The Nature Of God Flashcards
What is on the specification?
ominpotence
omnibenevolence
omniscience
eternity
Free Will
What is a paradox?
A statement that is logically sound but the conclusion is logically contradictory.
What is the omnipotence paradox?
If God is omnipotence can he create a stone that he cannot lift himself.
What is the Dawkins Paradox?
If God is all knowing he will know how he acts is he not powerful enough to act differently.
What is A benevolence Paradox?
If God can do anything then he is evil however if he is benevolent then he cannot do evil.
What is the Free will Paradox?
If God knows everything including future actions how do we have free will?
What does anthropomorphism mean?
Making God seem human
What are two types of religious language?
Cataphatic way (postive)
Apaphatic way (negative)
What is the whole theory in terms of satisfaction?
It seems as though it isn’t philosophically satisfying.
Who are the three main philosophers?
Boethius
Anselm
Swinsburne
Which two philosophers share the same belief that God is timeless?
Boethius
Anselm
Which philosopher believe God is everlasting?
Swinburne
What is the first premise of the omnipotence paradox?
If God can create the stone he is not omnipotent, because there is something that God cannot do :lift the stone.
What is the second premise of the omnipotence paradox?
If God cannot create such a stone then again he is not omnipotent. because there is something that God cannot do which is create the stone
What does the omnipotence paradox conclude?
The concept of omnipotence cannot be coherently ascribed to God.
What is the Doctrine of Kenosis?
God limiting himself to be Jesus
What is the argument for God can do the logically impossible in terms of omnipotence?
Decartes
-God created the laws of logic he can create and suspend them whenever he wants too
-so he can sin and break mathematical truths
What are 3 strengths of Decartes logically impossible?
-preserves God’s omnipotence
-Seems logical that the laws of logic wouldn’t apply to it’s creator
-Vardy. more logical to argue that God is able to do the logically impossible but choose not too .
What are 3 issues with the logically impossible?
-Unbiblical, ‘impossible for God to lie’
-C.S Lewis meaningless combination of words convenient word play
-Undermines Free will
What does Aquinas say about God only doing the logically possible?
-God can do anything but this is only what is possible to do.
-Decartes is error in logic
-God does what a perfect God does so he cannot sin due to his nature
-cannot change the past
What is Aquinas’s responce to the omnipotence paradox?
-illogical because God has no body
-contradiction of the nature of God
How does Swinsburne support this point proposed by Aquinas?
-God can do everyTHING
-square circle is not a thing so God cannot create one
What does it mean from the stance that God decides to instead self limit?
Universe is finely tuned so God decides to operate within the, laws that he created.
What word do some thinkers use instead to show though God self limits he is still all powerful?
Almighty
Which thinker would also agree that God chose to self limit?
John Hick- Epistemic Distance
What are two problems that remain if God does self limit?
-God allow suffering and evil
-God allow some miracles but not all
What is the Docterine of Krenosis a responce to?
How could Jesus be the son of god yet not display any attributes.
Explain the Docterine of Krenosis?
God self empties all his divine attributes to become Jesus
In the Philipians what does it say about christians that supports the Docterine?
Should be humble and serve others.
What are 3 strengths of Self limiting?
-If God did not do this Jesus wouldn’t have suffered
-inline with benevolance
-Based on scripture.
Why is the nature of God only religiously satisfying?
As when they look at God they say things out of awe and wonder they aren’t seeking a scientific definition
What does the Catholic Cacheism say about the problem?
That it’s simply a mystery.
How would Dawkins respond to the mystery argument?
-lazy and damaging
-if idea of God is unintelligible to us then why should we believe in God
How would J.L Mackie respond to the mystery argument?
He argues the ‘miracle of theism’ the fact that ironically people still believe even though there is incoherence.
How would Flew respond to the mystery argument?
‘death by a thousand qualifications’
religious believers change there original assertions to suit the questioner.
What is omniscience?
The possession of perfect knowledge.
In relation to free will what kinds of questions would be asked about omniscience?
-what is causal relationship
-do we have free will
-is divine judgement just
What does it mean if you believe God is timeless?
God created time and is apart of the universe in terms of space and time.
What are the two sides of the Debate?
Boethius and Anselm-God knows everything with certainty.
Swinburne- God can only do what is logically possible he isn’t certain about the future and changes and learns as we do
What does Molina say about God’s knowledge?
-she takes a middle ground approach arguing God simply knows all outcomes
-Schleiermacher, her argues it’s in the same way a friend knows you intimately however is not controlling you
What are the problems with the middle ground argument?
-prediction is not the same as knowing
-God’s knowledge can be said to be infallible
What does the bible say about free will?
God judges based in our actions if we have no control over our actions then God cannot be said to be benevolent as this isn’t’ just judgement
What did Alvin Plantiga say about free will?
Humans have free will if you believe:
-morally good if it’s freely performed
-omnipotence=logically possible
-A world without evil or free will would be logically absurd.
What is John’s Hick stance on free will?
Epistemic distance- the fact that humans have a gap in there knowledge which allows them to have the choice as to if they want to believe in God or not.
What is the argument of determinism?
genetic predestination
Psychological determinism
What is John Calvin’s predestination argument?
He argues the timeless god that god has known everything in eternity anything we have decided and so god made us knowing our fate
In terms of the Holy spirit why does Calvin argue that we have no free will?
-The holy spirit is only present in the lives of the elect
-the reprobate however are sinful by nature which leads to there fate of hell
Why would religious believers maybe reject predestination?
-moral laws and judgement would be pointless
-challenges a theistic god
What is omnibenevolence?
-Not just about God being good but God also consciously will’s good
-hesed-agape
What is evidence for God’s omnibenevolance?
prayers, Jesus, miracles, judgement
What are the problems with God’s benevolance?
-Euthyphro dilemma, is God the source of good or is it higher than him
-problem of evil
-existence of hell
-god’s judgement
-the arbitrariness of miracles
Where did the euthyphro dilemma come from?
Plato’s dialogue a conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro abt the concept of piety
What are the two horns of the dilemma that anything morally good has came from God?
1st horn= God commands are good because they came from God
-God is the source of moral goodness
-anything good is because of God is true by definition
What is a problem with the first horn?
God could command horrific things such as genocide from this it would be said that it’s Good
What is the second Horn?
God’s commands are only good because they conform to the external moral source.
-assumed God abides by the external moral code
What is the problem with the second horn?
God’s benevolence is dependent on a external source
the source is supremely good not God.
Why is Aquinas seen as creating a solution of the Euthyphro dilemma
-God’s nature is omnibenevolent so he can only do what is Good
-God can only act out of his goodness so love isn’t arbitrary as it is his very nature
What are the two problems in the problem of evil?
The logical and evidential
Who defends God in the problem of evil?
-Augustine
-Iranian
-Hick
Who developed the naturalistic fallacy and what is it?
G.E Moore
falsely equates pain with evil and pleasure with Goodness for any natural property we can still asks the question is pleasure good the fact that it is possible to answer no shows that it doesn’t equate.
Who introduced the problem of arbitrary miracles
Maurice Willis
Why does arbitrary miracles lead to an unjust God?
Why would God intervene for the Hebrews in Egypt but not Auschwitz.
What must we do to solve the problem of arbitrary miracles?
Interpretation of should be done differently on scripture e.g. proportional vs non propositional
Which testament mentions hell more?
The new testament
What are examples in the bible of reference of Hell?
The parable of the sheep and the Goats
What is the Catholic Christian response to Hell?
It is self alienation
-God doesn’t send us to hell we do
-Most go to purgatory purge themselves of sin
What do Calvinist Christians respond to hell?
The ‘elect’ go to heaven.
What is Aquinas response to God’s Judgement?
Justice is God doing the right thing, God does what helps us flourish.
Why is God being a father figure make his judgement just?
He punishes accordingly
What is Boethius’s Book called?
The consolation of philosophy
What is the consolation of philosophy about?
-a dialogue between himself and a imaginary woman called lady philosophy
-what she does is tell him about what God’s knowledge is like
What is the problem that Boethius presents?
If God is aware of our future actions then we can’t behave otherwise.
How does Lady philosophy answer his question?
God’s foreknowledge is not the cause of events it is our free will which causes these changes.
So what is Boethius’s view?
-God is outside of time
-he is immutable
-sees us ‘as though from a lofty peak’
How does Boethius describe God’s knowledge of the world?
‘providence’
According to Boethius what is the nature of the knower?
-Eternity is something that God holds in one go
-everything is present to God
‘simultaneous presence’
What part of aristotelian logic influenced Boethius?
-something cannot be or not be at the same time
-all actions are necessary
-illogical to use temporal language when God is timeless
What is simple necessity?
knowledge of natural and physical laws that God created.
What is conditional necessity?
Knowledge that God has based on actions we have freely chose.
In Christianity why is Boethius’s view a problem?
-Jesus’s whole life was a response
-miracles
-protestants support a everlasting model
-prayer petitionary
what are weaknesses of Boethius’s view?
-assumes that free will must be preserved and that there is a God
-though he argues that God is apart from time he uses language in his book referencing time
-what’s the point of praying if God won’t respond
What are strengths of Boethius’s timeless model?
-preserves God’s omnipotence and omniscience
-valid in arguing that we should stop anthropomorphizing God
Why does Anselm argue that God is timeless?
Because God experiences time differently to us.
How does God experience time different to us?
-we experience in height, width, depth and a limited version of time
-this is because we exist only in the present
-however God is everywhere and everywhen because all times and places are equally real and present to God
Why did Anselm create his view?
fixed Boethius’s problem of creating a distant God as Anselm’s is more immanent as he believes that God is eternity so God is with us in all experiences.
What are the two types of necessity according to Anselm?
preceding and following necessity.
What is an example that swinburne refers to to argue that the timeless model is incoherent?
How would God know the events on 1995 if God is not there in 1995
What does it mean if God is everlasting?
-God only knows what is logically possible to know
-God does not know the future but predicts very accurately
What does Swinburne argue about immutability?
-we must reject this view that stems from greek philosopher
-requires us to accept a diestic God where God isn’t invovled in the world
How does Swineburne argue that that immutability and timelesssnes damage benevolance?
love requires a emotional response however a unchanging God would feel the exact same way
Why is Anselm’s and Boethius’s approach unbiblical to Swinburne?
Many examples of God clearly interacting with his creation
e.g Hezekiah God intends for him to die however hears his prayers extends his life by 25 years
Why is it also a problem due to Jesus?
-How did God know when to send Jesus this was reactionary reaction to failure of humankind
What could be said to argue against Swinburne’s Point on Jesus?
Jesus wasn’t reactionary neither a response because the bible refers to God sending down a Jesus like figure
What are two weaknesses of the everlasting model?
-it suggests that time existed before the universe which seems illogical
-God shows his love through the gift of creation
