concept and nature of God Flashcards
what does it mean to say God is Omniscient (3)?
Omniscience is a great-making property which gives God the ability to know all true propositions. This means that God knows all that is knowable and has the greatest amount of knowledge possible for an individual.
what does it mean to say God is Omnipotent (3)?
omnipotence is a great making property which makes God maximally powerful. This can be understood in two ways : a cartesian view states that God can do everything while a Thomas view claims God can only do what is logically possible.
what does it mean to say God is omnibenevolent(3)?
Omnibenevolence is a great making property which makes God all-loving and maximally good.
what does it mean to say God is eternal(3)?
to say that God is eternal is to say he is without beginning and end. He is outside of time and does not experience temporal succession - he is atemporal.
what does it mean to say God is everlasting(3)?
to say God is everlasting is to say he is without beginning and end. His is inside of time and does experience temporal succession - he is temporal albeit without start or finish.
competing views of Gods relationship with time
everlasting: change is a constitutive part of time, so if God is within time then he must change. However immutability (not changing) is a part of perfection. if god is in a state of perfection and he changes, then he must not be perfect anymore. therefore god cannot be in time and perfect
eternal: if god is outside of time and god is considered to be ultimate reality of the universe, then there is no reality of time as we experience it. our relationship with time would be false and we should be expected to abandon it if we are to support Gods timelessness.
the paradox of the stone
1) either god can create a stone which he cannot lift to he cannot create a stone which he cannot lift
2) if god can create a stone which he cannot lift, then there must be a task he cannot perform (lift the stone)
3) if god cannot create a stone he cannot life, then there is a task he cannot perform (create the stone)
4) in both cases there is a task which god cannot perform
5) is god is an omnipotent being then he can perform any task
6) therefore god is not omnipotent
the euthyphro dilemma
god is all good, either:
A) x is good because god commands it
B) god commands x because it is good
problem with A is that it makes gods goodness tautological
good = god commands it
god is perfect because he commands what is good = god Is perfect because he commands what he commands
this puts into question whether gods goodness is a perfect trait. his goodness it not praiseworthy
problem with B is that it implies God is a servant to morality. morality is set in stone and something which he must follow. this comprises his omnipotence.
the existence of an omniscient god and free will
1) god is omniscience if he knows all true propositions
2) the future contains true propositions
3) god must know all future propositions
4) if god knows all future propositions then he knows all the my actions in the future
5) as god knows all true propositions, these actions cannot be subject to change
6) therefore if god is omniscient, I am not free
