The Concepts of God Flashcards
Explain Savage’s solution to the Paradox of the Stone.
Imagine two beings, X and Y. X makes stones and Y lifts stones.
In one case;
1a. Y can only lift up to 70lbs.
1b. If X cannot create a stone that Y cannot lift, then this does have a limitation on X’s power.
In another case;
2a. X is omnipotent and Y can lift every stone that X can make.
2b. If X cannot make a stone that Y cannot lift then this does not have any limitation on X’s power.
Explain the Euthyphro Dilemma.
Aristotle asks ‘does God love good actions because they are good (1) or are they good actions because they are loved by God (2)?’
If 1 then every action that God commands us do (even evil ones) is good - and these commands are arbritrary
If 2 then every action that God commands us to do is good because it accords with some other moral authority.
Give a solution to the Euthyphro Dilemma.
Some see goodness as related to being good at something or good for something.
Morality looks to function and purpose in order to understand what is good.
A universe created by God and everything in it, will have a function and purpose and it is up to us to determine what these natural laws are and then reach our ‘good’.
What is the issue from God’s omniscience and human free will?
- If God knows everything then he knows what humans will do.
- God is never wrong
- Therefore, what God says humans will do is inevitable.
- This means we cannot have free will.
What is a solution to the issue of omniscience and free will?
Just because God knows what I will do and will be right in knowing this, doesn’t mean that I am forced to do it.
God is observing transcendentally which means outside of time and space, so for God there is no present, only future and past. Therefore God is only observing us.
