Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Godel's Theorem Proves There Will Never Be A Last "Prophet"

It is asserted by some that there was a last "prophet" but is this true or is it even possible that such a person could exist? Well if God is infinite in qualities and depth and knowledge then one can only aspire to him but never reach him.One must have less knowledge than God no matter how wise that person is.Likewise in mathematics Godel's theorem says that mathematical knowledge is infinite and that there are true and unprovable sentences always beyond our ability to understand their truthfulness.So there will never be a final mathematician who knows everything about the natural numbers!Likewise by analogy there can be no final word about god since by definition he must be at least as complex as the natural numbers and hence no final prophet.God like the set of arithmetical truths is infinite so the number of things which can be said about him are infinite so of necessity there must be an infinite number of prophets each more knowledgeable than the previous.So finally logic and thinking make their presence felt in religion and destroy a long held erroneous belief.The problem is in an axiomatic system which religion purports to be if there is even one error or inconsistency then anything can be proven and the whole system falls apart.Anyone who tells you there is a last prophet or it's equivalent even the possibility of such a person is of necessity ignorant and everything they say should be suspect.So now that logic has torn a hole in religion or perhaps expanded it when will religion rise to the new reality?