3.1 Divine Attributes: Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnibenevolence

God's nature is often described using three key attributes: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnibenevolence (all-good). These qualities form the basis of classical theism in Western religious traditions, shaping our understanding of the divine.

The interplay between these attributes raises fascinating questions. Can an all-powerful God create a stone too heavy to lift? How does God's perfect knowledge affect human free will? These puzzles challenge us to think deeply about the nature of God and our relationship to the divine.

Divine Attributes of God

Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnibenevolence

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• Omnipotence characterizes God's all-powerful nature
  • Ability to do anything logically possible
  • Examples include creating the universe or performing miracles
• Omniscience encompasses God's unlimited knowledge
  • Covers all past, present, and future events
  • Includes knowledge of all possible outcomes and counterfactuals
• Omnibenevolence represents God's perfect goodness and infinite love
  • Always acts with the best intentions for the greatest good
  • Manifests in concepts like divine grace and mercy
• These attributes form the foundation of classical theistic conception of God
  • Central to Western philosophical and theological traditions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism)
• Interrelationship between attributes reinforces God's perfection
  • Omniscience informs omnibenevolent actions
  • Omnipotence enables the fulfillment of omnibenevolent will

Interpretations and Limitations

• Various theological frameworks offer different interpretations
  • Some traditions emphasize certain attributes over others
  • Interpretations affect understanding of God's nature and actions
• Potential limitations explored in philosophical discourse
  • Logical limitations on omnipotence (creating a square circle)
  • Epistemic limitations on omniscience (knowing what it's like to sin)
  • Moral limitations on omnibenevolence (allowing for free will)
• Debates on the absoluteness vs. qualified nature of divine attributes
  • Some argue for unqualified attributes
  • Others propose more nuanced understandings to address paradoxes

Paradoxes of Divine Attributes

Problem of Evil and Suffering

• Challenges coexistence of omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God with evil
  • Logical problem questions logical compatibility
  • Evidential problem argues improbability based on observed suffering
• Various forms of evil considered
  • Natural evil (earthquakes, diseases)
  • Moral evil (human cruelty, injustice)
• Theodicies attempt to justify God's allowance of evil
  • Free will defense (evil as a consequence of human freedom)
  • Soul-making theodicy (suffering as necessary for spiritual growth)
• Skeptical theism argues human limitations prevent full understanding of God's reasons

Logical Paradoxes of Omnipotence

• Paradox of the stone questions God's ability to create a task it cannot perform
  • Can God create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it?
  • Leads to apparent contradiction in the concept of omnipotence
• Paradox of omnipotence explores logical limits of divine power
  • Can God create a being more powerful than Himself?
  • Challenges the coherence of absolute omnipotence
• Responses include redefining omnipotence
  • Ability to do all logically possible actions
  • Power to actualize any logically possible state of affairs

Foreknowledge and Free Will Dilemmas

• Divine foreknowledge seemingly conflicts with human free will
  • If God knows all future actions, how can choices be free?
  • Challenges the compatibility of omniscience and human agency
• Grounding problem questions the basis of God's foreknowledge
  • How can God know future free actions without causing them?
  • Explores the nature of truth about future contingents
• Proposed solutions include:
  • Molinism (middle knowledge of counterfactuals)
  • Open theism (God's knowledge limited by future openness)
  • Compatibilism (redefining free will as compatible with determinism)

Perspectives on Divine Attributes

Process Theology and Open Theism

• Process theology proposes a God who evolves with the universe
  • Rejects classical omnipotence in favor of persuasive power
  • Addresses issues of divine perfection and change
• Open theism suggests God's knowledge doesn't include exhaustive foreknowledge of free choices
  • Attempts to reconcile divine knowledge with human free will
  • Proposes a more dynamic relationship between God and creation

Classical Theism and Analogical Language

• Classical theism maintains traditional understanding of divine attributes
  • Upholds absolute omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence
  • Employs analogical language to address apparent contradictions
• Analogical predication allows for meaningful discussion of divine nature
  • Attributes understood as similar but not identical to human qualities
  • Helps bridge gap between finite human understanding and infinite divine reality

Alternative Conceptions and Skeptical Approaches

• Some philosophers argue for limited God concepts
  • Modifying or rejecting certain divine attributes for logical consistency
  • Examples include finitist theism or panentheism
• Skeptical theism emphasizes human cognitive limitations
  • Argues we cannot fully understand or judge coherence of divine attributes
  • Cautions against making definitive claims about God's nature or reasons

Divine Attributes vs Free Will

Models of God's Relationship to Time

• Divine timelessness proposes God exists outside of time
  • Attempts to reconcile foreknowledge with free will by removing temporal sequence
  • Challenges include explaining God's interaction with temporal world
• Divine temporality suggests God experiences time sequentially
  • Allows for more dynamic interaction with creation
  • Raises questions about the nature of divine foreknowledge

Libertarian Free Will and Divine Foreknowledge

• Libertarian free will requires genuine alternative possibilities
  • Ability to have done otherwise in identical circumstances
  • Particularly challenging to reconcile with exhaustive divine foreknowledge
• Proposed solutions include:
  • Molinism's concept of middle knowledge
  • Open theism's limited foreknowledge
  • Compatibilist redefinition of free will

Compatibilist Approaches and Divine Determinism

• Compatibilism attempts to reconcile determinism with a form of free will
  • Defines free will as acting according to one's desires without external constraint
  • Allows for divine foreknowledge without negating human responsibility
• Theological determinism views all events as part of God's plan
  • Raises questions about moral responsibility and the problem of evil
  • Some argue it provides a stronger foundation for divine providence