Deep thoughts: Is Jehovah omnipotent?

Paralipomenon

Jehovah is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient.

He is the God of gods and all powerful. This is a fairly accepted teaching and one that no active witness would argue with. So the question comes up, is he petty? "Surely not" is the indignant reply.

Now after some musings I was thinking about Armageddon. If I was an omnipotent God of gods and I wanted to wipe out all the evildoers, what would I do?

Very simple, I'd blink them out of existence. There, they are all gone and their technology too, quite easy right?

Well we have a small problem. You see, Jehovah has wiped out the wicked from the earth before. This was in the time of Noah when wickedness was running rampart and Jehovah decided to wipe the earth clean. This was done by the means of a flood, a very natural method. In fact Jehovah was powerless to protect his faithful at the time by divine intervention or at least didn't care to exert himself.

Noah was instructed to build an ark and get 2 of each species of animal and 6 of each livestock to preserve them before the destruction. Was this to test faith? Was this to serve as an example to the survivors? You could argue so and leave it at that.

Next up, lets take a look at Sodom and Gomorrah. Those two cites were slated for destruction directly by Jehovah himself. After warning was given and the faithful fled the city, fire and sulfur rained down from the heavens destroying these two cities.

So Jehovah has identified that he has mastery over the natural elements of the earth, but needs to use physical means to execute his will. This is made very apparent in the foretold destruction of the earth at Armageddon.

It is said that the earth will be ripped asunder, fire will rain down from the skies and a great trembling will topple towers. That is, volcanos, earthquakes, lightning and potentially a meteor shower.

Why? Ask this question of any faithful witness and the reply is, so they know where the destruction is coming from. At the end of times when the governments turn against God's people that is when Jehovah will take action and turn against them. They will know that it is Jehovah is their judge.

Wow, powerful stuff but that didn't answer my question... why? According to the teachings, those killed at Armageddon will be sealed in death for time eternal. That's it, the final curtain. So what purpose does it serve for the dramatic destruction? In these people's final hours, why must their death be so gruesome and painful if they are just about to fade out of existence without memory of their fate? So the question comes up, is Jehovah truly omnipotent but yet choses to torture those not worthy, or does he lack the power to actually just take everyone's life force? Is his power only restricted to the elements and nature?

Even though the bible paints the picture of a very powerful God, I fail to see any evidence of an omnipotent one.

Scully

One thing that used to bug me about Jehovah™ was the idea that he was going to destroy all the wickedness in the world and leave the rubble for surviving JWs (and the birds) to clean up.

I used to ask my JW friends "If Jehovah is so powerful that he can destroy all the wickedness in the world, why the heck can't he clean up his own damn mess? If it's such a simple thing for him to cleanse the earth of wickedness, it should be just as easy to do the clean up afterward too, right? Why does he need people to do it for him?"

DannyBloem

good thoughts.

The answer: "they knowed what killed them" is quite silly. What they know? they are dead.

Then why God wants to make sure that the wants going to die know who he is, but the once living he leaves in complete darkness?

Paralipomenon

Ironically, when Jehovah kills people he uses the forces of nature, when an angel kills people it is done silently and in their sleep.

ie. Assyrians wiped out in Hezekiah's time, firstborn of Egypt

I guess only certain people need to know what's killing them.

PrimateDave

For that matter, why does he need people to spread the Good News of His Kingdom by Christ. We were often told that the angels are envious of our privilege to talk about Jehovah and his purpose for the earth in this time of the end.

Aside from some very vague end-time prophesies in the Bible, which are not proof of inspiration in my opinion, there is no other evidence of the divine on the earth today. We are told that Jehovah is testing our heart condition: To reveal Himself or Jesus too fully would compromise The Bet he made with Satan.

Ironically, the angel that became Satan knew Jehovah face to face and still betrayed Him. Adam walked with Jehovah in the Garden of Eden and still sinned against Him. The Israelites witnessed the separation of the Red Sea and still lost faith in Him. I could go on.

Frankly, all I ever ask of Him is some evidence of the divine (not the demon folklore of the Watchtower Society) like what supposedly happened in the past so that I could reject Him to His face if I so choose.

So, why must Jehovah be so cruel and drawn out in His destructions? Because these were merely stories made to frighten the ignorant masses into obeying organized priesthoods (and Governing Bodies). What a way to earn a living, eh?

Dave

LongHairGal

Paralipomenon:

I know exactly what you mean and have thought the same thing myself. Is he REALLY all powerful or is he limited. I don't think we will get an answer to that. The last time I thought about this in depth had to do with the topic of the dinosaurs and how they were wiped out. Supposedly the earth had to be made ready for man and the dinos had to go. Common opinion was that a giant asteroid was sent to collide with the earth to bring about this extinction level event, etc., etc. My question is: why go through all the trouble to have the asteroid do this if he could do it instantaneously? So, the second question would be: is he NOT able to or does he not WANT to?

LHG

hamsterbait

No.

He cannot instantaneously materialize a previously non-existent eighteen month old heifer.

Neither can he put the world to rights without annihilating most of humanity in the process.

HB

JamesThomas

Is he REALLY all powerful or is he limited. I don't think we will get an answer to that.

The answer stares us in the face.

Seriously, does the infinite and wondrous expression of life and universe give witness to the limited and erratic tribal-deity found within the pages of the Bible as being it's Source!?

j

agapa37

Very interesting topic. You made the statement: This is a fairly accepted teaching and one that no active witness would argue with.

Well I must say that you may be suprised with the fact that JWS do not agree with God being omnipresent. God is indeed omnipotent, and he is omniscient in the sense that nothing can be hidden from him. But is he omnipresent? Is God everywhere, or is he a person with a specific dwelling place?

JamesThomas

But is he omnipresent? Is God everywhere, or is he a person with a specific dwelling place?

Certainly if we get our little god out of a book -- it is nothing but a tiny shard of existence that dwells between our ears. "God", is only a word that the mind uses to define, limit and circumscribe the divine to some tiny thing that it can be owned and embraced like a toy doll.

What has no beginning and no end is not a god. It is Reality. That, which everything exists within. Let go of all gods and Divinity has no boundary or edge.

j

Deep thoughts: Is Jehovah omnipotent?

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