Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Descartes views on Omnipotence |
- Starts with the idea that God is a being in which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore God must have all perfections, including power - If God has perfect power he must have the ability to do absolutely anything, even the logically impossible. God is the ultimate source of logic so can change it as he wishes. |
|
|
Strengths of Descartes' approach |
- Upholds the idea that God is all powerful - Consistent with traditional arguments such as the ontological argument |
|
|
Weaknesses of Descartes' approach |
- God seems unpredictable and cannot be trusted - God must be able to do evil and sin - Contradicts the theodicies because he could give free will without evil and suffering |
|
|
Aquinas' views on Omnipotence |
- God is completely omnipotent, he can 'do everything that is absolutely possible' - By 'possible', Aquinas referred to possibility within proportion, so humans can do things that are possible for humans to do and God can do what is possible for God to do within logic. Therefore, God can do anything that doesn't contradict his innate being. God cannot do anything physical because he is not a physical being - it is contradictory. |
|
|
Strengths of Aquinas' View |
- Maintains God's goodness because God cannot sin, it is a contradiction of his being. - The idea of a non-physical God is cohesive with what we know already and solves the questions of physical power |
|
|
Weaknesses of Aquinas' View |
- Relies on the premise that God is completely omnipotent, which we cannot prove nor trust - How do we know what contradicts God if we do not fully know God? |
|
|
Peter Geach on Omnipotence |
- God has power over everything rather than the power to do everything - In the Bible the word 'Pantokrator' is used and that translate to 'almighty' rather than 'omnipotent' - God has the capacity to have all power |
|
|
Strengths of Peter Geach's Approach |
- Solves the problem of physical power |
|
|
Weaknesses of Peter Geach's Approach |
- We cannot rely on translation from scripture since the translations aren't 100% direct because of the number of times the texts have been translated - Just because God has the capacity for all power doesn't mean he necessarily does have it |
|
|
Other Views on Omnipotence |
- C.S Lewis said 'meaningless combinations of words don't gain meaning because they are combined with the prefix or suffix 'God can' - Alvin Plantinga said an omnipotent being may not have omnipotence as a quality - he may choose to limit his powers in certain ways to maintain free will. - Anthony Kenny defines omnipotence as 'consisting in the possession of all logically possible powers which it is logically possible for a being with the attributes of God to have' - this out rules evil and physical power |
