nature attributes of god

• Two types of eternal: timeless and everlasting
• Timeless- God exists outside of time with no beginning and no end
• Bible passage that hints at Gods eternity

  ‘who inhabits eternity whose name is Holy’ Isaiah
• Wolterstorff


  A timeless God has to be different from human experience of life in the physical world
• Wolterstorff Quote


  ‘For humans the gnawing of time bites all’
• Boethius Book


  The Consolation of Philosophy
• Boethius 


  Argues God does not experience past, present and future but all time is present to God he sees it all in one go so he doesn’t exist in time
• Boethius quote 


  ‘Eternity is the whole simultaneous and perfect possession of unending life’
• Augustine Questions 


  If God made the world at a particular point in time. What was God doing before this?
• Augustine 


  The bible indicates a timeless God who chose to create day and night, who is separate from this. There was no before God as time does not work in the same way for God
• Aquinas 


  When we speak of God we are using analogical language as 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 of God
• Aquinas Quote


  ‘Eternity exists as a simultaneous whole and time does not’
• Why is time different for humans to God

  Human time is linear but God sees time as a whole
• What are the two main perspectives in time in Anselm four dimensional approach 


  Presentism and Four dimensions like height, width
• Presentism


  What is happening in the present moment reality is this moment
• Anselm’s view is quite different to presentism
• Anselm 


  Terms such as ‘yesterday‘ ‘last week’ are subjective to the person perceiving in that moment
• How does the four dimensional approach link to God

  God is not limited by space and time like we are so God can be in the past, present and future at once
• Anselm- Every time and space is in God so this means humans still have free will and God can see the free choices we made in the past and what we will do in the future
• How does Boethius describe God views of our free will

  ‘as though from a lofty peak’
• How does Anselm differ from Boethius

  Anselm says there is no ‘although’ as God literally sees past present and future as part of his timeless so therefore his rewards and punishments are just
• Wolterstorff- ‘God is freed from the bondage of temporality’ God is freed from constraint of time
• Swinburne 


  The notion of time being simultaneously present to God is incoherent, saying he could not make sense of this
• Problems with Timeless view

  How can God be personal and act in creation if he only watches over us e.g., Jesus

  Love involves a two way process and ability to respond makes us feel disassociated from religion and creates more of this epistemic distance

  How can a timeless God respond to people‘s prayers what’s the need for people to pray if he won’t respond
• Helm

  Argues God is considered as timeless and cannot have temporal relations with any of his creation
• Defence of Timeless God


  Language that suggest God acting personally in the Bible reflects people of the time encountering God
• Wiles

  God does not literally act in the world e.g., through miracles as this would present a partisan God (someone who helps some and not others) God loves us all through the gift of creation
• Aquinas 


  Prayers should not be for requests you shouldn’t pray to God for a response you should do to show commitment to religion and God
• Problem with Boethius argument

  He ends up defining a God that is intrinsically different from the God of classical theism but more of a deist God leaving questions about the incarnation and relevance of prayer
• Everlasting


  God always exists and will always exist without end but time passes for God
• An Everlasting God is an active one answering prayers and granting miracles
• Swinburne quote

  ‘ I prefer that understanding of God being eternal as his being everlasting rather than as his being timeless’
• An everlasting God fits more satisfactory with God as revealed in the Bible
• Wolterstorff

  The only way to understand some of God’s actions in the Bible is to see them as responses to humans‘ free choices

  You cannot criticise an everlasting God for not knowing the events of the future because God’s omniscience only includes knowing what has happened

  The future as it is does not yet exist so it’s illogical to assume that God will know it
• Philosophical supports of a timeless God

  Supports Gods omniscience as he has all knowledge

  Supports Gods omnipotence as he has all power to create and remain separate from time

  Supports that he is perfect and has no limits or constraints

  Supports he is immutable so not changed by time
• Philosophical problems with a timeless God

  Questions omnibenevolence as he is not present in time to help us

  Questions personal nature as he can’t answer so prayers so what the point in making us if he can’t interact
• Philosophical supports with an everlasting God 


  Supports Gods omnibenevolence as he is active in human lives

  Supports personal nature as he answers prayers and miracles
• Philosophical problems with an everlasting God

  Questions omniscience as if God does not know the future can God be all knowing

  Questions his immutability as if time and humans change God can God still be perfect

  Questions if God is limited by time can he be perfect
• Descartes


  God can do anything even the logically impossible. God cannot be limited in any way so God is the source of logic he has the power to suspend logic and replace it with whatever he wants

  God conforms to law of nature, logic and physics restricts God and since God made them he can break them

  Not understand how God can ‘know everything‘ and ‘gain knowledge‘ is a limit to our human logic not God
• JL Mackie

  Argues there is nothing which is logically impossible. Logical impossibilities do not exist the words even contradict themselves