Nature of God Flashcards
Paradox
A situation where two contradictory statements both appear true.
Eternal - Timeless
God is outside of time and sees all events as an eternal present
Eternal - Everlasting
God is within time and moving through time; “backwardly…and forwardly eternal” (Swinburne)
Process Theology
God moves through time with his creation and is affected by this interaction; God is powerful but not omnipotent.
Middle Knowledge
God knows all the possibilities of your free choices
Schleiermacher and Omniscience
God’s knowledge is like that of close friends – can predict our future choices but free will is retained.
Eternal - Boethius
“Eternity is the simultaneous possession of boundless life which is made clearer by comparison with temporal things”.
Simple Necessity
The necessity of nature acting according to the natural, physical laws of the universe.
Conditional Necessity
Dependent on the free choices made; “the addition of the condition”
Euthyphro Dilemma
Is an action good because God commands it or does God command what is good?
Following necessity
The moment of free choice is known in God’s eternal present; God is with us as that moment is in God
Preceding necessity
Refers to no free agent or choice; e.g. God’s knowledge of laws of nature
Anslem’s four-dimensionalism
All times and places are equally real and present to God
Presentism
Only the present exists, the past and future do not exist
