The Attributes of God The nature of God what God is like. Omnipotence People wonder whether the concept of God s omnipotence is compatible with his other attributes omniscience and omnibenevolence: Illogical for God to capable of doing evil (omnipotent) and unable to do evil because he is all loving. Does God have the power to stop evil? Inconsistent triad. Question whether omnipotence is in itself a logical concept: Omnipotence paradox Can God create a stone that he cannot lift? Yes then he is not omnipotent because he cannot lift it. No then he is not omnipotent because he cannot create it. Bible Many passages in the Bible which support God s omnipotence: God gave Sarah and Abraham a child even though Sarah was past menopause. If God were not omnipotent then he would not be able to perform miracles: For nothing is impossible with God Luke 1:2637 God is capable of doing anything that he wants but there are things that he would not do because they go against his nature: Breaking laws of logic. Being unjust. Failing. If God did not have supreme power then he would not be able to do the things necessary for salvation: Couldn t carry out plans for the universe. People would not be able to be saved from their sins. He would not be able to resurrect people from the dead. He would not be able to give eternal life in heaven. Anselm Links God s omnipotence to the Ontological Argument. God is that which nothing greater can be conceived. God has all the perfections, including perfect power omnipotence is a predicate of God, therefore he is that which nothing greater can be conceived. If God were less than omnipotent then we would be able to conceive of something greater being who is more powerful by definition, god must be omnipotent.
Descartes God can do absolutely anything even things which are logically impossible. God is the source of logic he can suspend or replace logic if he wants to. Weaknesses of Descartes View This would turn God into an arbitrary tyrant cannot be relied on. If God is all powerful capable of doing evil, being unforgiving, turning against us, and failing capable of being self contradictory. Contradiction to say that God is capable of doing evil because of his omnipotence, but he is also incapable of doing evil because of his loving nature. Some argue that because God is omnipotent then he can get around this contradiction even if we do not understand. Others will argue that this response is just refusal to admit that religious belief does not make sense dodging the question. Descartes s view creates difficulties for theodicies: Some theologians argue that God cannot act in any other way that he does we would be deprived of free will. Suffering is a price to pay for freedom of choice. However, if God is capable of suspending the laws of logic, then we should be able to have free will without the consequences of evil evil is something that God could change if he wants to. Thomas Aquinas God is completely omnipotent he can do everything that is absolutely possible. Everything that does not imply a contradiction is among those possibilities in respect of which God is called omnipotent Responsible for creating the world and keeping it in existence everything is the world is dependent on God for its existence. God cannot do anything that is inconsistent with his nature. God is incorporeal (has no body) cannot swim, die, become tired. God is perfectly good cannot deceive or do any other form of evil. Peter Vardy The Puzzle of Evil. God s omnipotence is much more limited than Christians have suggested God is not in control of history can t change history. Wrong to suggest that things happen because God wills it. The universe is finely tuned God cannot act in a different way because everything would not exist as it does now. The world is perfectly suited for the existence of free will and rational human beings God s omnipotence must be limited.
This limitation is SELF IMPOSED God is still omnipotent because nothing limits his power except for when he chooses. John Macquarrie Principles of Christian Theology. When believers speak of the power of God they are using analogy God s power is different from our idea of power. Similar to Aquinas there will always be aspects of God s nature that will remain unknown to us. God s omnipotence is something we have difficulty understanding beyond our knowledge and understanding. The limitations of God s omnipotence are SELF IMPOSED. He is not constrained by logical, or the physical world he is constrained by his omnipotence because he chooses to limit his power out of love for humanity. Doctrine of Kenosis God emptied himself of his own omnipotence in order to come down to earth as a man. This was a deliberate choice made by God for the benefit of humanity salvation. He put limitations on his powers so that people could have free choice. Most scholars argue that God s omnipotence means that he is able to do that which is logically possible within the nature of God he cannot do evil because that is not in his nature. He could not give us free will without the existence of evil not logically possible.
The Eternity of God Atemporal eternal, outside of time. Sempiternal everlasting, moving along the same timeline as us. 2 main views: 1. God is timeless outside of time, not bound by time God is the creator of time ATEMPORAL. 2. God is everlasting he moves along the same timeline that we do, but he never ends or begins past for us is also the past for God the future is unknown to us and to some extent unknown to God SEMPITERNAL. This understanding affects other ideas about the attributes of God: Omniscience can God know events that have not happened? The problem of evil can God see the whole picture from beginning to end? Does this mean he is responsible for evil? Omnipotence can God change the past and undo events that have already happened? This also challenges the idea that God answers prayers if God is unchanging and knows what is going to happen in the future, is there any point of praying? If prayer can change God s mind, then is God a perfect being than which nothing greater can be conceived? God is Timeless Atemporal Anselm, Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas and Schleiermacher. God exists outside of time he can see the past, present and future. Time is an aspect of the human world God is in control of it, therefore he is not bound by time or space he can be and is everywhere at once, he exists in every part of the past, present and future. This view shows that God is not limited God introduced time. God s omnipotence is not threatened because God is not bound by time. This allows for God to be immutable (unchangeable) necessary if God is perfect. If God was bound by time he would be limited he would have to wait and see how events turn out before he can act unforeseen difficulties. His omnipotence and omniscience would be reduced to a point where He cannot be called allpowerful and allknowing. A God who was sempiternal rather than atemporal would not meet Anselm s definition as that which nothing greater can be conceived. Those who say that God is outside time argue that concept s on God s relationship with time do not recognise the uniqueness of God God can bring about changing without being changed himself (Aristotle Unmoved Mover). Things are possible for God because of his unique nature we have limited understanding.
God is Everlasting Sempiternal Some argue that saying God is timeless creates more problems than it resolves: If God is timeless cannot be immutable, cannot be a person, cannot be said to have a life. Nelson Pike and Richard Swinburne a person with life has to be changeable in order to have relationships and respond to people a timeless God would not be able to love because he would not be affected by anything. Love cannot be compatible with immutability a loving being responds to the object of his or her love. Richard Swinburne A timeless God contradicts the Bible he would be a very lifeless thing. He argues that a perfect being does not have to be changeless Plato suggested that a world of unchanging and unchangeable concepts, but we do not have to accept Plato s ideas. God does not have fixed purposes for all eternity does not intend to remain unchanged. God interacts with people his decision about what will happen may change because he has relationships with individuals. Isaiah 38:15 God plans to end Hezekiah s life. But is persuaded to change his mind however there are also passages in the Bible where God is portrayed to be unchanging. Augustine Questions whether the Bible supports the idea of an atemporal or sempiternal God opposite conclusion to Swinburne. Augustine saw the problem that God had made the world at a particular point in time what had he been doing all that time before he created the world? If God moves along the same timeline as we do why did an everlasting God pick that particular moment in time to create the world? The biblical account of creation points towards a timeless God created day and night, seasons etc. God surpasses notions of before and after.
God as Impassible Suggests that God is unaffected by anything incapable of suffering pain or harm; unfeeling. Thomas Aquinas argued that God cannot be changed by anything outside himself links to Aristotle s Prime Mover he set things in motion, but is unaffected cannot be acted upon. Origen early Christian fathers impassible had different understandings: It meant lacking all emotions, being unperturbed, incapable of being emotionally affected by others and incapable of feeling emotion towards others this means God cannot suffer. Clement of Alexandria early Christian teacher: Impassible God cannot be distracted from his essential nature. God is singleminded in his purposes this does not mean that he is uninterested. R.S. Franks Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. Impassibility whether God is capable of being acted upon from the outside God can cause feelings and emotions within himself. He can still have feelings of love and forgiveness they arise as part of God s own nature. Classic Views Immutability came from Plato and Aristotle. Plato Form of the Good concept, incapable of being affected because it has no personality. Aristotle Prime Mover first in the chain of cause and effect uncaused nothing acts upon it, unchanged by anything. Augustine and Aquinas took up this idea. Augustine The City of God. God is absolutely immutable completely unchangeable. Links to the idea that God is timeless.
Aquinas When we speak of God we need to recognise that we are using analogy not univocal language. We cannot use words from our own experience to describe God because God is not like us or like anything else in the world. We have to use analogy God moves in mysterious ways does not mean God physically moves from one place to another Loving father. There are philosophical difficulties when trying to understand the attributes of God. The idea that God is timeless linked to the idea that God is immutable presents problems for Christians: Means that God cannot answer prayers or interact in a personal way outside of time. Creation whatever happens on earth does not affect God (disasters) remains unmoved. Charles Hartshorne Divine Relativity The Logic of Perfection. God cannot be loving if he is also impassible: He would be the cause of everything and effect of nothing. If God was impassible he would be pure activity of actuality he can give, but not take, he remains uninfluenced by the world. The world could suffer tragedies God would be unaffected glass of water remains unaffected by the reading of an eloquent poem. If God is impassible he cannot know us, interact with us, sympathise with us, hear or respond to our prayers. An immutable God would have no purpose to a changing world god would be no more of a person than someone dead. Nelson Pike God and Timelessness. Rejects the idea that God is impassible. Considers the philosophical implications of the idea that God exists outside of time. Impassible God is linked to the idea that God is timeless a timeless being could not be affected or prompted by another. God is not outside time present in the world with us, acting and responding, loving, rejoicing and suffering as we do. God does not know the future, he knows what the possibilities are real free will.
Defending the View that God is Immutable Aquinas God can be both loving and immutable because he is God people cannot do this, but God is not like us. Distinction between God s nature combined with God s will (which are immutable) and god s activity: God s nature is perfect unchanging, always loving and always perfect goodness. God s will God does not change his mind, knows good because he is goodness in itself does not change his will because of circumstances which he did not expect. God is still capable of having loving relationships. Creel Divine Impassibility. God can be loving as well as immutable. God can know what his own will is in response to any of infinite number of possibilities. He does not have to wait for people to exercise their free will to know how to respond he knows all the possibilities and knows his response in advance. We can decide what we will do tomorrow depending on the weather. If it is sunny go for a picnic. If it rains go to the cinema. The weather is free to make up its mind and the way I act as a result depends on the weather but I do not change my mind I know the possibilities in advance. God s will remains immutable unchanging because of his unchanging nature. God does not have to be changeable to love because he is the essence of love God s love is not caused by anything. God is love therefore he can be immutable and loving at the same time our imperfect version of love involves change.
Omniscience God knows everything his knowledge includes things that are unavailable to the human mind long forgotten details of history. God has no false beliefs cannot be mistaken. He even knows people s secret thoughts which are never expressed knows how many grains of sand there are in the Sahara. This raises questions: Does God know future events as well as events in the past? If God knows the numbers that will come up in the national lottery, does this mean he has decided who will win? Predetermined? If God knows all the moral choices that people will make in their lives do we still have free will? Example of giving to charity if I make a choice to give 10 to a charity, does God already know that I am going to make the donation? If he can never be mistaken, then do I have free choice not to make the donation? Does God s knowledge of the donation prevent me from changing my mind? If I have no choice but to donate the money, then the moral act has no moral value. Christianity, Islam and Judaism believe that God is omniscient. Humans are responsible for their actions they have genuine free choice when presented with a moral dilemma God leaves individuals to decide. People can be held responsible for their choices on earth Islam stresses that life on earth is a test, so choices are judged by Allah place in heaven depends on right decisions. Friedrich Schleiermacher We can have free will while God has omniscience intimacy between two persons. Analogy of a close friend know each other s behaviour: If you tell my friend that you plan to travel from A to B she will give you advice about the best route to take. I know that if I mention to her that I plan to take a journey she will do this. If I tell her I plan to go to Oxford, am I somehow limiting her choice so that she is not free to say anything other than If I were you I d avoid Milton Keynes? Schleiermacher would say no because I may know what she will say, but this is a reliable guess there is a possibility that I could be wrong.
Criticisms of Schleiermacher God s knowledge is infallible (dependent) unlike the knowledge we have of close friends, because we have the potential to be wrong. If God knows that my friend will give travel advice, does this make it inevitable that she will give the advice? She has no freedom to do anything else because God already knows what she will choose. If our freedom to act morally was clear we would not be able to be held responsible because we could not act in any other way God already knows what we will do. Kant Without freedom there can be no moral choices. If God s omniscience determines our choices then God cannot punish us when we do wrong, or reward us when we do good unjust. If you made a robot programmed to smash a vase with a hammer you cannot blame the robot for the broken vase. This would be your fault you could have chosen to programme it differently. If God knows the future, then he knows what we will do God can be held responsible for evil including moral evil. God knows from the beginning of time who will have faith and who will have doubt knows before we are born we can do nothing about ending up in heaven or hell because God already knows. If God did not know the future this would make him a less powerful God. This means that God can be surprised or make unwise choices capabilities seem to be limited. If God knew all the choices that Nelson Mandela was going to make were any of his choices real choices from free will? Answers to omniscience and freedom may depend on our understanding of eternity if God is timeless and he can see the whole picture, then his omniscience is eternal. Knows the past, present and future because he is not limited by time. If God is everlasting, he moves on the same timeline as us knows the past and present, but not the future. Knows all the contributing factors to our decisionmaking. Knows what we will choose as far as this is logically possible. Choice remains free.
Boethius The Consolation of Philosophy. Seems it would be wrong for God to punish and reward us if he knows the future but the Bible teaches about punishment and rewards. How can God foreknow these things will happen if they are uncertain? if God knows something will happen, when it is in fact uncertain God s knowledge will be mistaken and this cannot be possible. However, if God knows that something MIGHT happen, there is still the possibility that it might not happen this cannot be called knowledge because God would know just as much as we do. But if God knows things they become inevitable reward and punishment become unfair. Boethius realises that God can see things differently from us humans exist within time. Humans have pasts, which are fixed, present, which is gone in an instant, and futures, which are uncertain because the future is uncertain, humans have free will. When God is omniscient does not have the same constraints that we do. God has no past, present or future so his knowledge too, transcends all temporal change and abides in the immediacy of his presence. God can look down on us, moving along our timelines he can see us in the past, present and future, so he has perfect knowledge of what we will freely choose to do. He does not know the moral choices in advance of our making them there is no such thing as in advance for God. All events occur simultaneously for God in his eternal presence. Makes no sense to talk of what God knows in the future because he does not know things in advance of them happening they all happen simultaneously for him. He cannot be accused of lack of wisdom for not realising that Adam and Eve would sin cannot be accused of lack of morality because he allows evil dictators to be born. God does not know what we will do in the future because there is no future for God therefore we have genuine free will and can be rewarded or punished with justice.
Omnibenevolence Christian teaching God s nature is love. God s love is connected to the ideas about his goodness and righteousness. In the Bible love is compared with the love of a human parent hurt when the child rejects the love shown. Hosea: Told to marry Gomer adulterous. Marriage became a visual aid for Hosea taught people about their behaviour and consequences. Gomer was repeatedly unfaithful to Hosea just as Israel was unfaithful to God but Hosea loved her and took her back each time. Israel is tempted away from God by the attractions of other religions and the secular lifestyle God is hurt and angry determined to punish them, even though he wants to restore their loving relationship. Can God be affected hurt/suffer? Does this limit his omnipotence? If God loves his people unconditionally and is also omnipotent, why does he not stop them from doing things that will hurt him? Old Testament Showing love for each other is the proper response to the love that God has shown to humans. Love of God cannot be separated from righteousness not sentimental love demand that the people should follow the commandments. God s love is expressed through judgement and forgiveness punishment of sin is because of his love. God punished Israel out of love For alone have I cared among all the nations of the world; therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities (Amos 3:2). Jewish postholocaust theologians Jews were singled out for God s punishment because they were his chosen people others would say this implies that the holocaust was God s doing and he wanted it to happen.
New Testament Agape unconditional love. Connotations of showing love through action. God is the source of love John actuates love with God (first letter of John). God demonstrated his love by becoming incarnate in Jesus this gives people the opportunity to see God through seeing his love for the world. The source of all human love is God the love of God requires humans to show love for each other. Let us love on another, for love comes from God 1 John 4:79. Love is linked with the concepts of salvation, reconciliation and redemption life and death of Jesus is proof of God s love. Any love shown for humans is a reflection of God god s love involves activity, which is shown through the sacrifice of Christ = evidence of God s love. God s love is perfect love and unconditional (agape) everlasting and personal to each individual. Even the hairs of your head are all counted Matthew 10:30 Paul explains how the love for God will be revealed in the way people treat each other. The existence of evil and suffering may seem to contradict the idea that God is allloving and allpowerful Hume and J.S. Mill. People cannot full understand the love of God. We can experience love because it comes from God we cannot know why God acts the way he does. God does not leave us to suffer on our own he came to earth in human form and suffered with us. He is with us in our pain even if we do not understand the reason for it. Shares the pains of human existence to the extent of suffering death by torture. We may not understand God s love, or the reason for suffering must be confident of a life after death when everything will become clear. Aquinas When we speak of God s love we are using analogy. A love that is like ours must remember that God is infinitely greater than us and we can only understand a proportion of his divine love.