Nature & Attributes of God Flashcards
(28 cards)
What’s Anselm’s four dimensionalist approach?
- God exists outside of the four dimensions of length, breadth, hright and time
- he can move through all of human time equally and experience all equally
How does Anselm’s four dimentionalist approach allow humans to still have free will?
God can only observe the choices we make as he is in his own dimension, separate from time so God cannot intervene as he is not in the same dimension
Strengths of Anselm’s four dimentionalist approach
- God is still omniscient because although he cannot intervene he can choose what part of humanity he wants to experience
- humans still have free will
Weaknesses of Anselm’s four dimentionalist approach
- Swinburne says that God interacts and appears to humans in the bible so God can intervene and exists in linear time
- if God is not/can’t interact, then how can he be omnibenevolent
What is Boethius’ approach to God’s knowledge?
- God exists on a lofty peak where he observes all of human history
- eternity is the ‘simultanious possesion of boundless life’ which means God posseses all things at the same time
How does Boethius’ approach to God’s knowledge maintain free will for humans?
God can only observe humanity so humans still choose what they do as God cannot intervene
Strengths of Boethius’ approach to God’s knowledge
- God’s omniscience does not prevent free will because he can experience the actions but cannot cause humans to make them
Weaknesses of Boethius’ approach to God’s knowledge
- if God only has providential knowledge then his knowledge is limited so he’s not omniscient
- how does he choose when to do things like creation or the 10 plagues
- an unchanging eternal God can’t develop a relationship with humans
What is Schleirmarcher’s approach to God’s knowledge?
- God’s knowledge is of all things that are possible to know
- he knows all of our possible furture choices but can’t know what we will actually do (middle knowledge)
- uses the analogy of close friends at a resturant - God knwoes everything about humanity and can accurately predict what choices we will make but can still be surprised if we make a choice that doesn’t follow our past patterns
How does Schleirmarcher’s approach to God’s knowledge maintain human free will?
God can think of every possiblity but he does not know for certain which one we will pick, so humans still have a choice and therefore still have free will
Strengths of Schleirmarcher’s approach to God’s knowledge
- humans still have free will
- can still be seen as omniscient in a sense, as he knows everything we could do but cannot know what we will choose to do because he gave us free will
Weaknesses of Schleirmarcher’s approach to God’s knowledge
- limits God’s omniscience
- changes the definition of what omniscience is
- he isn’t omniscient because he doesn’t have knowledge of the future
- his analogy makes God seem too human
What is the paradox of the stone?
- if God can create the heaviest stone but cannot lift it he’s not omnipotent
- if God cannot create the heaviest stone because he can lift it so he’s not omnipotent
- so whatever option you pick, God cannot be omnipotent
What does Descartes say about God’s omnipotence?
- God can do anything at all, even what seems illogical to us
- there are no limitations to God’s power
- God does not have the limits of logic
- God is the creator of logic and so can change logic to his own will
Weaknesses with Descartes theory of God’s omnipotence
- God is omnibenevolent so why does he want to confuse us?
- we are not similar to God because we do not have the ability to reason like God so are we really made in imago dei
- he doesn’t explain how or even why God would want to change the laws of logic
What does Aquinas say about God’s omnipotence?
- God can only do what is logically consistent with his own qualities
- God is incorporeal - has no body - so there are things which require a body that he cannot do, e.g. swim
Weaknesses of Aquinas’ view on God’s omnipotence
- suggests that God is simply a powerful being as opposed to all-powerful
- a God outside of logic would be greater than a God controlled by it
What does Vardy say about God’s omnipotence?
- God self limits as a way of showing his love for humanity
- God could choose to not exist, but he loves humanity and wants a relationship with us
Weaknesses of Vardy’s view on God’s omnipotence
- if God doesn’t show us his power then how do we know he is omnipotent
- God should be able to do anything without limiting himself
- God doesn’t need to fit logic
What is Boethius’ idea of God’s providential knowledge split into?
- simply necessity = God’s knowledge of necessary natural laws
- conditional necessity = God’s knowledge/observation of our actions but only because we have chosen them
What is Anslem’s idea of God’s foreknowledge split into?
- preceding necessity = things which happen because they are dependent on physical/natural laws created by God
- following neciessity = an action which happens dependent on the choice of a person
What does God is eternal mean?
God is separate from the human conception of linear time
What does God is everlasting mean?
God exists from the beginning of time and will exist until the end. God experiences linear timeand exists in the present like us
Does Swinburne say God is everalsing or eternal and why?
- everlasting
- because in the bible there are examples of God appearning to and interacting with humans which an eternal God couldn’t do
