Attributes of God - problems with an eternal God + Omniscience II
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 12-05-17 09:40
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- Problems with an Eternal God + Omniscience
- Anthony Kenny
- Queried whether it is meaningful to talk about events all being 'simultaneously present to God'.
- He argues point of events happening within history is that they are NOT all happening at same time.
- He also regards idea of a 'timeless moment' as logically coherent.
- Analogy
- mountain - God can look down and see everything but realises it doesn't happen at once.
- Analogy
- Richard Swinburne
- "For myself I cannot make much sense of this (all events being simultaneously present to God) suggestion - for many reasons. For example, I cannot see that anything can be meant by saying that God knows (as they happen) the events of AD 1995 unless it means that he exists in 1995 and knows in 1995 what is happening then...hence I prefer that understanding of God as being eternal as his being everlasting rather than his being timeless."
- He must be in the moment.
- "For myself I cannot make much sense of this (all events being simultaneously present to God) suggestion - for many reasons. For example, I cannot see that anything can be meant by saying that God knows (as they happen) the events of AD 1995 unless it means that he exists in 1995 and knows in 1995 what is happening then...hence I prefer that understanding of God as being eternal as his being everlasting rather than his being timeless."
- Nicholas Wolterstorff
- Only way to understand actions of a biblical God are as free actions in response to human beings - which suggest that God's actions involve passing of time.
- Examples:
- Creation in 7 days
- Jesus - incarnation
- Moses and Israelites
- He goes onto to argue ideas of God as saviour and worthy of worship don't really make sense unless God is in time:
- "He is the Lord of what occurs. And that, along with the specific pattern of what he does, grounds all authentically biblical worship of, and obedience to, God. It is not because he is outside time - eternal, immutable, impassive - that we worship and obey God. It is because of what he can and does bring about within time that we mortals are to render him praise and obedience."
- How can an eternal God be personal - have a relationship with humans
- What does this mean for God's omnipotence? (action/intervention/interaction)
- Anthony Kenny
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