Mirror god problem

[Exmortis]

Hypothetically speaking, lets say you have two deities who exist on a planet with complex life. For argument sake, lets say they cannot exist anywhere else.
They also possess these general attributes: omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Additionally, one represents evil and must destroy all good and the other represents good and must destroy all evil.

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

 

[Prolescum]

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

An unusual but excessively long-winded argument about whether being omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent is compatible with not being able to exist anywhere else and why it's debatable that evil exists at all, I suspect...

 

[nasher168]

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

Utter annihilation of one another in an instant?

 

[Aught3]

It's impossible for two omnipotent beings to simultaneously exist.

 

[nemesiss]

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

you waking up from a hangover, naked with a goat in your bed.

 

[Anachronous Rex]

Zoroastrianism.

 

[FaithlessThinker]

Hypothetically speaking, lets say you have two deities who exist on a planet with complex life. For argument sake, lets say they cannot exist anywhere else.
They also possess these general attributes: omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Additionally, one represents evil and must destroy all good and the other represents good and must destroy all evil.

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

*thinking...*

Hmm, your argument has a fundamental flaw (besides the one pointed out by the Aught3). It's logically impossible for a hypothetical omnipresent deity to "not exist anywhere else (other than the mentioned planet)."

Second, if the deities were omnipresent, they would neutralize each other, much the same way as acid neutralizes base in an equivalent solution. Neither of the deities would have any further effect.

Third, if the quality of omnipresence is hypothetically removed from the original hypothetical scenario, omnipotence would ensure a never-ending war, because neither deity is stronger than the other. And omniscience would ensure that war tactics such as guerrilla do not work because both deities have full knowledge of each other in every way.

There are of course problems because an omnipotent deity must be able to stop his war knowledge from leaking into the mind of the other omnipotent deity, who must also be able to cause the leakage.

Nevertheless, the war would go on forever. That's possibly the only outcome for this hypothetical scenario.

Now, only if I could know how thinking about such a hypothetical scenario and its outcome is going to help the universe...

 

[MineMineMine]

Additionally, one represents evil and must destroy all good and the other represents good and must destroy all evil.

Depends on the fictional universe you are in. All lot of Omnipotent good gods are considered as much stronger than Omnipotent evil gods. (Yahwe > Satan for example).

And yes your question could be formulated as we apply two equal forces in opposing direction. which one is stronger?

Now, only if I could know how thinking about such a hypothetical scenario and its outcome is going to help the universe...

Ah well probably the same way as exercising math does.

 

[Pulsar]

Hypothetically speaking, lets say you have two deities who exist on a planet with complex life. For argument sake, lets say they cannot exist anywhere else.
They also possess these general attributes: omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Additionally, one represents evil and must destroy all good and the other represents good and must destroy all evil.

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

They start a series with horribly complicated and far-fetched plot twists.

 

[Exmortis]

Fine, they refuse to give up this planet for X reasons. The details aren't important. What is more interesting is the principle which this scenario exhibits.

if the deities were omnipresent, they would neutralize each other, much the same way as acid neutralizes base in an equivalent solution. Neither of the deities would have any further effect.

Third, if the quality of omnipresence is hypothetically removed from the original hypothetical scenario, omnipotence would ensure a never-ending war, because neither deity is stronger than the other. And omniscience would ensure that war tactics such as guerrilla do not work because both deities have full knowledge of each other in every way.

There are of course problems because an omnipotent deity must be able to stop his war knowledge from leaking into the mind of the other omnipotent deity, who must also be able to cause the leakage.

Nevertheless, the war would go on forever. That's possibly the only outcome for this hypothetical scenario.

Yep, this is probably the most likely path this scenario would take. Additionally it is highly likely that most forms of life would be destroyed or turned into horrible mockeries of life by the deities in order to utilize them as weapons.

It's impossible for two omnipotent beings to simultaneously exist.

Your basis for this is?
Anyway, I think it highly improbable that one Omnipotent being would exist.

 

[Aught3]

Your basis for this is?

http://www.springerlink.com/content/185212qk288025t8/

 

[Exmortis]

I see...

Tis a well thought out concept. Two equal forces working against one another results in a stalemate.

 

[PatrickTheScienceGuy]

It's impossible for two omnipotent beings to simultaneously exist.

i point you to the Q continuum.

 

[Squagnut]

You may as well ask what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object. Since I cannot conceive of a universe in which both can exist (on a good day, I can't even distinguish one from the other), the outcome of the two gods' quarrel is: an inconceivable event.

YMMV, of course.

 

[FaithlessThinker]

It's impossible for two omnipotent beings to simultaneously exist.

Your basis for this is?

Could there be two omnipotent beings such that one is able to punch the other, and the other is able to paralyze the arms of the first?

Omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience all have serious logical problems. A scenario involving any of them or a combination of them would very likely turn out to be logically incoherent, therefore impossible.

It's funny how we can freely play random games with gods in our minds. An omnipotent god should be able to stop all blasphemy, if blasphemy hurts him... her or it. I would definitely try to stop anything that could hurt me rather than letting it occur and hurting someone else for it.

 

[DeathofSpeech]

Hypothetically speaking, lets say you have two deities who exist on a planet with complex life. For argument sake, lets say they cannot exist anywhere else.
They also possess these general attributes: omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Additionally, one represents evil and must destroy all good and the other represents good and must destroy all evil.

What is the most probable outcome of this scenario?

Disregarding the obvious fallacy that one can be omnipotent and limited to the single planet at the same time...

My take on this is that if each were omniscient, then as identity is dependent upon uniqueness of self they would be indistinguishable from each other.
They must then be a single entity.
If they are both omnipresent then their physical existences are congruent with each other, further evidence that they must be a single being.

That would leave me with the conclusion that god was a single entity with a Dissociative Identity Disorder.
As I have suspected for so long, god is batshit crazy and thinks he's god and the devil on alternately even and odd numbered days.


@nemesiss
ROFL... goat

 

[FaithlessThinker]

If they are both omnipresent then their physical existences are congruent with each other, further evidence that they must be a single being.

It could be argued that they need not be a single being, much like how a sugar solution is not a single substance, but an evenly distributed mixture of two substances - sugar and water.

Besides that, LOL at your answer

 

[TheFlyingBastard]

Is this something like the unstoppable projectile vs the immovable object?

 

[Exmortis]

Omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience all have serious logical problems.

That's funny isn't it. These three qualities are probably how most people would describe a "god". Yet, they are not logically possible. So that means that god isn't possible.
Why is that such a hard concept to grasp?

Also I have been playing with a thought.
If two forces are perfectly equal and are work against one another then they reach a stalemate right? So, assuming that there was one omnipotent being and then this 'god' brought another omnipotent into being, for X reasons, then, if a conflict were to arise between them, wouldn't those to entities counter-act one another. Ignoring that fact that one Deity can't logically exist, of course. Would this not result in two completely powerless deities?... something barely worth calling a deity really.

My only issue with this idea is that, constant conflict would surely not go unnoticed. Thus, I don't seriously pay much attention to this concept. However, I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys think. Once again this is a hypothetical scenario.

 

[FaithlessThinker]

These three qualities are probably how most people would describe a "god". Yet, they are not logically possible. So that means that god isn't possible.

Actually it only means that "god" as described by most people isn't possible. We mustn't forget that gods in the hindu mythology aren't considered omnipotent, omnipresent or omniscient. I would argue against a notion that such imaginary beings are possible beyond imagination.

If two forces are perfectly equal and are work against one another then they reach a stalemate right? So, assuming that there was one omnipotent being and then this 'god' brought another omnipotent into being, for X reasons, then, if a conflict were to arise between them, wouldn't those to entities counter-act one another. Ignoring that fact that one Deity can't logically exist, of course. Would this not result in two completely powerless deities?... something barely worth calling a deity really.

My only issue with this idea is that, constant conflict would surely not go unnoticed. Thus, I don't seriously pay much attention to this concept. However, I thought it would be interesting to see what you guys think. Once again this is a hypothetical scenario.

There is a possibility that one might argue that properties of the physical universe need not apply to the deities. But it's difficult to test or even imagine such a scenario set in a non-physics-applying universe, because we don't know how a non-physics-applying universe would behave. It could behave in any number of ways just as how a non-stamp-collector could collect any number of other things or nothing at all.

But yea if we're talking about our physics-applying universe, we should remember that while two equal forces acting in opposite direction has no net effect, that doesn't mean the forces are powerless in their own right. Therefore two omnipotent deities against each other could have no net effect (neither of them wins the fight) but it doesn't mean either of them are powerless. It only means the two put together are powerless because one omnipotent deity always cancels out the power of the other.

If you don't get what I mean, take two men of exactly equal strength, both of whom regularly visits their gym to build their biceps. Now put them on an arm fight:

Neither of them will win. But if you're not a regular gym visitor and don't build your biceps that much, can you still win either of them? By your logic, since neither arm fighter can win the other, both should be completely powerless, and you should be able to flat them out in just one go regardless of how weak you are compared to them.