The Nature or Attributes of God (Chapter 1+2)

Question 1

What does omnipotence mean?

Answer 1

All powerful - God can do anything

Question 2

What does Matthew 19:23-26 say about onnipotence?

Answer 2

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

Question 3

What was Descartes’ view of omnipotence?

Answer 3

Argued God can do absolutely anything, including the logically impossible as his powers are not bound by the laws of logic.

Question 4

Why does Mackie reject Descartes view of omnipotence?

Answer 4

The idea of logically impossible was ‘only a form of words which fails to describe any state of affairs’

To say he could do so is logically incoherent e.g. such God could lie.

Question 5

Why did Vardy reject Descartes view of omnipotence?

Answer 5

If a God could act illogically and with contradiction, he would fundamentally be evil. As shown with free will defence (we must be free to love God)

However, if God could do the logically impossible, then he would create a world where humans are free but controlled.

Question 6

What was Aquinas’ view of omnipotence?

Answer 6

He can do whatever he chooses to do. He self imposes certain limitations, such as not committing evils. He is only limited by his own perfection.

Question 7

How does Alvin Plantinga support Aquinas’ view of omnipotence?

Answer 7

Argued that an omnipotent being may not have omnipotence as a necessary quality. He may choose to limit his powers in certain circumstances to preserve human free will.

Question 8

How does Peter Geach criticise Aquinas ?

Answer 8

Says his argument is based on the assumption that God’s nature is perfect.

Both Anthony Kenny and Peter Geach say that ‘omnipotent’ is merely a statement about God’s power.

Basically, God has the power to do what it is possible for him to do - omnipotence is just a statement. It’s all about God having power, not about whether he chooses to create the universe/make contradictions etc.

Question 9

What does omniscience mean?

Answer 9

God knows absolutely anything and everything. He has unlimited knowledge of all time - this links to God being timeless.

Question 10

What does Aquinas say about omniscience?

Answer 10

Knowledge is immaterial and not physical therefore God can know all as he is not the same as us.

The idea of predestination suggests that God has complete knowledge of us and our actions suggesting that we are not free.

Question 11

How does Kant criticise omniscience?

Answer 11

Said we must be free to make our own moral decisions and we are morally responsible, exercising free will ‘if we are not free we are not responsible and cannot be punished’

Question 12

Point 3, How does Boethius respond to Kant and support omniscience?

Answer 12

God sees through a ‘lofty peak’

This means he sees everything at once.

This way, our past, present and future comes together to form one ‘eternal present’ to God. To God there is no future, only a simultaneous present of all time. So we are still free as we move into our future.

Question 13

How does Peter Geach criticise Boethius?

Answer 13

Uses the analogy of playing chess with a grand master. Although you are free to make a move where ever you like, the grandmaster will ultimately win the game

Question 14

Criticism 2 of Boethius?

Answer 14

Problem of evil.

Question 15

What did Boethius argue for?

Answer 15

The timelessness of God.

God is eternal, outside time and unaffected by it.

Argued in ‘The Consolidation of Philosophy’

Question 16

What did Boethius want to distinguish between?

Answer 16

The eternity of God from Aristotle’s world of everlasting existence.

He speaks of God as ‘remaining’ and ‘enduring’. This is an issue as these words imply time, but he wants to deny the idea that time is in God.

Question 17

Who criticises Boethius view of eternity?

Answer 17

Polish philosopher, Tadeusz Kortabinski.

Boethius says the eternal is not reducable to time but it is not incompatible with time.

The problem - is Boethius’ notion of eternity coherent and if it is how can the eternal interact with the temporal.

Question 18

How does Kortabinski criticise Boethius on eternity?

Answer 18

Argues time is the duration of objects and not separate.

Objects do not exist within time

If there are no objects then there is not empty time and space but nothing at all.

If God is not an object, then perhaps there is room for saying he would be outside the time process, if time is simply duration of things.

Question 19

What is Calvin’s view on divine foreknowledge?

Answer 19

‘All things always were, and will always continue to be, under his eye’

‘All people are not created equally, but some are preordained to eternal life’

Therefore, no free will.

Question 20

How does Boethius respond to Calvin on foreknowledge?

Answer 20

Distinguishes between knowing what someone will do and causing it to happen.

e.g. i know there will be a US presidential election in 2020 but i do not know who i will vote for.

He uses the 2 types of necessity

Question 21

What are Boethius’ two types of necessity?

Answer 21

Simple = Something that has to be the case, such as the idea that a mortal simply has to die.

Conditioned = When the necessity follows from the choice. If I choose to walk then it will happen but I could have chose not to walk, the walking is a consequence of my choices.

Therefore we do have free will.

Question 22

Who criticises Boethius’ notion of timelessness?

Answer 22

DZ Phillips.

Issue with Boethius notion of timelessness is it appears to preserve the greatness of God at the expense of his other equalities.

DZ Phillips argued God is an equivalent term of saying love.

Question 23

What does Anselm argue?

Answer 23

Timelessness of God as a consequence of his omnipotence.

God is not merely seen as eternal but impassible (not capable of being affected)

Written in his works ‘De Concordia’

Question 24

How does Anselm think we have free will?

Answer 24

Anselm believes we have free will in our choice. Believes freedom is tied to rectitude (doing the right thing) I am free to do the right thing.

Anselm accepts Augustine’s view that evil is an absence, choosing wrongly is to choose nothing at all

Question 25

What is Anselm’s view on eternity?

Answer 25

Anselm’s notion of eternity is in a fourth dimension. This is not build on our concepts of time

This means there is no denial of the reality of the temporal world.

Question 26

What is the quote Anselm gives to explain eternal?

Answer 26

“St Paul says God foreknew,predestined and glorified his saints, none of these before or after on God’s part. They must be understood as existing as simultaneously in an eternal present.”

Question 27

What does Swinburne argue regarding eternity?

Answer 27

That God is not timeless and arguing he is outside time is unbiblical.

Swinburne claims Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth and Paul Tillich argue so.

Question 28

What did Tillich and Barth argue regarding eternity?

Answer 28

Tilich - a God outside the temporal process would be lifeless

Barth - the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ, the Son of God, is a case of God acting intentionally and decisively.

‘God would have to be aware simultaneously of all the events of history at different times as they happen. How could God be aware at his one timeless moment of two events at different times’

Question 29

What did Alvin Plantinga argue?

Answer 29

Modern response to problem of evil.

Plantinga’s approach is based on two ideas - the radical nature of free will and the nature of God’s omnipotence

Question 30

How does Plantinga argue we’re free?

Answer 30

It is no limit to omnipotence to be able to do the logically impossible.

A world that contains moral actions is inevitably going to cause some evil. However, evil is necessary for the presence of free will.