concept of God

Descartes’ view on God’s omnipotence

Descartes’ view on God’s omnipotence

God is outside of logic, his power is limitless. He creates the rules of logic and could change them if he wanted to.

Aquinas’ view on God’s omnipotence

God can do anything which is logically possible, this does not place a limit on his power, because something which isn’t logically possible, isn’t a real thing to do.

Kenny’s view on God’s omnipotence

God can do anything logically possible, which doesn't undermine his other qualities.

Problem of practical knowledge for God

Some philosophers worry that God cannot have practical knowledge of how to do things which involve a body, since he is transcendent and incorporeal.

Kretzmann and the mutual incoherence between God’s omniscience and immutability

1. God is not subject to change, He’s immutable.

2. God knows everything

3. A being which knows everything, also knows everything in time (in our changing world)

4. A being that knows things in time is subject to change

5. Donc, in order to be omniscient, God must be subject to change, contradicting his immutability.

6. Donc, there can be no such being

Define omnibenevolence (3 points)

1. God love creation unconditionally (can this be reconciled with doctrines like eternal punishment, can a wholly good God will this for some of his created beings?)

2. God’s goodness is not a separate quality, but rather describes how God’s perfections are all possessed perfectly

3. This is referring to God’s role as the source and standard of moral goodness (debated in the Euthyphro dilemma)

God as eternal

Without beginning or end, independent from the time which he created, atemporal, seeing time all in one timeless moment.

Objections to God as eternal

1. Results in Deism?

2. Can God temporally index truths?

God as everlasting

Without beginning or end, existing throughout time, but still without beginning or end (sempiternal), living alongside creation.

Objections to God as everlasting

1. Can God be a creator, within time?

2. Is God no longer immutable?

3. Does God’s knowledge change (undermining God’s omniscience)?

The Paradox of the Stone

Demonstrates that there’s at least one thing that God can’t do, to use their power in such a way to limit their own power: either a being who is believed to be omniscient can create a stone which is too heavy for them to lift, or they can’t create a stone too heavy for them to lift. Either way, there is a task which one of them cannot perform.

Savage against the paradox of the stone

God can create a stone of any size, and lift a stone of any size, so there are no real limits on God’s power.

Mavrodes against the paradox of the stone

This is to ask God to do the logically impossible, and is therefore an incoherent request.

The Euthyphro dilemma

Plato offers two possible sources of moral goodness: 1) an action is good because God commands it or 2) God commands an action because it is good