The argument from incoherence is a sound argument for the non-existence of God.

It is certainly a great pleasure to be debating you once again. Opening Arguments I will start with the syllogism itself: 1. Anything with contradictory properties cannot exist; 2. God has contradictory properties; 3. Therefore, God cannot exist. PREMISE 1: ANYTHING WITH CONTRADICTORY PROPERTIES CANNOT EXIST In the same way a square circle cannot exist, or an invisible pink unicorn cannot exist, God cannot exist. Why can’t a square circle exist? Because its properties (or attributes) are incoherent. What is a contradiction? A contradiction is two or more propositions which are logically incompatible with one another. For example, X cannot be both true and false at the same time. This is what I mean when I say that God has incoherent attributes or when anything has incoherent attributes. PREMISE 2: GOD HAS INCOHERENT ATTRIBUTES I will present four attributes of God that I believe to be incoherent and contradictory. Omnipotence vs. Omniscient God is, by definition, all knowing and all powerful. 1. If God is all knowing, then he knows the future before it occurs. 2. God is all knowing. 3. Therefore, he knows the future before it occurs. The Bible testifies to the fact that God knows the future: Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB) “For I know the plans that I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. There are many other verses that can testify to the fact that God knows the future. Now, let’s look at all powerful: 1. If God is all powerful, then he has the power to change the future; 2. God is all powerful. 3. Therefore, he has the power to change the future. However, it is impossible for you to change the future if you know that it is going to occur. As an illustration, let’s say that tomorrow you know for100 per cent certainty that Obama is going to win the 2012 election in November. As much as you may not like Obama, do you really have any power or any control over this? No. In the same way, God has no control over the future. This is one of the many reasons why I do not believe in the power of prayer because if prayer had any effect at all, then God would be forced to change the future—in other words, whatever happens is going to happen. Not only does prayer have no effect on the future, but God has no power to change it. Either that or God does not know the future which contradicts the basic principles of all power and the basic principles of the Scripture’s definition. Free will vs. All knowing The following syllogism is made by Theodore Drange in his 1998 article “Incompatible-Properties Arguments: A Survey” (Drange, 1998) 1. If God exists, then he is omniscient. 2. If God exists, then he is free. 3. An omniscient being must know exactly what actions he will and will not do in the future. 4. If one knows that he will do an action, then it is impossible for him not to do it, and if one knows that he will not do an action, then it is impossible for him to do it. 5. Thus, whatever an omniscient being does, he must do, and whatever he does not do, he cannot do (from 3 and 4). 6. To be free requires having options open, which means having the ability to act contrary to the way one actually acts. 7. So, if one is free, then he does not have to do what he actually does, and he is able to do things that he does not actually do (from 6). 8. Hence, it is impossible for an omniscient being to be free (from 5 and 7). 9. Therefore, it is impossible for God to exist (from 1, 2, and 8). By free will, I am referring to libertarian free will; in other words, God has the ability to choose his actions. By definition, I you have free will you must have more than one option, each of which is avoidable. Consequently, it is imperative that there must have been a time of uncertainty—a time where you did not know the action that you will choose. Even allowing for a prediction for a decision, you must admit the potential to change your mind before the action is complete. (Barker, 1997) What are the consequences of this? It means that God either knows his future actions or he does not. Why? A being that knows everything has no “state of uncertainty. ” It knows its choices in advance meaning that it has no potential to avoid the action. If he knows his future actions, then he cannot change them (i. e. , he has no free will) whereas if God does have free will, then God does not know his future actions (i. e. , not all knowing). CONCLUSION God cannot exist because his attributes are incoherent. I rest my case and wish my opponent the best of luck. Bibliography Barker, D. (1997, August). The Freewill Argument. Retrieved June 2012, 30, from Freedom From Religion: . http://ffrf.org... Drange, T. M. (1998). Incompatible-Properties Arguments: A Survey. Retrieved June 2012, 30, from The Secular Web: . http://www.infidels.org...