The TSRS Imprint

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.” - Milan Kundera

“The houses of Italy form a colour wheel.”

The Technical Fallacies in the Internal Qualities of  

God

This article focuses on the God that is mentioned in Judeo-Christian scriptures, 

and whose image is widely accepted across Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Philosophers like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, who were heavily influenced 

by the writings of Plato and Aristotle, came up with a set of attributes that are 

widely accepted across all the Abrahamic religions. Although none of these are 

mentioned in any religious book like the Bible or the Quran, philosophers 

agreed that these attributes have to exist if God is perfect. These attributes 

include ‘Omniscience’, which is the ability to know all, ‘Omnipotence’, which 

refers to the state of being all-powerful, ‘Omnibenevolence’, or the quality of 

possessing perfect goodness, ‘Omnipresence’, or the ability to exist in all 

places, and ‘Omnitemporality,’ which is the ability to exist in all times.

The first problem, typically known as the 'omnipotence paradox,' arises when 

we look at Omnipotence.

Can God create a rock so heavy that he himself can't lift it? Since he is 

omnipotent, he has to be able to, otherwise there is one thing he can't do. 

However, if he creates such a rock, he won't be able to pick it up, hence 

proving that there is one thing he cannot do.

This is just the first of the internal contradictions that arise when we study the 

qualities of God. Some of these contradictions regard not just God, but people 

as well.

Humans are believed to have been given free will. But is free will just an 

illusion? When it is said that God is omniscient, it means that he knows 

everything that is going to happen. Arguable, knowing is not the same as 

causing. However, hypothetically, God knows that you are going to finish an 

entire glass of Coke, but you drink that glass of Coke because you can, out of 

free will. If you do not drink it, again out of free will, you will have proved God 

wrong, single-handedly stripping him of his Omniscience. Yet, since it is an 

absolute quality that God possesses, you cannot do something to prove him 

wrong, hence stripping the illusion of free will.  

Can God sin? Since he is omnipotent, it would seem that he can, since he can 

do anything. But if he is omnibenevolent, it means that he can’t. This is known 

as divine impeccability.

If God is impeccable and incapable of sin then doesn't that mean that he is not 

omnipotent? After all, anybody can sin, very easily in fact. It would seem 

strange that a mere mortal can do something that God can't. An argument 

contradicting this says that sin doesn't apply to God. That implies that even 

though God might do something that would be considered a sin if a human did 

it, the idea of sin simply doesn't apply to God, because as a result of his 

omnibenevolence, everything He does is, by default, perfect. This is troubling as 

it negates the value of God's goodness. Saying God did a thing is the same as 

saying God did a good thing; therefore, his goodness doesn't mean anything.

It's is hard to understand how God can have a personal relationship with his 

creatures (as claimed by numerous religious scriptures) if he doesn't experience 

time in the same way or feel the same way we do. If he already knows what is 

going to happen, is it even possible to change God's mind via a prayer?

"If God knows what's going to happen in the future, (which he does if he's 

omniscient) and if he has the power to bring about any state of affairs, (which 

he does if he's omnipotent) and if he always wants to bring about the best state 

of affairs, (which he does if he's omnibenevolent) then God has already decided 

what's going to happen in every single case, to everyone, always." - Eleanor 

Stumps, contemporary American philosopher.

So either a prayer is asking God to do something he was already going to do, 

making it a waste of time, or a prayer is asking God to do something he had 

already decided against because it wasn't the best course of action. It would be 

undesirable if God did change his mind because of a prayer, because that 

would not be best for mankind and we would end up sitting in some sort of a 

nuclear wasteland- hypothetically, of course.

Needless to say, God's qualities are, at the very least, internally inconsistent; 

they can't all exist at the same time.

The official dummies guide to Hindi slang for the 92% of students at TSRS that dropped Hindi in class 9 itself (myself included).

1. Bakra  

Literal meaning - Goat

Slang - “Aaj kaun sa naya bakra pakad ke canteen jayega?”

2. Dal Roti

Literal meaning -  Pulse & bread

Slang - “If you don’t get a good job how will you earn your dal roti beta?”

3. Fattu

Literal meaning -  Coward

Slang - “Fattu mat ban. paper ke answers dikha,”

4. Chamcha

Literal meaning - Spoon

Slang -  “Teacher ka chamcha hai, top maarega.”

5. Chindi

Literal meaning - Cheap

Slang - “Don’t be chindi, buy 2kg bhindi.”

6. Waat lagna

Literal meaning - To be in a problematic situation

Slang - “Yaar, physics UT mein waat lag gayi.”

7. Jugaad

Literal meaning - A patchy work around

Slang - “Chem practical file khatam karliya? Nahi yaar, jugaad karna padega.”

8. Chikna

Literal meaning - A fair person

Slang - “Ladka chikna hai, bahut girlfriends milenge.”

“What was your favourite day of school?

The day we finished Merchant of Venice!”

The very sentimental Senior Ed Board decided to embrace a last-year-at-school cliché: being nostalgic about the school lunch. And so we trudged our way from cluster B, narrowly missing the sprinting juniors, and reached the distant lunch hall. Amongst the deafening clatter of plates and spoons, and gossiping teachers, we sat and reviewed the rarely revered and more often rejected—our beloved school lunch. Over the next couple of days we’ll be uploading our favourite reviews. Here is the second one!

Appearance: The chef seems to have been stingy while applying sauce on the pasta, the burger looks like something served at a railway station and chilli potatoes look like wet, soggy Kurkure. So in other words, it looks as appetising as something served in a Michelin starred restaurant.

 Taste and Texture: The burgers are a little oily and very bready but taste surprisingly good for a vegetarian burger. The pasta is cooked well but the taste is nothing special. It is the epitome of generic pasta but we still eat large helpings of it because it is a continental dish and we are smitten by anything even slightly foreign. The potatoes aren’t crunchy enough and lacked the “chilly” part of chilly potatoes but was quite nice in its own right.

 Nutritional Value: None whatsoever! This is our school’s idea of a guilty pleasure.

 Overall Satisfaction: Yes! Ice cream!

The very sentimental Senior Ed Board decided to embrace a last-year-at-school cliché: being nostalgic about the school lunch. And so we trudged our way from cluster B, narrowly missing the sprinting juniors, and reached the distant lunch hall. Amongst the deafening clatter of plates and spoons, and gossiping teachers, we sat and reviewed the rarely revered and more often rejected—our beloved school lunch. Over the next couple of days we'll be uploading our favourite reviews. Here is the first one!

Rajma Chawal, Aloo Capsicum and Halwa

Appearance: The rajma chawal looks extremely inviting with the traditional, rusty red of the rajma seeping into the perfectly white rice. However, there is also a violently yellow and green dish of aloo with capsicum that does little good for one’s appetite. Another eye-sore is the halwa, Which resembles an iceberg floating in an ocean of ghee.

Taste and Texture: The rice tastes a little grainy but that is no excuse for us not to enjoy the classic dish of rajma chawal. A discerning individual may even be able to taste a hint of asafoetida (hing) in the rajma which adds an entirely new dimension to the food. The aloo feels mushy and disappointing. It is an unnecessary third wheel to the dynamic combination of rajma chawal and halwa. It is symbolic of the everyday frustrations of the average teenager: the great potential within each of us (including the aloo) is not able to shine through. The halwa is good but the excessive ghee prevents maximum satisfaction and leaves an unusual aftertaste.

Nutritional Value: The rajma chawal is a wholesome source of carbohydrates and proteins, while the capsicum makes sure we get our dose of green veggies. However, the excess ghee of the halwa is sure to keep the dieting teenagers away.

Overall Satisfaction: The comfort of the rajma chawal was greatly appreciated and made it easier to get through the long Friday in school. However, this comfort was diminished by the aloo and the ghee of the halwa, but you can’t really go wrong with rajma chawal and it will always be one of our favourite dishes in school.

I always thought of myself as a practical person who didn't fall for the stupid 'young love' concept. But I guess not. I'm writing this to ask you for help to get over someone who used to be very close to me, but isn't anymore because I suppose he/she found other interests (?). Right now I cannot afford to lose focus from studies, so any advice would be helpful. - Confuzed

Zorro: Firstly, Confuzed, can I just say how I like you because you because you replaced your 's' with a 'z'? Z is a good letter. You are a good person. Zara: Stop digressing, Zorro! Although I agree, you are a good person. You see, Confuzed, having been through something similar myself, I - Zorro: Here we go again... Zara: Fine. Confuzed, falling for someone doesn't make you impractical, it simply makes you human. At this point, the hormone levels in your body must be haywire, and it's but natural that you are in this position. I think we can all agree that it inevitably hurts the most when it's someone you're close to. Watching someone's interest change can be painful. Zorro: Unless the only thing you're interested in is food. Be more like me. Zara: Zorro, you seem to have a knack for digressing. FOCUS. Zorro: FINE. Confuzed, I don't usually open up about my feelings, but I'll do it for you, mate. Getting over someone isn't easy. It's a process that could take weeks, months or even years. As Zara said, watching someone you were close to drift away is an agonizing feeling, but sometimes letting someone go hurts less than holding on to a clearly empty relationship. Anyone who tells you it's like ripping a band-aid off is lying! It's more like waxing in my opinion - that's some painful stuff. But just remember the feeling of having a smooth body after the process is over. Doesn't it feel a tonne lighter? Zara: I was tearing up till you brought in the waxing analogy. I question my life choices at times like these. Confuzed, it's going to take an insane amount of time, but let it happen. Let this person go, because if their interests have changed and you are no longer a priority, it's time for you to let go. As for studies, well, it will be hard to get your mind off this person, I know, but I've realized that throwing yourself into your work serves two brilliant purposes - it gets your mind off the horror of 'young love', and it yields good results in your midterms. Zorro: Always remember, you can have a much stronger bond with your Chemistry textbook than with any person. It can be covalent this way too. Zara: I give up. Much love, Z&Z P.S.: To quote 3 Idiots, ‘Free ki advice hai, leni hai toh le lo, varna jaane do’.