The nature of God Flashcards
(26 cards)
Give eight traditional Christian philosophical definitions of God
Simple/ Eternal/ Omniscient/ Omnipotent/ Omni-benevolent/ creator/ transcendent
Who was Plato
lived around 427bc-347bc in Athens/ Greek Philiopsher
Summarise the analogy of the cave in 7 words
Cave Prisoners Fire artificial shadows daylight sun
What are Plato’s three forms
Form of God (ultimate reality)
The Forms (heavenly world)
The visible/ material (our world)
What did Plato suggest about a being, what this being was called, why did Plato bring forward the analogy of the cave?
He suggested a perfect vbeing that existed beyond all other ordinary beings/ this being should be called ‘Form of the Good’/ to explain the hierartcjhy
What do the prisoners represent in the analogy of the cave?
People/ us
What does the cave represent in the analogy of the cave?
Our world
What do the shadows represent in the analogy of the cave?
the imitations we see of the form of god
What does the sun represent in the analogy of the cave?
the form of the Good/ it is the source of all things
When do you have true enlightenment?
When you have full awareness of the form of good
What did Aristotle observe?
Everything that exists was in a permanent state of movement or change
What did he conclude from this observation?
Something must exist that causes the motion and change without being moved/ this concept is eternal
What does empirical mean?
It was based on evidence that we can study
What did Aristotle suggest about a being supreme being?
It is perfect/ was referred to as the unmoved mover/ it is the cause of all movement/ and change/ it was through desire to reach the perfection of this being that movement was caused/ all materbnal things were drawn towards the unmoved mover
What did Aristotle believe was our final cause?
The unmoved mover
What is Anselm’s quote?
God is that than which nothing greater can be concerived’
What is Descartes quote?
God is a supremely perfect being
What did Brian Davies say would happen if something changeable accounted for there being a world in which change occurs?
‘It would be part of such a world and could not, therefore, account for it’
What does contingent mean?
Depends on something to exist
What does necessary mean?
cannot not exist
What does transcendent mean?
Above and beyond
What are the two concepts of God being eternal?
Timeless- God exists outside of time
everlasting- God has not beginning or end but time does pass for God
Why and how did Boethius think God is timeless?
God views everything simultaneously in ‘one glance’
God is changeless and does not exist in time/ past/present/future does not apply to God/ God’s life is limitless
Why and how did Aquinas think God is timeless?
God observed everything and saw everything, therefore knowing what had happended/ He goes along the birdseye anaology/ God is unmoved and also an efficient cause/ God is necessary
