Attributes of God (eternal) Flashcards
god as eternal can be proved by what two of gods attributes?
timeless vs everlasting
what does timeless mean?
god exists outside time with no end and beginning
what does Wolterstorff point out about a timeless god?
a timeless god has to be different from human experience of life in the physical world
in what book does Boethius discuss timelessness?
book 5 of ‘the consolation of philosophy’
what does Boethius suggest about gods timelessness?
god does not experience past, present or future but all time is present to god at some time
Boethius quote?
“the whole simultaneous and perfect possession of unending life”
for boethius does god exist in time?
no
what does Augustine say about ‘before’?
if god made the world at a part in time, what was god doing before this?
what does Augustine respond to this?
there was no ‘before’ for god as time does not work in the same way for god
what does aquinas say about how god experience time?
god is not like us, we have no words to describe how god experiences ‘time’ so everything we say is just comparing similar things but is not actually the reality for god
aquinas quote?
“eternity exits as a simultaneous whole and time does not”
what are the two main perspectives of time?
- presentism
- 4 dimensions
what is presentism?
only focuses on present moment, past is gone, future has not yet happened. reality is this moment
what does anslems say about terms such as ‘yesterday’, ‘last week’ a ‘year ago’?
they are subjective to the person perceiving that moment, therefore god is not limited by time and space, like we are. therefore to god can be in the past, present and future at once
god is not just ‘in every time and space’ but what?
every ‘time and space’ is in god. god is not contained by them but in control of them