Why Can't the Impassible God Suffer?
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Emotions, Divine Suffering, and Biblical Interpretation by Kevin Vanhoozer Senior Teaching Fellow, C.S
KNOWING . OING &DC S L EWI S I N S TITUTE A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind From the Spring 2017 issue of Knowing & Doing: Does a Red-Faced God Sing the Blues? Emotions, Divine Suffering, and Biblical Interpretation by Kevin Vanhoozer Senior Teaching Fellow, C.S. Lewis Institute Speaking (not so) well of God he God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homo- phobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously T 1 malevolent bully.” So says Richard Dawkins, for whom God is a “moral monster.” Christopher Hitchens echoes the claim, entitling his own book God is Not Great. One expects such bluster from over-confident atheists. More troubling are Christian biblical scholars and theologians who similarly stumble over biblical passages that speak of God’s jealousy, anger, grief and other emotions, and who speak of God not as a moral monster but as an emotional wreck. How can pastors and others speak well of God in the light of biblical texts that depict God as having emo- tions, especially “negative” emotions? May we depart from the classical tradition’s affirmation of God’s divine impassibility (i.e., his imperviousness to suffering), as many today are inclined to do, and say instead that God suffers change? Or does this move confuse the God of the Old and New Testament with the gods of pagan myths, or worse, ourselves? For various reasons, the doctrine of God is once again center Evangelical stage. -
God's Omniscience and Wisdom
God’s Omniscience and Wisdom This is part of a series on God’s attributes. Feel free to use this as a devotional or lesson. Definition of Omniscience Omniscience comes from the Latin words omni, meaning “all,” and scire, meaning “to know.” So omniscient means, “all-knowing.” God knows everything—even things in the past, present, and future. He’s aware of every detail of every being. He’s never surprised or disappointed, nor does He wonder about things. God’s wisdom relates to His omniscience. Wisdom means “applied knowledge.” Not only does God know everything, but He also knows the best way to use that knowledge. Bible Passages Teaching God’s Omniscience Psalm 147:5—God’s knowledge can’t be measured. Isaiah 40:13—God never received counsel or teaching from anyone. Psalm 139:1–6; Jeremiah 29:11—God knows everything about us. Matthew 10:29–30—God even knows the details about things we consider insignificant. God’s Title of Omniscience Read Genesis 16. When Hagar—badly mistreated by Abraham and Sarah—ran to the wilderness, God appeared and made a promise to her. In return, she called God El Roi, the God Who Sees. Even in a deserted, out-of-the-way place, God still knew Hagar’s actions and what would happen to her in the future. God’s Works of Omniscience Jesus knew people’s thoughts (Matt. 9:4; Luke 5:22; 9:47; Mark 2:8) Jesus knew what would happen to Him (Luke 22:37; John 6:70; 13:3; 19:28 God made prophecies and fulfilled them (Deut. -
An Anselmian Approach to Divine Simplicity
Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 37 Issue 3 Article 3 7-1-2020 An Anselmian Approach to Divine Simplicity Katherin A. Rogers Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Rogers, Katherin A. (2020) "An Anselmian Approach to Divine Simplicity," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 37 : Iss. 3 , Article 3. DOI: 10.37977/faithphil.2020.37.3.3 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol37/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. applyparastyle "fig//caption/p[1]" parastyle "FigCapt" applyparastyle "fig" parastyle "Figure" AQ1–AQ5 AN ANSELMIAN APPROACH TO DIVINE SIMPLICITY Katherin A. Rogers The doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS) is an important aspect of the clas- sical theism of philosophers like Augustine, Anselm, and Thomas Aquinas. Recently the doctrine has been defended in a Thomist mode using the intrin- sic/extrinsic distinction. I argue that this approach entails problems which can be avoided by taking Anselm’s more Neoplatonic line. This does involve AQ6 accepting some controversial claims: for example, that time is isotemporal and that God inevitably does the best. The most difficult problem involves trying to reconcile created libertarian free will with the Anselmian DDS. But for those attracted to DDS the Anselmian approach is worth considering. -
“Grounding and Omniscience” (PDF)
Grounding and Omniscience Abstract I’m going to argue that omniscience is impossible and therefore that there is no God.1 The argument turns on the notion of grounding. After illustrating and clarifying that notion, I’ll start the argument in earnest. The first step will be to lay out five claims, one of which is the claim that there is an omniscient being, and the other four of which are claims about grounding. I’ll prove that these five claims are inconsistent. Then I’ll argue for the truth of each of them except the claim that there is an omniscient being. From these arguments it follows that there are no omniscient beings and thus that there is no God. §1. Stage Setting The best way to get a grip on the notion of grounding – or more exactly, for our purposes, the notion of partial grounding - is by considering examples. (By “partial grounding” I mean “at-least-partial grounding”, just as mereologists mean “at-least-part of” by “part of”.) The first example hearkens back to Plato’s Euthyphro. Suppose that a theorist claims that as a matter of metaphysical necessity, a given act is morally right if and only if it is approved of by God. At first blush at least, it is plausible that this theorist owes us an answer to following question: when acts are right, are they right because God approves of them, or does he approve of them because they are right? We all understand this question right away, right when we first hear it. -
The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate
The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate by David Andrew Graham A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Wycliffe College and the Theological Department of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theology awarded by the University of St. Michael's College © Copyright by David Andrew Graham 2013 The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate David Andrew Graham Master of Arts in Theology University of St. Michael’s College 2013 Abstract This thesis contributes to the debate over the meaning and function of the doctrine of divine impassibility in theological and especially christological discourse. Seeking to establish the coherence and utility of the paradoxical language characteristic of the received christological tradition (e.g. the impassible Word became passible flesh and suffered impassibly), it argues that the doctrine of divine apatheia illuminates the apocalyptic and soteriological dimension of the incarnate Son’s passible life more effectively than recent reactions against it. The first chapter explores the Christology of Cyril of Alexandria and the meaning and place of apatheia within it. In light of the christological tradition which Cyril epitomized, the second chapter engages contemporary critiques and re-appropriations of impassibility, focusing on the particular contributions of Jürgen Moltmann, Robert W. Jenson, Bruce L. McCormack and David Bentley Hart. ii Acknowledgments If this thesis communicates any truth, beauty and goodness, credit belongs to all those who have shaped my life up to this point. In particular, I would like to thank the Toronto School of Theology and Wycliffe College for providing space to do theology from within the catholic church. -
The Providence of God: a Trinitarian Perspective
The Providence of God: A Trinitarian Perspective Haydn D. Nelson BA DipEd BD(Hons) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2005 I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work that has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. ……………………………… Haydn D. Nelson ABSTRACT The primary focus of this dissertation is the doctrine of the Providence of God and it is approached from a distinctive perspective – that of the doctrine of the Trinity. Its fundamental thesis is that the adoption of a trinitarian perspective on Providence provides us with a conceptual paradigm in which varying theological emphases, which often divide understandings of Providence, are best understood in a form of paradoxical tension or creative balance with each being correctly understood only in the context that the other provides. To demonstrate this, it addresses four issues of Providence that have on occasion divided understandings of Providence in the past and which have become significant issues of contention in the contemporary debate on Providence occasioned by a proposal known as Open Theism. These issues concern the nature of divine transcendence, sovereignty, immutability and impassibility and how each should be understood in the context of divine Providence. Through a detailed examination of three recent trinitarian theologies, which have emanated from the three main communities of the Christian church, it argues that a trinitarian perspective is able to provide significant illumination and explication of these identified issues of Providence and of the tensions that are often intrinsic to this doctrine. -
The Truth of Divine Impassibility: a New Look at an Old Argument Jeffrey G Silcock
198 Jeffrey G Silcock The truth of divine impassibility: a new look at an old argument Jeffrey G Silcock Jeff is head of the History and Systematic Theology Department at ALC and serves as chair of the LCA’s Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations. Introduction From his Nazi prison cell in 1944, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his friend Eberhard Bethge that ‘only the suffering God can help’.1 Just after the war, the Japanese Lutheran theologian Kazoh Kitamori published his ground-breaking book, Theology of the pain of God,2 based around Jeremiah 31:20, where he developed a similar theology of the cross: the pain of God heals our pain. In the suffering of Christ, God himself suffers. In 1973 Jürgen Moltmann came out with his classic, The crucified God, where he takes this further and develops a critical theology of the cross. He holds that a ‘theology after Auschwitz’ has to revise completely the traditional doctrine of God that teaches divine impassibility. Moltmann at the outset reflects on his own experience: ‘Shattered and broken, the survivors of my generation were then returning from camps and hospitals to the lecture room. A theology which did not speak of God in the sight of the one who was abandoned and crucified would have had nothing to say to us then’.3 The old teaching of classical theism that God is beyond suffering died in the death camps of WWII and was no longer tenable. Moltmann wrote his book, which had an enormous impact in its day, with the conviction that only if God is not detached from human suffering, but willingly enters into it with compassion, is there any hope for the future. -
Richard E. Creel, DIVINE IMPASSIBILITY: an ESSAY in PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY
Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 5 Issue 4 Article 8 10-1-1988 Richard E. Creel, DIVINE IMPASSIBILITY: AN ESSAY IN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY Ronald J. Feenstra Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Feenstra, Ronald J. (1988) "Richard E. Creel, DIVINE IMPASSIBILITY: AN ESSAY IN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 5 : Iss. 4 , Article 8. DOI: 10.5840/faithphil19885443 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol5/iss4/8 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. BOOK REVIEWS Divine Impassibility: An Essay in Philosophical Theology, by Richard E. Creel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Pp. xi and 238. $39.50. RONALD 1. FEENSTRA, Marquette University. The recent revival of interest in philosophical theology has led to renewed attention to a number of features of traditional theism, including such assertions as that God is simple, eternal, immutable, and impassible. Theologians, process thinkers, and analytic philosophers of religion have devoted much effort to determining whether these claims about God are coherent and, if so, whether they are compatible with statements that God is loving, active in history, and responsive to prayer. Richard E. Creel's Divine Impassibility addresses these issues in an impressive and impor tant defense of the doctrine of divine impassibility. -
GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING and IS WISE PSALM 147:5, Et Al
1 GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING AND IS WISE PSALM 147:5, et al Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian, created one of the greatest intellectual achievements of Western civilization in his book, “Summa Theologica.” It’s a massive work: 38 treatises, 3,000 articles, 10,000 objections answered. Aquinas tried to gather all that’s true into one coherent collection. Talk about a phenomenal task. He addressed anthropology, science, ethics, psychology, political theory, and theology from a godly perspective. But on December 6, 1273, Aquinas abruptly stopped his work. While participating in a worship service, he apparently had a spiritual experience in which he caught a glimpse of eternity. Suddenly, he knew all his efforts to describe God fell so far short that he decided never to write again. When his secretary tried to encourage Aquinas to do more writing, he said, “I can do no more. Such things have been revealed to me that all I have written seems as so much straw.” Thomas Aquinas didn’t write another word and he died a year later. What is God really like? And what difference does it make to your life or mine? Those are two questions we’re addressing in our current message series: What’s Most Important About You? What You Think About God. Who you believe God to be – or not to be – affects your life profoundly. Today I want you to think with me about the fact God knows everything and, also, that He is wise. If you want to look up for yourself all the Scripture passages I mention, go to our website, click on Stay At Home Resources, click on the Worship tab, and then click on Message Notes. -
Paul Gavrilyuk, the SUFFERING of the IMPASSIBLE GOD: the DIALECTICS of PATRISTIC THOUGHT
Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 23 Issue 4 Article 7 10-1-2006 Paul Gavrilyuk, THE SUFFERING OF THE IMPASSIBLE GOD: THE DIALECTICS OF PATRISTIC THOUGHT Ken Casey Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Casey, Ken (2006) "Paul Gavrilyuk, THE SUFFERING OF THE IMPASSIBLE GOD: THE DIALECTICS OF PATRISTIC THOUGHT," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 23 : Iss. 4 , Article 7. DOI: 10.5840/faithphil200623441 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol23/iss4/7 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. BOOK REVIEWS The Suffering of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought, by Paul Gavrilyuk. Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. 222. $99 (hardback). KEN CASEY, Hopkinsville Community College Jurgen Moltmann in The Crucified God makes a powerful case for the belief that God suffers. At least since then in modern theology and philosophy of religion the predominant current flows in the direction of divine pas sibility. A handful of thoughtful theologians, however, are attempting to reverse or qualify that trend. Richard Creel's Divine Impassibility argues for a qualified impassibility as does Thomas Weinandy's Does God Suffer? In addition the latest among this group is Paul Gavrilyuk's The Suffering of the Irnpassible God. Creel's work is primarily an analytic effort in philosophical theology and Weinandy's work is structured by the concerns of systematic theology. -
ABSTRACT on Science and Atheism: Whether Atheistic Belief Is
ABSTRACT On Science and Atheism: Whether Atheistic Belief is Scientifically Motivated Charles L. Jester Director: Gerald Cleaver, Ph.D. The intent of this paper is to explore the motivation behind the rejection of theistic religious faiths by modern atheist scientists, and whether it is justified to claim that this rejection is scientifically motivated. First, a brief background of the development of the contemporary schism between faith and science is given, noting in particular changes in belief amongst the scientific community. Next, an exposition on the motivations for scientists’ convictions concerning God is laid out, followed by an address to the question of whether atheistic scientists reject all properties of God, or only certain of them. Based on analyses of personal statements, statistical data on beliefs, and developments in twentieth-century physics and mathematics, it is concluded that modern scientists who reject theism are not overwhelmingly motivated by science, and that they in fact do not reject all ideas of God. APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS: _____________________________________________________ Dr. Gerald B. Cleaver, Department of Physics APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: _____________________________________________________ Dr. Andrew Wisely, Director DATE: ___________________________ ON SCIENCE AND ATHEISM: WHETHER ATHEISTIC BELIEF IS SCIENTIFICALLY MOTIVATED A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Program By Charles L. Jester Waco, Texas -
A Critique of the Free Will Defense, a Comprehensive Look at Alvin Plantinga’S Solution to the Problem of Evil
University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Honors Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Spring 2013 A Critique of the Free Will Defense, A Comprehensive Look at Alvin Plantinga’s Solution To the Problem of Evil. Justin Ykema University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/honors Part of the Medieval Studies Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Ykema, Justin, "A Critique of the Free Will Defense, A Comprehensive Look at Alvin Plantinga’s Solution To the Problem of Evil." (2013). Honors Theses and Capstones. 119. https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/119 This Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University of New Hampshire Department of Philosophy 2012-2013 A Critique of the Free Will Defense A Comprehensive Look at Alvin Plantinga’s Solution To the Problem of Evil. by Justin Ykema Primary Reader: Jennifer Armstrong Additional Readers: Willem deVries, Paul McNamara & Ruth Sample Graties tibi ago, domine. Haec credam a deo pio, a deo justo, a deo scito? Cruciatus in crucem. Tuus in terra servus, nuntius fui; officium perfeci. Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem. 1 Section I: Introduction Historically, the problem of evil exemplifies an apparent paradox. The paradox is, if God exists, and he is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, how does evil exist in the world when God created everything the world contains? Many theologians have put forth answers to solve this problem, and one of the proposed solutions put forth is the celebrated Free Will Defense, which claims to definitively solve the problem of evil.