Nature of God Consolidation

Nature of God Consolidation:

Content:

Omnipotence:

God as Eternal:

Freedom:

Omniscience:

Random Notes I remembered that probably have use somewhere:

Nature Of God Consolidation:

Attributes of God:

• Omnipotent

• Omniscient

• Benevolent

• Omnipresent

• Transcendent

• Merciful

• Sacrificial

• Everlasting - in time (beginning and no end)

• Eternal - outside of time (no beginning and no end)

Omnipotence:

View 1: God can do anything, including the impossible

• God can make a square circle

• God can make 2+2 = 5

Descartes takes this approach - if omnipotence does not mean that God can do absolutely anything, how could he perform miracles? - these go against human nature

Anselm’s view was that omnipotence means that God has unlimited power and so God has the power to lie, but wont because of his benevolence

Internal angles of a triangle = 180. This is the property of the triangle and without this, it is not a triangle.

Critique - If God can do the logically impossible, why do things such as the problem of evil and the inconsistent triad exist?

View 2: God can only do the logically possible

• God cannot make a square circle

• God has logically possible powers

Aquinas argued that God can only do what is possible and which does not lead to contradiction. Logical possibility means that God can only do what a perfect God can - that is, he cannot sin.

Swinburne argues that God being able to do everything has to be understood in content. A square circle is not ‘a thing’ and so God cannot create one, this saying god can do every ‘thing’ does not limit him.

Critique - God can resurrect which is not logically possible. (this is irrelevant when thinking about God as a concept and not the manifestation of him on Earth but is relevant when thinking of a suffering God)

View 3: Self-Imposed limitation

• God created a limited universe and therefore he only operates within the natural laws he created.

• God’s power surpasses human understanding without being unlimited

Critique - Is God worthy of worship if he has specifically chosen to allow the extent of suffering there is in the world?

God as Eternal:

Boethius’ view takes into account the problem that if God is eternal and knows the future, how can we be morally responsible for our actions?

• Eternity is the ‘simultaneous possession of boundless life’ - God possesses all at the same time all of existence (boundless life)

• This is ‘made clearer by comparison with temporal things’

• We do not have boundless life and so we live from moment to moment - from past to present to future. we do not ‘embrace the infinity of life all at once’

• However, God does and so God cannot have lost the past and doesn't have the future to look forward to. God is always infinitely present to himself

• Eternity, therefore, is something that…