attributes of god

Question 1

descatres -omnipotence

Answer 1

• gods existences was prior to laws of logic do he is not bound by them
• god can do anything even the logically impossible
• not limited to anything

Question 2

omnipotence- descartes critiques

Answer 2

c.s Lewis- adding God can to the start of a sentence is still nonsense
‘God can create a square circle’ still is nonsense

Question 3

omnipotence- aquinas

Answer 3

• believed that God could do anything logically possible
• he made the laws of science so therefore cannot break them

Question 4

omnipotence- kenny

Answer 4

-believed that God could do the logically possible
- no difference between the logically possible and what god can do
-the power to act is intrinsically linked to the person who is able to perform that action, god is not limited as he is omnipotent

Question 5

omnipotence- Geach

Answer 5

• pantokrator - power over everything rather than to do anything
  all powerful no longer means doing anything

Question 6

omnipotence- augustine

Answer 6

• what god wills to do he is able to do
  -god self imposes limitations that are contrary to his nature (being good)

Question 7

omniscience- Boethius

Answer 7

-for god to be eternal he has to be outside of the past present and future
-god is always in the now
- simultaneous present- there is no past or future for god just the present
- god does not know what will happen but only knows it as it is happening

Question 8

omniscience- Aquinas

Answer 8

tower on a hill- when you are at the top you have a birds eye view, but the travellers can only see in front and behind them

Question 9

omniscience- Boethius and free will

Answer 9

• if god sees our future knowledge then we cannot do otherwise
  -simple necessity- the sun is shining because that is what the sun must do
• conditional necessity- but be has chosen to walk as this is not needed
  -god knows the man is walking because he has chosen to therefore keeping free will and gods foreknowledge separate

Question 10

omniscience- anselm eternity

Answer 10

four dimensionalism- all times and places are equally real and present to god

Question 11

omniscience- anselm free will

Answer 11

-preceding necessity- the sun will rise tomorrow because it is dependent of physical laws which are part of Gods knowledge
following necessity- it is the actual choice that is known in gods eternal present

Question 12

omniscience- anselm

Answer 12

• gods knowledge is a matter of perspective
  -human perspective, god knows what happened yesterday, today, and what will happen tomorrow
• but god knows what happens because each moment is equally present in god

Question 13

everlasting- swinburne

Answer 13

boethius and anselm rely to heavily on a dispassionate platonic god
- god has time so can relate to people in a proper way- then the incarnation is possible

Question 14

everlasting- problems

Answer 14

Can a God who can intervene in time be accused of being selective

Question 15

everlasting- solutions

Answer 15

• god has omniscience over all that is logically possible
  -the future is not logically possible to see in advance

Question 16

inconsistent- swinburne

Answer 16

god limits himself to what is logically possible- not the future

Question 17

inconsistent- william of ockham

Answer 17

god has absolute power but chooses to limit himself so humans can have free will

Question 18

inconsistent- Calvin

Answer 18

predestination- god has already decided the future
- so anything we do like prayer is just submitting to his will

Question 19

inconsistent- molina

Answer 19

• our decisions are free but god still knows the outcome of them