Nature or attributes of God

Question 1

Eternal timeless

Answer 1

Boethius

Question 2

Eternal everlasting

Answer 2

Swinburne

Question 3

Biblical passage Isaiah for eternity

Answer 3

‘who inhabits eternity whose name is holy’

Question 4

Wolterstorff on timeless

Answer 4

‘for humans the gnawing of time bites all’

Question 5

Boethius timeless

Answer 5

‘eternal present’ God does not exist in time and does not experience past present or future as humans do. we have a linear expression of time whereas God can see it simultaneously

Question 6

Divine foreknowledge

Answer 6

knowledge of the future

Question 7

Boethius’ dilemma

Answer 7

How can God have divine foreknowledge of the future and humans still remain free

Question 8

Aquinas strength of eternity

Answer 8

In the human world change and time are linked, if God were to exist in time he would be susceptible to change (immutable)

Question 9

Swinburne criticises Boethius

Answer 9

God cannot know what it is like to be in 1995 unless he was in fact in 1995, God must then be in time

Question 10

Swinburne everlasting

Answer 10

God exists within time. Once the universe had been created then time began to unfold both for creation and for God. God can see the future but only the logically possible choices we could make, not which choice we will actually make

Question 11

Schleiermacher omniscience

Answer 11

Analogy of the knowledge one has of a close friend’s behaviours this is comparable with God’s knowledge of our actions but this does not force or effect what we choose

Question 12

Self imposed limitation Peter Vardy

Answer 12

God is all powerful as only God can limit his own power, limits his power as universe is created to suit free rational creatures

Question 13

Self imposed limitation John Macquarie

Answer 13

God chooses to limit his power out of love for humanity

Question 14

Descartes omnipotence

Answer 14

God’s ability to do anything even the logically impossible, can suspend logic

Question 15

J.L Mackie criticises Descartes

Answer 15

‘fails to describe any state of affairs’
Turns God into an unpredictable God

Question 16

Aquinas omnipotence

Answer 16

God has the power to do whatever it is logically possible to do, can not do anything that goes against his nature. Swinburne supports

Question 17

Swinburne AO3

Answer 17

support a present and active God, bible shows God has awareness of time

Question 18

Anselm’s 4 dimensionalist approach

Answer 18

God is not limited by time, controls it,can see the free choices we made in the past and what we wil do
Anselm argues that although God is not in time, God still has some relationship to time. All time is in God

Question 19

Philosophical problems with timeless view

Answer 19

How can a timeless God respond to prayer, (Aquinas believes prayers should not be requests) Love is a two way process (shown through creation)

Question 20

Strengths with timeless view

Answer 20

omniscient, omnipotent has the power to remain separate from time

Question 21

Philosophical problems with divine foreknowledge

Answer 21

how can humans still be held responsible for their actions

Question 22

Everlasting

Answer 22

has a beginning but no end as opposed to eternal that has no beginning and end