godrulz37

I have been/I was (JW mentality) could imply pre-existence (as they argue), but not eternality/Deity. I AM is the self-existent one, GOD. The Jews understood His claims and went to stone Him for blasphemy, claiming to be equal with God. JWs do not understand His claims and reject them (making the Pharisees getting it more than they do as modern Pharisees)…but you know all this. Omnipotence is being able to do the doable. God cannot do the undoable (create square circles, married bachelors, etc.). The incarnation is an e.g. of the voluntary self-limitation of the eternal Word. Adding humanity to His Deity (without ceasing to be Deity; Jn. 1; Phil. 2) created inherent limitations not previously experienced by Him. Being able to snuff Satan, but not doing so, is a limitation of His exercise of His all-power….which is still subject to His will and mind…He can do many things that He does not do. He limits His intervention against evil at times (even Christians are raped and murdered). He cannot limit His inherent attributes. He cannot cease to be eternal, uncreated, triune, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. I would argue (against Aquinas, etc.) that His character qualities are more volitional (loving, good, faithful, etc.). So, we can be like God in some ways (character), but not like Him in other ways (Creator, omni, eternal, etc.)….this relates to the image of God (Imago Dei) and gets messed up in the maze of Mormonism and their finite godism/polytheism (which is a straw man argued in the book you gave me to read from Robert Morey, Battle of the gods…many years ago…he wrongly confused Open Theism with Process Thought, an unfair caricature…just as Calvinistic accusations that Arminianism is Pelagianism is also unfair….I have to be careful to not lump all Reformed/Calvinistic views in with hyper-Calvinism). I appreciate your good hearts and heads. Iron sharpens iron. As a reminder, our time and energy should primarily be with those in the kingdom of the cults who deny essential, salvific truths. Equally capable, godly believers have had doctrinal disputes on peripheral, but important issues for centuries. These merit our time and talents, but should be kept in perspective. Right beliefs (orthodoxy) and practice (orthopraxy) do matter, of course. God bless. It is the glory of a king to search out a matter (Proverbs).