1. God’s omnipotence
To examine some of the problems with God’s omnipotence.

2. What is God? TOMPENTINO God is almighty, has unlimited power.
MINETAMN
This means that God is present in the world permanently and is involved in what takes place.
SCENTEDNATNR
This means that God is outside of the limitations of time and space.
LANOSREP
God is an entity that can communicate with humankind.
LAPSONRIME
God is not a person with a personality but more of an idea or a force.
What is God?
TOMPENTINO
God is almighty, has unlimited power.
BOOTEENIMENNVL
God is good and all-loving.
ENTOSINIMC
God is all-knowing (knows everything).
PINTROSEMEN
God is everywhere, in all places at all times.
From top left to bottom right; Immanent, Transcendent, Personal, Impersonal, Omnipotent, Omni benevolent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Trinity, Creator, One, Eternal.
TINTIRY
The Christian idea that God is made up of 3 parts. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
RATROCE
God is responsible for bringing the universe into existence.
NEO
There is no other God.
RANTEEL
God has always and will always exist.

3. Is Omnipotence a coherent concept?
If this is the case there can be no omnipotent beings. This is known as the ‘omnipotence paradox’
Is Omnipotence a coherent concept?

4. Is it compatible with other characteristics?

5. Summary of the problem

6. So what does omnipotence mean?
Does it mean?
You can do anything, including the impossible?
You can do everything that is logically possible?
You have maximal power, more power than any other being.

7. How do we know that God is omnipotent?
‘And God said ‘let there be light’ and there was light.’ Genesis 1-3
Abraham and Sarah
Mary and Elizabeth
Jesus looked at them and said’ With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’
Matthew 19:26

8. 1. God’s can do anything, including the logically impossible.
Rene Descartes – supported this view and even went as far as to say that God can change the fundamental laws of physics, even though they are usually unchanging and universal. God created them so can change them whenever he wants.
Rejected all other forms of omnipotence as this put limits on God’s greatness.
God for Descartes is capable of doing evil (power) but incapable (love) even though this is a logical contradiction.
We can’t see how this is possible because we are humans limited by human logic.
God can see how to be self-contradictory because he is God and omnipotent.

9. 1. God’s can do anything, including the logically impossible.
Problems with Descartes
God can do anything but logical contradictions are not ‘things’.
Makes it impossible to have a relationship with God or trust him for salvation.
Creates problems for Theodicy (attempts to justify God in the face of evil).
If God can do absolutely anything then he can allow us to have free will without the consequence of evil. This also means God could change the existence of evil if he wanted to but appears to choose not to – loving God???
Makes God unpredictable and arbitrary tyrant who ‘might’ do anything.
He cant therefore be relied upon.
His moral code could change.

10. 2. God’s can do anything that within his nature is logically possible.
Abraham and Sarah- God asks ‘Is there anything too hard for God?- this implies that God can do anything he wants to- Christian thinkers have used this to try and resolve problems with God’s omnipotence.
If he can do anything he wants then he is omnipotent but there are things that God would never want to do like breaking the law of logic, being unjust or failing.

11. 2. God’s can do anything that within his nature is logically possible.
God is omnipotent in the sense that he is in charge of the whole world and keeps it in existence.
It follows then that God cannot do anything that is inconsistent with his nature because that would imply contradiction.
e.g. God is incorporeal (has no body) so he cannot swim or ride a bike. He is perfectly good therefore cannot do evil.
God can do anything logically possible, but if it is not logically possible then it cannot be done even by God.

12. 2. God’s can do anything that within his nature is logically possible.
Swinburne- in his book The coherence of Theism (1977)- God’s omnipotence means that he can do everything.
‘Everything’ has to be understood properly.
God can do and create all things but self contradictory definitions do not refer to ‘things’.
A square circle is not a thing so God cannot make one.
A stone to heavy for God to lift is not a thing so God could not make one.
This does then not challenge his omnipotence because he can still do everything an create everything.

13. 3. God limits his power for our own benefit.
God’s omnipotence is much more limited than Christians have previously accepted.
God created the universe in such a way that his ability to act is necessarily limited.
The universe is finely tuned in such a way that if God acted differently, everything would not be able to exist in the way that it does.
God is not in control of the hold of human history like pieces on a chess board- it is wrong to suggest that everything happens because of the Will of God.
Peter Vardy- The Puzzle of Evil (1992)

14. 3. God limits his power for our own benefit.
Universe is set up for Free, rational beings and in order for it to remain like this God’s omnipotence has to be very much limited.
Still right to call him omnipotent as he chose it to be this way- nothing limits his power but God.
God chose for it to be this way- he knew what creating the universe in this way wold mean for his omnipotence.
Peter Vardy- The Puzzle of Evil (1992)

15. 3. God limits his power for our own benefit.
God is not constrained by logic, the physical world or the actions of human beings, but by his omnipotence, as he chooses to limit it for his love of humanity.
Agrees with Aquinas and Vardy- limits to God’s omnipotence are self imposed.
John Macquarrie- Principles of Christian Theology (1966)

16. 4.Problems with God’s omnipotence are connected to religious language.
When we speak of God’s power we speak in analogy.
We need to remember that God’s power is very different from our own.
The word ‘power’ refers to power within this world, so when it is applied to God it cannot be applied literally because God is infinitely greater then we are.
There will always be aspects of God that are unknown to us, if we don’t understand God’s omnipotence that is to be expected as we are fallible human beings.

17. 5. Perhaps is better to describe God as ‘unsurpassably great’ rather than totally powerful.
Charles Hartshorne ( )
Absolute omnipotence in the sense of total power would not be in reality a perfect quality. It is better to think of God as a being whose power cannot be surpassed. Total power when examined is not that impressive. He says that total power means that nothing is able to put up a resistance at all to that power. If something can put up a resistance then that power is not total.
A totally omnipotent God would have control over everything, nothing would be able to do anything unless God allowed it.
If you have beings that can offer no resistance, how impressive is that? It would be like praising someone for coming first in a race with no competitors.
It is important to recognise that through free will some people will put up a resistance to God. Therefore God’s power is not over them but is greater than any other being. This is more impressive. He believes God’s omnipotence means that he can fight all resistance not that there will be none.

18. Questions:
Which of the different understandings of God’s omnipotence, if any, do you find the most coherent? What do you think are its strengths?
Which of the views do you find least convincing and why?
Some scholars argue that the problems of God’ omnipotence comes from the fact that we cannot conceive the power of God, and the problems stem from our limitations of understanding rather than because ideas about God are nonsense. Do you think this is a fair point? Give reasons for your answer.