Attributes of God

Question 1

What are the four main attributes of God and what do they all mean?

Answer 1

Omnibenevolent - all loving
Omniscient- all knowing
Omnipresent- everywhere all at once and at the same time
Omnipotent- all powerful

Question 2

What do Hebrews believe about God?

Answer 2

They believe he is ‘omni’, unlimited in everything and is responsible for everything.

Question 3

What is determinism?

Answer 3

We have a set future and have to go alongside everything set for us.

Question 4

What is a criticism of determinism?

Answer 4

The idea of heaven and hell isn’t fair if we’re born definitely going to one of them.

Question 5

What does eternal mean and how does it go alongside God?

Answer 5

No ending or beginning, God is outside of time.

Question 6

What does Free Will mean?

Answer 6

You have choice over your actions.

Question 7

What does everlasting mean?

Answer 7

No ending. God exists in the same time frame as humans.

Question 8

What does immutable mean?

Answer 8

Unchanging. God is always the same and nothing can change him.

Question 9

What is Existentialism?

Answer 9

Humans determine what happens in their own life, they have free will and can choose their meaning.

Question 10

What is the difference between Determinism and Libertarianism?

Answer 10

Determinism- you don’t realise that you don’t have choices in your life.
Libertarianism- you can choose your own actions.

Question 11

What are the advantages of being immutable?

Answer 11

Consistency

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of being immutable?

Answer 12

Outdated opinions, morality is often based on the time period.
People also may believe that Prayers are pointless as nothing can change him.

Question 13

What is the omnipotence paradox?

Answer 13

If God makes a stone too heavy for him to hold, is he all powerful yet if he cannot make the stone too heavy he also isn’t all powerful.
Can God tie a not that he cannot untie?
His omnipotence is contradictory.

Question 14

Name Bible references for God being Omnipotent?

Answer 14

• Genesis 18:14 (nothing is too hard for him).
• Isa 55:11 (his sword is never void of power).

Question 15

How does Descartes use the idea of God as omnipotent?

Answer 15

• ‘God is that than which no greater can be conceived’
• God has all perfections, including perfect power.
• God can literally do anything, even the impossible. He can suspend logic whenever he feels fits.

Question 16

What are the issues with how Descartes views God as omnipotent?

Answer 16

• If God can do anything, he is capable of evil. Contradicts omnibenevolence.
• The problem of error, if God makes a mistake we all have to live with it, not fair.
• He could do nonsensical things like creating a square circle.

Question 17

How does Swinburne use the idea of God as omnipotent?

Answer 17

Agrees that God can do ‘anything’, but ‘anything’ needs to be understood correctly. A square circle is not a ‘thing’, he can only do the possible.

Question 18

How does Peter Vardy use the idea of God as omnipotent?

Answer 18

God created the world in a way that limited his power. He created the universe in a certain way and if he contradicted it, it wouldn’t exist the way it does. His limitations are self-imposed.

Question 19

How does John Macquarrie use the idea of God as omnipotent?

Answer 19

Similar to Vardy, he self-imposes his limitations of power so he doesn’t interfere with the world.

Question 20

Explain how AN Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne use the idea of God as omnipotent.

Answer 20

Absolute omnipotence wouldn’t be the perfect quality it seems to be. It’s better to think of God as a whole power that cannot be surpassed rather than someone omnipotent. Total power isn’t that impressive, it means that nobody can stand up to that power. God would have to control everything and everyone. Encourages people to have free will rather than to dominate the world. God has to allow people to also have their own creativity.

Question 21

How does Aquinas use the idea of God as omnipotent?

Answer 21

He’s limited by the logically impossible and can only do what’s in his character.

Question 22

What does it mean to say God is omniscient?

Answer 22

God is all knowing, he knows everything and cannot be mistaken.

Question 23

What issue does God’s omniscience raise for human free will?

Answer 23

If God knows everything, surely our destiny is predetermined.

Question 24

What was Friedrich Schleiermacher’s solution to the omniscience and free will issue?

Answer 24

Analogy- we can presume our friends behaviour but not actually cause them to do anything.
The issue with this is that we are fallible and can make mistakes but God is infallible and so cannot make mistakes.

Question 25

What are the two ways of understanding the idea of God as eternal?

Answer 25

Eternal- ‘atemporal’. Outside our time.
Everlasting- ‘sempiternal’, in our timeline