The Almighty and Omni-

Posted by ESC on May 13, 2002

In Reply to: The Almighty and Omni- posted by Bob on May 12, 2002

: : : : This came up while chatting the other evening. God (Who's tended to have *excellent* PR representation throughout the ages) is allegedly all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), all over the place (omnipresent) and all-seeing (omni...erm)

: : : : Can anyone fill in the blank with a Latin-derived omni- construct? I toyed in desperation with omnivideant, but don't believe it exists.

: : : No, but it almost does. OED has a section on "omni-" compounds, including these:
: : : Omnipercipient, perceiving all things.
: : : Omnispective, looking into or beholding all things.
: : : Omnividence, the capacity of seeing all things.
: : : Omnividency, a seeing of all things; 'universal inspection'.
: : : Omnivision, the action or faculty of seeing all things; omnividence.

: : Thank you... from that one can happily deduce "omnivident", which I really should have had a better stab at.

: But seeing all is a mere subset of knowing all. You can ask a camera questions, but it just doesn't get it. And, frankly, once God has wrapped up Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent, that's enough. She should quit bragging.

This is an excellent subject to ponder. I am inspired to post a favorite Bible verse:

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10