The Nature Of God Flashcards
Give a quote to support the idea of God’s eternity
In the beginning God created - Genesis 1
Give a quote to support the idea of God’s omniscience
You have gone against my will and eaten from the tree - Genesis 3
Give a quote to support the idea of God’s omnipotence
God made man in his own image - Genesis 2
Give a quote to support the idea of God’s omnibenevolence
For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son
What is meant by referring to God as timeless?
He can see all of time at once
What is meant by referring to God as everlasting?
He moves through time
Give an advantage of being timeless
Demonstrates omniscience as God knows what is best for us
Give a disadvantage of being timeless
Why does God not prevent evil as he can foresee it?
Give an advantage of being everlasting
God can be seen as omnipresent and sharing our experiences
Give a disadvantage of being everlasting
If God is always present why does he allow people to die unnaturally?
Give the dates of Boethius
475-525 AD
When did Boethius write ‘The consolation of philosophy?’
Whilst in prison awaiting execution
What is meant by providence?
God’s care and protection
In ‘The consolation of philosophy’ what do both Boethius and lady philosophy represent?
~ Boethius represents the naive questioner
~ Lady philosophy represents the thoughts of B
What does Boethius say to lady philosophy about foreknowledge and free will?
~ There seems to be a hopeless conflict between divine foreknowledge of all things and freedom of the human will
~ There can be no freedom in human decisions and actions
~ What God knows is necessary and certain
How does lady philosophy justify foreknowledge and free will as compatible?
~ The nature of the knower
~ Humans can know things that lesser animals cannot
~ In the same way God knows things that we cannot
What does Boethius say on God’s knowledge?
It encompasses the infinite sweep of past and future, and regards all things in its simple comprehension as if they were now taking place
How does Anthony Kenny criticise Boethius?
“The whole concept of a timeless eternity, the whole of which is simultaneous with every part of time, seems to be radically incoherent”
How could a Boethian respond to Kenny?
He fails to distinguish between the temporal and non temporal + the human and divine perspective
How does Nelson Pike criticise Boethius?
As the language of traditional doctrines show God doing things in the past, He must be within time
How could a Boethian respond to Pike?
Some languages such as Chinese do not have tenses, so Pike’s point is subjective
Give a quote from Nicholas Wolterstorff on God as everlasting
“Regrets over the pervasive pattern of what transpires within time have led whole societies to place the divine outside of time”
Give a quote from Aquinas on the difference between time and eternity
“The primary intrinsic difference of time from eternity is that eternity exists as a simultaneous whole and time does not”
What example does Peter Geach (1916-) give to illustrate the problem between divine will and foreknowledge?
Playing chess with a grandmaster - you are free to make a move but ultimately will always lose
What are the implications of the paradox of the stone?
~If God can create a stone too heavy for him to lift then He is not omnipotent
~ If God cannot create a stone too heavy for him to lift then He is not omnipotent because His powers of creation are limited
How does Aquinas defend God from the burden of sin?
He says that to sin is ‘to fall short of something’ and God is not capable of this because he is a supremely perfect being
How does Swinburne defend God’s omnipotence?
He said that omnipotence is being able to do anything logically possible, and that God is unable to do that which he knows is wrong
Complete this quote from Descartes on God’s omnipotence - “I do not think that we should ever…”
“…. Say of anything that it cannot be brought about by God”
Give the biblical quote from Mark 10:27 to show God’s omnipotence
“With God all things are possible”
Complete this quote from Socrates - “An unexamined life is….
…… Not worth living”
Complete this quote from Hartshorne on God’s impassibility - “One can do nothing for God, and our worst sins harm God…..
…… As little as the finest acts of sainthood”
Complete this quote from Vardy - “God is limited by….
….. The universe he has chosen to create”
Impassible
Incapable of suffering pain or harm, unfeeling
Paradox
A situation where two contradictory statements both appear true
Middle knowledge
The idea that God knows all the possibilities of what would happen in different scenarios
Complete this quote from Aquinas on God as timeless - “He who goes along the road does not see those who come after him…..
….. Whereas he who sees the whole road from a height sees at once all those travelling on it”
Process theology
The idea that God is changing with the universe so our knowledge of God progresses as we learn more about him
Why can process theology be seen as problematic to God’s omniscience?
It claims that God does not know everything that will transpire
What does D.Z.Phillips (1934-2006) say about God’s eternity?
It is more of a quality than an existence through time as the notion of God’s eternity attempts to convey the idea that we cannot comprehend God
Give the 5 main qualities of God
Eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omnipresent
