God is Simple!

 Aquinas... Gods nature and existence are the same thing  Because we are talking about him, he exists  Anselm – Existence is a predicate of God

 Change involves a movement from one being to another – and there is no greater being than God  He is PURRRFECT!  “If something changeable accounted for there being a world in which change occurs, it would be part of such a world and could not, therefore, account for it.”

 According to Aquinas... (and friends)  God has no body, or other charectoristorics – God is simply God!

CHALLENGE God changes How can a simple God love his people? God has no freedom if simplicity is true God is not described as simple in the bible The simple God is transcendent and is thus unknowable RESPONSE God loves us in a non-human way, Second, love concerns what God wills for human beings; it is not a reference to empathy for people There are many references to Gods nature in the Bible some of which are not literal. Secondly, Malachi 3:6a suggests that God is unchanging This is a misunderstanding of Gods nature. Aquinas argues that God ‘wills whatever he does from eternity’ (Summa T) E.g. God is the creator, so if God is simple, God eternally wills creation God can be known through revelation. Secondly, some people claim God can, in a way, be known through the use of analogy of proportion and attribution and the via negativa God does not change instead God is the source of change

 “ For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.”  Isaiah 57:15a

 Plato – unchaing true reality of the world of Forms  Boethius (who we will look at)  Nicholas Wolterstorff – the eternity of God has appealed to people because  Influence of classical Greek philosophy  Different from humans experience of life in the physical world

“the feeling, deep seated in much of human culture, that the flowing of events into the an irrecoverable and unchageable past is a matter of deep regret. Our bright actions and shining moments do not long endure. The gnawing of time bits all. And our evil deeds can never be undone. They are forever to be refretted... Regrets over the pervasive pattern of what transpires within time have led whole societies to place the divine outside of time – freed from the bondage of temporality.” Wolderstorff, ‘God everlasting’

 What is life like today?  What was life like 50 years ago?  What was life like 1000 years ago?  Why is this important when looking at the world as a changing entity?

1. Eternal refers to God existing outside of time 2. Eternal refers to God having no beginning and no end, but time does pass for God Eternal... God existing outside of time Everlasting... God always existing but with time passing for God

1. The bible suggests that God exists 2. God is a physical being like us 3. God is the creator  time passing is a feature of his creation  therefore he is outside of it

4. God is the ultimate cause of why things exist and why there is change in the universe (Aquinas 2/5) 5. God is perfect and hence is not subject to time because time passing implies imperfection. When time passes you change and lose what you were previously. This argument is found in Anselms Proslogian. 6. God exists necessarily - contingency (Aquinas 3/5)  R90 R90

 Early xian philosopher  Born to influential roman family  Became a Roman Consul  Imprisoned and executed for opposing the emperor  His work introduced and integrated aspects of Greek philosophy with Christian teaching  He is buried in Italy pYGRjg

 The Consolation was written while Boethius was in prison awaiting execution. The work is cast in the form of a dialog with Philosophy, who explains to him the true nature of happiness, why the wicked appear to prosper while the good suffer, and many other difficulties. By the end, Boethius sees clearly the goodness and sovereignty of God. (Section numbers follow those in Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, New York: Penguin, 1969.)

 1. Boethius constructs a harmony between classical and Christian ideas about God and human nature, showing in part the unity of truth and philosophy (classical and Christian wisdom being so similar) and in part the support that classical philosophers provide for Christian truth.  2. Similarly, Boethius carefully bases his argument on reason rather than Christian revelation, to show first how reasonable a base Christianity ultimately rests upon and second to show that there are rational, intellectually satisfying answers to the sufferings of the human condition. (Perhaps this work could be considered as "pre-evangelism" for intellectuals.)  3. Boethius relies substantially on Platonic and Neoplatonic thought. If you are familiar with the ideas of Plato, look for echoes here.