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Descartes Voluntarism
Believes that Gods omnipotence involves the power to do anything even the logically impossible- says that God could have made it false that 2X4=8
Has the power to changed mathematical, geometric and logical truths- God existed before the laws of logic and created them as is therefore not bound by them
Logic=human limitations
However:
Voluntarism is incoherent and undermines theodicies- if it is logically possible for God to do the logically impossible then it is not logically impossible- self defeating- destroys logical necessity
Undermines theodicies- why cant god give us free will and prevent evil?
Aquinas- God can only do the logically possible
Gods power is founded in Gods infinite nature which possess the perfection all being- Gods omnipotence Can only bring about things which are consistent with the perfection of being
Even though God cannot do the impossible- not limitation of his omnipotence once properly understood as power founded in the perfection of being
However: The paradox of the stone- “can god create a stone so heavy he cant lift is”- Aquinas’ definition is therefore too narrow
Mavrodes- the stone is logically self contradictory- no such thing as a stone too heavy too lift
Self Imposed Limitation
Augustine
The only limits on Gods power are limits that God chose- limited by choice- divine self limitation
When creating the earth- God made is logically consistent and orderly
If God did something logically impossible within the universe- disrupt the logical order of universe and make it chaotic
Free will needed to do good/evil
However :
If God can do logically impossible then no need for divine limitation
Reduces the number of things God can do, can’t do what he used to- not all powerful
Conclusion:
God cannot be al powerful
God being all powerful is incompatible with other attributes or god, for the omnipotence of God to be justified- the definition of Omnipotence needs to be compromised (Anthony Kenny)
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