Concepts Of God Flashcards
1
Q
What are different views of God’s omnipotence and omnibenevolence?
A
- Aquinas and Swinburne- god is not limited but cannot sin
- Descarte- God can do what is logically impossible
- Mackie- infinite number if possible worlds, good could have created a world with free will that is devoid of evil
- Leibniz- he created the best possible word
- William of Ockham - God chose to limit his power to intervene with humans due to his omnibenevolence
- ward, wiles and Thomas Tracy- God’s omnipotence does not extend to undermining human freedom
2
Q
What are views on God’s omniscience?
A
- Ockham- God chooses not to know the future as he grants free will
- Duns Scottus- god makes the future what it is
- Aquinas- God knows the future but does not dictate
- John Calvin- God predetermined bad things for a reason
- Ward- knowing the future isn’t possible for God as it is not yet reality
3
Q
What are views on God’s transcendence?
A
- Paul Tillich and Barth/ transcendence implies distance between God and humanity- we depend on him and reflect on him but he is not within us
- Kant- we cannot grasp what God is due to his transcendence from the phenomenal world
4
Q
What are God’s views on externality/ temporality?
A
- Swinburne, Descartes and Malcolm- God always has and always will exist- necessary
- Hume- a finite world and infinite God are incompatible
- The Bible- implies God is within time
- Augustine and Anselm- God is out of time
- Aquinas- God’s knowledge is not framed by time
- Huw Parri Owen- God can not know of a temporal time unless he is temporal
- swinburne- God is outside of time as he chooses to be and therefore cannot affect human action
- Hatshore- god is bi-polar- slips in and out of time in order to intervene with the world
- Ward- God responds within time but is not limited by it
5
Q
What are views on God as personal?
A
- Martin Buber- ‘I’ in relation to ‘you’ relationship with God through religious experience
- Barth- God is not an object
- Ward- God is necessary and unchangeable and therefore lacks the dynamism to interact
- pannenburg- we only know ourselves if we know God
- Marcel- god is a mystery but it’s not a problem
