1.7 The Nature or Attributes of God

• This topic looks about whether God can exist. The concept of God is traditionally a being which is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient
• Omnipotence - what is Descartes' voluntarism ?

  The view that God's omnipotence involves the power to do anything including the logically impossible (e.g changing geometry). His argument was that because of God' immensity, 'nothing at all can exist which does not depend on him'
• Voluntarism is incoherent

  If it's possible that 1+1=3 then it isn't confirmed logically that 1+1=2. If God can do the logically impossible, then logical necessity is destroyed
• Defence to voluntarism

  God being able to do something logically impossible doesn't make it possible for humans so for us it is still logically impossible
• Aquinas on omnipotence

  Aquinas argues that omnipotence was the ability to only do any logical possible thing. God's omnipotence can only bring about things that is consistent with the perfection of being
• Paradox of the Stone response to Aquinas

  Creating an unliftable stone and lifting it seems logically possible yet God cannot do both
• Defence to Paradox of the Stone

  The stone is 'too heavy for an omnipotent being to lift' hence God just can't do it. Hence, it's logically impossible
• Self Imposed limitation

  Suggests that the only limits on God's power are the the limits he chooses. He is still technically omnipotent as he has the power to do anything he chooses.

  (God made the word logically consistent and orderly so limited his power to do the logically impossible to prevent order becoming chaotic)

  (God limited himself to prevent himself intervening and stopping us making bad choices as this would affect our free will)
• Self Imposed Limitation response

  Does it make sense for an omnipotent being to be capable of limiting itself ?
• Self Imposed Limitation advantages

  God isn't actually limiting himself but just choosing not to do certain things + Kierkegaard supports this as he believes God's omnipotence is controlled by love
• Boethius - Omniscience, Free Will, Omnibenevolence and Time

  Boethius questioned if we have free will as God may know our actions beforehand. If so, He cannot judge us fairly meaning his omnibenevolence should be questioned.

  Hence, if God doesn't know our actions beforehand, is he fully omniscient?
• Boethius' solution to his questioning was that God is eternal and outside time meaning that his eternal omniscience doesn't interfere with our free will
• Anselm - Omniscience, Free Will, Omnibenevolence and Time 


  Anselm adds to Boethius' solution. He believes that humans are within time and perceiving it unfold moment by moment whereas God isn't in time like us. All time is in God as he sees time all in one moment
• Consequence to Anselm and Boethius

  If all of time is in God and He views it as one moment, then God doesn't see events right meaning he lacks Omniscience
• Defence to Boethius and Anselm

  God being eternal and outside time means he has always known our future actions
• Everlasting View - Omniscience, Free Will, Omnibenevolence and Time

  Swinburne claims God exists within time as an external God wouldn't be able to respond to prayers since that would require acting within time
• Response to Everlasting view

  Aquinas argues that prayer is to make people feel psychologically closer to God and not aim for responses from God
• Swinburne's response to Aquinas

  Swinburne says that we cannot feel close with an external being. The relationship through prayer only works if God is within time
• Logical Problem of Evil

  Is an A Priori argument that suggests evil and the God known to man described as omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent cannot exist together (JL Mackie's Inconsistent Triad)
• Response to Logical problem of Evil

  Augustine's Theodicy - World was made good but Adam and Eve fell away from God (Free Will Defense and Privatio Boni)

  Irenaeus' Theodicy - Evil allowed by God so humanity can develop

  Epistemic Distance
• Logical problem of Evil - Dostoyevsky and Mill
• Biblical texts and Omniscience

  Job 38 : God asks 'Do you know the laws of the heavens?'

  Jeremiah 1 : 'Before i formed you in the womb, I knew you'
• For God's Omniscience - Jesus knew about Peter and Judas' betrayal beforehand

  Against God's Omniscience - God sent plagues after each other in response to the Pharoah not freeing the Jews