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alexandra_k said:
I think that (this is my personal take) in order for god to exist it must be POSSIBLE for him to exist. There are thus constraints on his nature (his nature can't be IMPOSSIBLE aka CONTRADICTORY). Thus... Reflection on Gods nature can help us get clearer on gods nature.

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Another notion (the one I have some sympathy with) is the idea that there is a supernatural being who caused the first event in the natural world. Thats about as far as I'm willing to take the intelligent design hypothesis.

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There are absolutely restraints that God has put on Himself, such as the fact that He will not go against His own will, meaning exactly what you have pointed out above.

He cannot lie. (Titus 1:2) He cannot (will not) be unjust, unloving, showing no mercy, etc. This is the foundation of God and His nature - unchanging - the ultimate standard - perfection in every sense.

And as respects your second comment re "as far as you're willing to go," well, I just find that interesting...

You have certainly considered "both sides" of the arguments that, probably the brightest of minds, have put forth, but have you actually considered what God says about himself rather than just considering what "mankind" supposes him to be?

Indeed, if you do find contradictory statements from a particular religion or teachers about who God is, then I would too, not trust any of their teachings.

I am highly skeptical when it comes to such things. If I find hypocrisy about God and who He is within a particular religion/teaching, then forget it.

If there is contradiction, then we've got it wrong! After all, we are just learning (about everything - us, our planet and what's on it, in it, around it, how to put it in a pure language (mathematics), how to interpret it, etc.) He already knows this stuff.

What would be so fun about life if God answered every question when we asked it? Even when we are brought back to perfection, we still won't have all the answers - the greatest gift He gave us was the capacity to learn and learn and learn...

Wow, probably way off the topic by now. Oh, yeah, this is coming from a Christian perspective (which I am sure you were aware of already).

Altered State