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Nature of God Key thinkers - Coggle Diagram
Nature of God Key thinkers
Peter Geach
God's omniscience is like a Chess Grand Master playing against a newbie
Knowledge filled in comparison
Dawkins
"Omniscience and Omnipotence and mutually incompatible" - The God Delusion
Descartes
He is supreme perfection and has no limitations
God can do anything, even the logically impossible
--> e.g. can make a square circle
He is the source of logic and so can mould it or change it
Therefore he can do evil (because of his omnipotence) and not do it (omnibenevolence)
--> we can't understand as we are mere humans
Descartes criticisms
Aquinas- God cannot do logical contradictions as they are not a thing to do
Makes God seem like an unpredictable tyrant
Makes it impossible to have a relationship with God
Not supported by Bible
Implies God wanted to create evil and goes against his generally understood nature
Vardy
"Perhaps God deliberately limits his own power for our benefit"
God is not in control of everything
Possibly created the universe in a way that his ability to act necessarily is limited
Did this so not to impose on our autonomy
But his omnipotence is self-imposed, he is omnipotent but chooses to limit his power
Macquarrie
God deliberately limits his power
Kenosis: 'self-emptying' God purposefully made Jesus without some divine attributes so he could be closer to humanity
Hartshorne
God having total power means God has no resistance. The subject (e.g. humans) are able to put up a resistance but God will surpass us
Analogy of a rose