Nature and God Attributes Flashcards
Descartes view on God omnipotence?
God is perfect and can do the logically impossible things such as create a square circle or 1+1=3.God also contains the power to suspend logic and replace it.To Descartes putting limits on God would be dishonest due to the greatness of God.
-For Descartes God is capable of evil (due to his omnipotence) this is a logical contradiction however humans can’t comprehend God so things such as logic can’t be associated with God
Strength of Descartes view?
-Doesn’t limit God in ANY way. No dishonour to God.
-It is true that God created logic.
-Human understanding is limited - God may be able to do things we can’t understand.
Weaknesses of Descartes?
-Makes God seem unpredictable. If God can sin, we can’t rely on Him.
-If God can do anything, he could stop having all the qualities of God we expect.
-If God can do the impossible, he can solve any problem without there being evil. So there is no answer to the problem of evil.
-J.L Mackie argued idea of logically impossible actions ‘were only a form of works which fails to describe any state of affairs there is nothing which is logically impossible does not exist
-Not lack of power or lack of knowledge it’s making a circle into square is nonsense
-Also turns God into an unpredictable God who can do anything.Makes it very difficult to understand God and thus have a relationship with him
-So if God can do absolutely anything such as prevent evil and allow us to have free will why don’t we have it
Aquinas view on God omnipotence?
-Aquinas argued that God is completely omnipotent in the sense of being in charge of the whole world creating anything it and keeping it in existence
“He can possibly do everything that is absolutely possible” everything that does not imply a contradiction
-Basically God cannot sin as this contradicts God’s good nature.God cannot climb a tree as this contradicts God being Incorporeal (having no body)
Strengths of Aquinas?
-We shouldn’t expect logically impossible things to be done by God.
-Maybe logically impossible things aren’t things. So it doesn’t limit God. (Swinburne)
-Aquinas - We don’t want God to be cruel or unwise - This would go against other parts of his nature.
Don’t want to make God unpredictable. We want to know where we stand with God (e.g. judgement day)
Weakness of Aquinas?
-Does this put limits on God? Are we dishonouring God?
-God created logic. Why should he be limited by it?
-Human understanding is limited - we should expect God to be able to do some things we can’t understand.
Vardy view on God omnipotence?
-Vardy suggest Gods omnipotence is much more limited than many Christians suggested.God is not in control of history,able to move anything around like chess pieces and it’s wrong to suggest everything is Gods will
-Vardy suggest God created the universe in a particular way his ability act is necessarily limited. He also argue that the universe Is perfectly suited for existence of free rational,human beings therefore God limits his power over this = self imposed limitation because of God intervene every time we basically have no free will
Strength of Vardy?
-God’s power is in his creation but his creation is stable so he chooses not to change it.
-God’s power is used in his creation and in giving us free will.
-In Jesus God limited his power. E.g. he could be hurt and insulted.
-The idea of God in the Bible is much more frequently about him being mighty. Perhaps the idea of omnipotence (Descartes and Aquinas) comes from Philosophy / philosophers.
Weaknesses of Vardy?
-The ideas Vardy has are compatible with God not using power he has. He could change our choices, but chooses not to. Therefore, God is not limited but has power.
-Does this put limits on God? Are we dishonouring God?
-God created logic. Why should he be limited by it?
-Human understanding is limited - we should expect God to be able to do some things we can’t understand.
What is Eternal?
God exists outside of time
What is Everlasting?
God is in time
What is Boethius view on Eternal Time?
-He was worried about Problem of God’s omniscience because it seemed that if God knows the future then he is wrong to reward or punish us.
-After much Contemplation, Boethius reaches a conclusion he has made a-mistake. because God Can see things different from what we see
-Humans exist within time they have past that are fixed and present give in instant and futures that is uncertain this means they have genuine free will However when God is all knowing he does not have same constrains in time he have such as no past, present, future and so his ‘knowledge too transcends all’
What does Augustine say that support Boethius view?
Augustine:If God made the world at a particular point in time, what was God doing before this?
-The Bible indicates a timeless God who chose to create day and night, who is separate from this. There was no ‘before for God, as time (as we know it) does not work in the same way for God.
What does Aquinas say that support Boethius view?
When we speak of God we are using analogical language God is not like us, we have no words to describe how God experiences ‘time’, so everything we say is just comparing similar things but is not actually the reality for God.
What is Anselm view of 4 - dimensionalist approach?
-Four dimensionalist view of time the past and future exist in the same way future however God experience the personal is no different from past or future
-Because God is eternal and can be in past,present and future all at once
•God is not just ‘in every time and space’ but every ‘time and space’ is in God:
-God is not contained by them but in control of them
-This means that we do still have freewill, God can see the free choices we made in the past and what we will do in the future.
