concept and attributes of god

what does it mean to say that god is omnipotent?

god is all powerful - can do anything that is logically possible

what does it mean to say that god is omniscient?

god is all knowing - knows all true propositions that are possible to know

what does it mean to say that god is omnibenevolent?

god is all loving or perfectly good - always does what is morally good, never anything evil

what does it mean to say that god is eternal?

god exists outside of time - he is atemporal and not affected by time so has no beginning or end

what does it mean to say that god is everlasting?

god exists within time - exists all throughout time with no beginning or end - was there at the beginning of time and will continue to exist forever

outline the paradox of the stone

challenges god’s omnipotence - [briefly define]

• can god create a stone he can’t lift?

• a) god creates a stone he can’t lift - there is something he cannot do (lift the stone)

• b) god cannot create a stone he can’t lift - there is something he cannot do (create the stone)

• therefore god cannot be omnipotent - concept of an omnipotent god is incoherent

outline the euthyphro dilemma

• plato’s dialogue euthyphro - concerned with piety - challenges god’s omnipotence and omnibenevolence - [briefly define]

• does god command something because it is good, or is something good because god commands it?

• a) if god commands things because they are good, this goodness cannot originate from god himself and must come from something external - god is reliant on something else so cannot be omnipotent

• b) if things are good because god commands them, this makes morality completely arbitrary - god could randomly decide that e.g. killing people is good, and we would be expected to follow god’s commands - therefore god cannot be omnibenevolent

• therefore the classical concept of god as being both omnipotent and omnibenevolent is incoherent as the dilemma requires us to reject one of these attributes in both horns