemic. Sadly, in practice, they are likely to be highly unstable. But even so, theoretically we can have arbitrarily accurate foreknowledge of anything you care to consider by careful use of time-travellers. We do not need any concept of omniscient beings or prophecies. How's your free-will holding up?

Replies to this message:
 Message 213 by Straggler, posted 01-31-2009 11:43 AM cavediver has replied

  
cavediver
Member (Idle past 3674 days)
Posts: 4129
From: UK
Joined: 06-16-2005


Message 215 of 227 (496972)
01-31-2009 6:21 PM
Reply to: Message 213 by Straggler
01-31-2009 11:43 AM


Re: Forget about gods and prophecies...
According to these theories if we gain knowledge of the future does that future incorporate the fact that we had that foreknowledge?
Space-time is a four-dimensional solid. Past, now, and future all equally exist, and are just a matter of perspective. At least, that is the picture we gain from GR.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 213 by Straggler, posted 01-31-2009 11:43 AM Straggler has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 217 by Straggler, posted 02-01-2009 6:19 AM cavediver has not replied

  
cavediver
Member (Idle past 3674 days)
Posts: 4129
From: UK
Joined: 06-16-2005


Message 216 of 227 (496975)
01-31-2009 6:28 PM
Reply to: Message 214 by Agobot
01-31-2009 1:25 PM


Re: Forget about gods and prophecies...
if these theories are true, you should occassionally be running across flocks of time-travellers from the future
Backwards time-travel is very likely to be impossible in practice: time-machines are inherently highly unstable. Also, a time-machine cannot take you further back in time than the time the machine first becomes operational, so if you want to see dinosaurs, you'll need to find either a naturally occuring time-machine, or a friendly alien who will lend you his.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 214 by Agobot, posted 01-31-2009 1:25 PM Agobot has not replied

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024