Attributes of God Scholars

Question 1

Descartes

Answer 1

• Believed that God was the ultimate being, and this had the ability to do anything- even the logically impossible
• “In God, there is an infinitude of things that i cannot comprehend, nor possibly even reach in any way of thought”

Question 2

Hartshorne

Answer 2

• Argued that God is not perfect, but is perfect relative to the challenges he faces
• “These disctinctions make sense only when AR (Absolute perfection in some respects, relative perfection in all others) is assumed”

Question 3

biblical examples of God’s omnipotence

Answer 3

• Matthew 19:36- “with God all things are possible”
• Genesis: “In the beginning God created heavens and the earth”
• Jesus’ resurrection

theme through both old and new testament

Question 4

scholar supporting Augustine

Answer 4

Alvin Plantinga: He may choose to limit his powers in certain circumstances to preserve human free will
Peter Geach: there are things God would never want to do

Question 5

JL Mackie on free will

Answer 5

“why could he not have made men such that they always freely choose God”

COUNTER: Plantinga’s importance of free will

Question 6

biblical examples of God’s love

Answer 6

• dominant theme in both old and new testament
• OT: Pslam 136: “God’s love never fails”
• NT: John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son”

Question 7

Balthasar’s view that God does not reward/punish

Answer 7

• revelation gives us neither assurance all will be saved, nor the certainty that any are condemned
• “I believe in the existence of hell, but I also believe in God’s forgiveness, therefore I hope hell is empty”
• Christ helped those who could be punished the most

Question 8

Fudge’s view that God does not reward/punish

Answer 8

• ‘The Fire that Consumes: A biblical and historical study of the doctrine’:
• a loving God cannot allow people to burn and writhe in pain forever after they die

Question 9

Kant vs Maurice Wiles

Answer 9

KANT: we/rational moral law needs the postulation of God to ensure the correct proportion of happiness
WILES: there are enough bad consequences which follow our wicked actions to make us aware of the burden of responsibility in this life, without need for future divine punishment

Question 10

Pope Francis, April 2016 on sin

Answer 10

“we are all sinners but we are all forgiven… because every sin was carried by the Son to the Cross”

Question 11

Presley on God’s omnipotence

Answer 11

• ‘Way, Truth, Life’: God’s word tells us that he doesn’t know everything
• God limited Himself in order to become flesh- e.g Matthew 24:6, Jesus said he didn’t know the day and How of His return to earth
• God knows what he wants to know and does what he wants to do- parallel to Augustine

Question 12

Dummett on God’s omniscience

Answer 12

-Gifford Lectures, 1996
-difference in God’s sense of knowledge and are own
“God has no particular point of view, no location in the world.. by His comprehension of all truth” (vs our subjective knowledge) ‘Thought and Reality, 2006)
-God has complete understanding of everything: “for every true proposition, He knows that it is true”

Question 13

Peter Geach on God

Answer 13

God is like being a chess Grand Master playing a game against a novice- the novice is free to make moves according to their skill level, but ultimately the Grand Master is in control