The Attributes and Nature of God (Lesson 3)

The Attributes and Nature of God (Lesson 3) God as Eternal and OmnipotentMr.DeZilvaPhilosophy of Religion Year 13

Key Terms Knowledge: Match up the key words with the phrases • Transcendent • Covenant • Omniscient • Old Testament • Genesis • The Forms • Prime Mover • creatio ex nihilo • Omnipresent • New Testament • Omnipotent • "Creation out of Nothing" • Includes the Torah • Aristotle • All-Powerful • Includes the 4 Gospels • All-Knowing • Plato • Story of "The Beginning" • Not limited by time or space • "Exists independent from" • A binding agreement or promise *Prepare to tell us more about the connection*

Recap: Passage Exercise • What did we discover about the Nature of God? • What can we conclude about how God is portrayed in Biblical Scripture? • Which one is most accurate or true? • Can they all be true? Why or why not?

From what you know… • Take the next 5 minutes and attempt to answer the following statement:“If God is omnipotent, then he must be able to do absolutely anything. Discuss” • Give to a partner when complete and have them peer assess it. Peer, please provide 2 positives and 2 constructive criticisms about the answer.

God is Eternal • 1) Classical Theologians (Aquinas, Anselm, Augustine) would say God is timeless – God is outside time, not bound by time, and the creator of time. God is atemporal (eternal, outside the constraints of time) • Aquinas’ sitting on the hill example • 2) God is everlasting (Swinburne); God moves along the same timeline that we do but never begins or ends. God has a past just as us and the future, to some extent, is unknown to God is sempiternal (everlasting, moving along the same timeline that we do)

Eternal God cont’d • Atemporal view: • God exists outside time and can see the past, present, and the future with perfect knowledge • God is in control of time, He created it. • God is not bound by space and can be everywhere. • Not bounded by time – is part of every past and will be a part of every future. • Positives: Shows that God is not limited and it does not affect his omnipotence. Shows that God is immutable (incapable of change). Supported by the Creation story (in Genesis). • Negatives: The idea of an unchangable God limits God’s personal connection with humanity. A characterless God (no sympathy, emotion, etc).

Eternal God cont’d • Sempiternal View: • God is everlasting, but along our timeline • Changeable, in order to have relationships and respond to people’s actions. • God exists within time because He is able to respond to it. • Positives: This allows for a personal God, and a responsive God that has relationships with His creation. If God is immutable, then He cannot be affected by anything (i.e. cannot love). More in-line with what the Biblical Scripture talk of with God. • Negatives: Is this God really “all-knowing” if they may not know the future?

Tough Questions… • How can God act timelessly in time? • Did time exist before creation? • Wouldn’t God have to decide to create at a particular time? • Wouldn’t God’s acts (as described in scripture) coincide with a time frame (i.e. Red Sea parting)? • If God exists in time, His past and future would limit His present.

God is Omnipotent • Omnipotent = all-powerful • Consider the act of a miracle – which go against the laws of nature, but are within the powers of God. • God’s omnipotence helped carry out his plans for the universe and for human salvation (and the various achievements in the bible – resurrection, saviours, eternal life in Heaven). • Anselm: “God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived” – If God were anything less than omnipotent, then we would be able to conceive of a greater, more perfect, more powerful being.

Omnipotence cont’d • Descartes: God can do absolutely anything, even that which is logically impossible. God is the source of logic.God is capable of suspending the laws of logic. • Aquinas: God is in charge of the whole world, creating it, and keeping it in existence – while everything is dependent on God for its existence. • God can do everything that is absolutely possible • Vardy: God omnipotence is much more limited than many Christians have previous suggested – God is not in control of the whole history and not able to move anything around like “pieces on a chessboard”

Omnipotence cont’d • Macquarrie: When we speak of the power of God, we are using analogy and should understand that God’s power is different from our own – there is still an element of “unknowable” to God. • Like Aquinas and Vardy, any limitations that God may have are self-imposed. He chooses to limits his own power out of love for humanity. • The Doctrine of Kenosis: God “emptied himself” of his own omnipotence in order to come to earth as a man, deliberately. Many biblical passages desire that as followers, Christians imitate Christ’s humility.

Now… • Go back to that question that you addressed earlier. What would you or could you add to it now? • Note: We will be looking at the contradiction problems of these arguments next class.

The Attributes and Nature of God (Lesson 3)