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  • From: Mike Myers <mmyers AT helium.biomol.uci.edu>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Maimonides' static God
  • Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 12:25:52 -0800



Hi Lewis, Welcome to Corpus-Paul,

My torah study group and I have been plowing through Guide to the
Perplexed for the past few months. We are only halfway through the
first part. Maimonides could not have believed in system which was
valid at one time for/to God and then no longer valid. The primary
starting point for M was that God does not change. We haven't
gotten up to M's stand on the commandments yet, but I can't imagine
his God actually giving out commandments. His God does nothing but
think about himself. I don't know where the commandments would have
fit into his system. Certainly God is not influenced by whether or
not people follow them, since God does not change. Once you assume
an unchanging God you have a major paradigm shift.

Liz

*******************************************************************

This is a really interesting point Liz. Ever since I read Jack
Miles' "God: A Biography", this is a question that I can't get out
of my head -- Why can't God change?

Is there strong reason to think that the HB teaches a static God?
Isn't this a Greek idea? Would be interested in what you and Lewis
think about this.

Mike

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael D. A. Myers
University of California, Irvine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<mmyers AT helium.biomol.uci.edu>
06/02/1999
12:25:52





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