The Nature of God Flashcards
What is the definition of ‘Omnipotent’?
All-powerful
What is the definition of ‘Omniscient’?
All-knowing
What is the definition of ‘Omnibenevolent’?
All-good and all loving
What is the definition of ‘Eternal’?
Timeless, atemporal, being outside the constraints of time
What is the definition of ‘Everlasting’?
Sempiternal, lasting forever on the same timeline as humanity
What is the definition of ‘Free will’?
The ability to make independent choices between real options
What is the definition of ‘Existentialism’?
A way of thinking that emphasises personal freedom of choice
What is the definition of ‘Immutable’?
Incapable of changing or being affected
What had Christians inherited from the Old Testament?
Christians inherited language, symbolism, and poetry, in which God is anthropomorphised and involved within the world. The God in the Old Testament seems to have thoughts and feelings, he is satisfied when people obey his Commandments.
How had the writers within the New Testament influenced an understanding of God?
The writers of the New Testament were responsible for shaping early Christian thought as they came from a culture in which classical ideas of a timeless, spaceless, unchanging First Cause were very attractive.
How were ideas of Plato and Aristotle woven into Christianity?
Plato and Aristotle were adopted and woven into Christianity, however some ideas were unsuccessful through the production of apparent contradictions, for example, the idea of ‘perfectness’ and ‘total power’.
What is ‘the omnipotence paradox’?
If omnipotence itself is impossible, then there cannot be any omnipotent beings due to a self-contradictory. This uses the example of whether God can create a stone too heavy for himself to lift, or a knot that he cannot himself untie. On the one hand, omnipotence seems to be being able to do absolutely anything, yet there are some actions that seem impossible for an omnipotent being, such as ‘fail at a task’.
Why is God’s omnipotence incompatible with omnibenevolence?
It would be illogical for God to both be able to do evil, due to his omnipotence, and unable to do evil, due to his omnibenevolence.
Why is God’s omnipotence incompatible with omniscience?
It would be illogical for God to be both able to add to his knowledge, as he is able to do everything, yet at the same time be unable to add to his knowledge due to an his all-knowing nature.
What is stated in Genesis 1:3?
“And God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light”.
What is stated in Amos 5:8?
“He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land, the Lord is his name”
What is stated in Matthew 19:23-26?
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”.
What does Anselm depend on?
Anselm depends of God’s supreme power to be factual, formulating the ontological arguments, claiming that God is, “that than which nothing greater can be conceived”. If God were anything less omnipotent, then we would be able to conceive of a greater, more perfect and more powerful being, so God by definition must be omnipotent.
What does Descartes believe God’s omnipotence menat?
When Descartes explored what it meant for God to be perfectly powerful, he came to the conclusion that God can do absolutely anything, even that which is logically impossible. According to Descartes, God could make a square circle as God is the source of logic and has the power to suspend logic or replace it. Therefore, Descartes rejected any other understanding of omnipotence as they limit God’s greatness.
How does Descartes defend the existence of logical contradictions?
We are limited by logic and by the smallness of human understanding. God can see how to be self-contradictory because he is omnipotent.
What does Descartes theodicy create?
If God is capable of suspending the laws of logic, it could be argued that God can allow us to have free will without the consequential evil, then the existence of evil in the world could be something which God could change.
