Nature of God- omnipotence

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  • Created by: _bella_
  • Created on: 02-05-19 11:54
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  • Nature of God- Omnipotence
    • Aquinas
      • God cannot sin or perform evil acts as He is a perfect being which cannot be in error.
      • " It is better to say that some things cannot be done, rather than God cannot do that"
    • Descartes
      • God has the power to carry out actions which are logically impossible/ contradictory
      • God could make a square circle or make 2+2=5
      • God breaks the laws of physics and mathematics
      • BUT- most christian scholars reject this view as it is flawed- logical contradictions are not 'things'
    • Swinburne
      • Argues  omnipotence means that God is able to do anything as long as it's possible
    • Whitehead and Hartshorne
      • Process Theologian-- humans, through free will, capable of putting up resistance to God
    • Macquarrie
      • Concurs w/ Vardy- linked w/ Christology: Kenosis 'self gained popularity' in existentialism
    • Vardy
      • Argues God's omnipotence is much more limited than previously suggested.
      • Argues it's wrong to suggest that everything that happens is due to the will of God.
      • God created the universe in such a way that his ability to act is necessarily limited
    • Criticism of Swinburne
      • The view turns God into an unpredictable and arbitrary deity- Presents him as being that humans cannot hope to comprehend or rly upon
    • Modern View
      • God deliberately limits his power in order for us to have free will

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