Nature and attributes of God Flashcards
Omnipotence
Aquinas
Aquinas: logical for God to be omnipotent
Could not create a square circle- not logically possible.
However this does not limit God’s power.
(God cannot do the logically impossible because that wouldn’t be logical for him to do so
Omnipotence
Descartes
Descartes:
God is prior to logical laws, not bound by them.
However God can change them making him untrustworthy.
Not logically impossible for God to be sinful.
J.L.Mackie agrees- logical impossibilities are possible to God
Omnipotence- Peter Vardy
Vardy (Aquinas)
God created a world that limited himself and his powers
Omnipotence allows him to restrict himself.
This is how free will is uncompromised.
Omnipotence- Augustine
Augustine
The problem of evil shows that God can do what he wants and what he chooses.
He can’t do evil because he always does good.
God is not restricted like humans
This solves Descartes V Aquinas- God does not want a square circle
Omniscience- Swinburne
God must be open and responsive to things as they happen
Omniscience- Anselm
God is extremely perceptive but if God knows the nature it must be necessary.
Implying we don’t have a moral responsibility for our actions, since our decisions are already known by God. (removes free will)
Omniscience- timelessness
Timelessness: perfect and unable to change and develop
God is transcendent, he must have no end and nos tart to be an ‘eternal refuge’
How can God therefore knew our problems and how we can relate to God.
Can’t be omnibenevolent if he is timeless
(Link to inconsistent triad)
Omniscience- Prometheus
‘Eternal now’ God sees everything all at once- hard to comprehend
Omniscience-
Michael Dummet
God’s knowledge is beyond perspective because it includes everything; it has no limitations. god has complete understanding.
“when we speak of god’s knowledge, we are using the tense of timelessness”
Omniscience-
Dummet
Other types of knowledge
Knowing what it is like to be something:
If god knows everything, how can he know what being ignorant is like?
Knowing how to do something:
There is a difference between knowing how a bicycle is ridden and how to ride a bike, only gained through practice
Omnibenevolence
Brian Davies
Brian Davies argues god is not good like a well behaved child.
He criticises Swinburne‘s idea that ‘god is so constituted that he always does the morally best actions’.
Davies claims this is simplistic and says ‘the idea seems to be that god…manages…to be well behaved’.
Omnibenevolence
M.B. Wilkinson
God is actively and positively good.
He argues god’s goodness is part of creative action: ‘when he commands good…[he is commanding] what our intelligence and imagination choose as good for humans’.
Omnibenevolence- Problem of evil
The problem is how can god be omnibenevolent and perfectly just?
The idea of heaven and hell can’t be perfect and just.
Hell is not good, we agree that evil acts deserve punishment that ends but hell is eternal, which is unjust.
Hell is part of the problem of evil: why would a good god punish instead forgive? but his justice fails if everyone goes to heaven.
Omnibenevolence-
Aquinas on justice
God’s justice is not like ours.
There are two kinds of justice:
Commutative: an equal exchange
Distributive, each person is given what is due
Omnibenevolence
Willian Frankena
Morally, justice does not mean treating everyone the same way, but making the same relative contribution to the good of people’s lives.
