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EspañolOMNIPOTENCE
(Redirected from Omnipotent)
'Omnipotence' (literally, "all power") is power with no limits i.e. unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to God.
In the philosophy of most Western monotheistic religions, omnipotence is listed as one of God's characteristics among many, including omniscience, omnipresence, and benevolence.
Between people of different faiths, or indeed even between people of the same faith, the term ''omnipotent'' has been used to connote a number of different positions. These positions include, but are not limited to, the following:
#God is able to do anything, i. e. the answer to "can God do x" is always "yes", regardless of what x may be. However this leads to obvious contradictions and is not a view held by philosophically aware theologians. Although it can be argued that to try and rationalize God's omnipotent power is a vain undertaking, since we cannot ever really understand God's power, and is perhaps better to take it on faith.(see Kierkegaard)
#God is able to do anything that is logically possible for God to do[1].
#God is able to do anything that God chooses to do[2].
#God is able to do anything that is in accord with his own nature (thus, for instance, if it is a logical consequence of God's nature that what God speaks is truth, then God is not able to lie).
Under many philosophical definitions of the term "God", senses 2, 3 and 4 can be shown to be equivalent. However, on all understandings of Omnipotence, it is generally held that God is able to intervene in the world by superseding the laws of physics, since they are not part of his nature, but the principles on which he has created the physical world. However many modern scholars (such as John Polkinghorne) hold that it is part of God's nature to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for God to go against His own laws unless there were an overwhelming reason to do so[3]
Thomas Aquinas acknowledged difficulty in comprehending God's power. Aquinas wrote that while "all confess that God is omnipotent...it seems difficult to explain in what God's omnipotence precisely consists." In the scholastic understanding, omnipotence is generally understood to be compatible with certain limitations upon God's power, as opposed to implying infinite abilities. There are certain things that even an omnipotent God cannot do. Medieval theologians drew attention to some fairly trivial examples of restrictions upon the power of God. The statement "God can do anything" is only sensible with an assumed suppressed clause, "that implies the perfection of true power." This standard scholastic answer allows that creaturely acts such as walking can be performed by humans but not by God. Rather than an advantage in power, human acts such as walking, sitting or giving birth were possible only because of a ''defect'' in human power. The ability to sin, for example, is not a power but a defect or an infirmity. In response to questions of God performing impossibilities (such as making square circles) Aquinas says that "Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God." [1]
In recent times, C.S. Lewis has adopted a scholastic position in the course of his work The Problem of Pain. Lewis follows Aquinas' view on contradiction:
Some monotheists reject the view that God is or could be omnipotent, or take the view that, by choosing to create creatures with freewill, God has chosen to limit divine omnipotence. In Conservative and Reform Judaism, and some movements within Protestant Christianity, including process theology and open theism, God is said to act in the world through persuasion, and not by coercion (for open theism, this is a matter of choice--God could act miraculously, and perhaps on occasion does so--while for process theism it is a matter of necessity--creatures have inherent powers that God cannot, even in principle, override). God is manifest in the world through inspiration and the creation of possibility, not necessarily by miracles or violations of the laws of nature.
The rejection of omnipotence often follows from either philosophical or scriptural considerations, discussed below.
Process theology rejects unlimited omnipotence on a philosophical basis, arguing that omnipotence as classically understood would be less than perfect, and is therefore incompatible with the idea of a perfect God.
The idea is grounded in Plato's oft-overlooked statement that "Being is power."
From this premise, Charles Hartshorne argues further that:
The argument can be stated as follows:
:1) If a being exists, then it must have some active tendency
:2) If beings have some active tendency, then they have some power to resist God
:3) If beings have the power to resist God, then God does not have absolute power
Thus, if God does not have absolute power, God must therefore embody some of the characteristics of power, and some of the characteristics of persuasion. This view is known as dipolar theism.
The most popular works espousing this point are from Harold Kushner (in Judaism). The need for a modified view of omnipotence was also articulated by Alfred North Whitehead in the early 20th century and expanded upon by the aforementioned philosopher Charles Hartshorne. Hartshorne proceeded within the context of the theological system known as process theology.
In the King James version of the Bible, as well as several other versions, in Revelations 19:6 it is stated "...the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Although much of the narrative of the Old Testament describes God as interacting with creation primarily through persuasion, and only occasionally through force. A primary New Testament text used to assert the limit of God's power is Paul's assertion that God cannot tell a lie [3]. Thus, it is argued, there is no scriptural reason to adhere to omnipotence, and the adoption of the doctrine is merely a result of the synthesis of Hellenic and early Christian thought.
Many other verses in the Bible do assert God's omnipotence without actually using the word itself. There are several times in the Bible when God is called simply "Almighty", showing that the Bible supports the belief in an omnipotent God. Some such verses are listed below:
Psalms 33:8-9: Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Genesis 17:1: And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
At his command a storm arose and covered the sea. (Psalm 107:25)
''For further discussion, see the main article Omnipotence Paradox''
Belief that God can do absolutely anything can be thought to yield certain logical paradoxes. A simple example goes as follows: Can God create a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it? If he can, then the rock is now unliftable, limiting God's power. But if he cannot, then he is still not omnipotent. This question cannot be answered using formal logic due to its self-referential nature. See liar paradox and Godel's incompleteness theorem. This problem led in the High Middle Ages to developing the concept of mathematical infinity, and laid the basis for infinitesimal calculus. Combining omnipotence with omniscience can yield the difficulty of whether or not God can pose a question to which he would not know the answer.
Augustine, in his City of God, argued that God could not do anything that would make God non-omnipotent:
Thus Augustine argued that God could not do anything or create any situation that would in effect make God not God.
Others have argued that (alluding to C.S. Lewis' argument above), that when talking about omnipotence, referencing "a rock so heavy that God cannot lift it" is nonsense just as much as referencing "a square circle." So asking "Can God create a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it?" is just as much nonsense as asking "Can God draw a square circle?" Therefore the question (and therefore the perceived paradox) is meaningless.
All the above stated claims of power are all based on scriptual grounds and upon empirical human perception. This perception is limited to our five senses. The power of God is related to its existence; ''for more info on the proof on the existence of God and methods see Excistence of God''.There are however other ways of perception like: reason, intuition, revelation, divine inspiration, religious experience, mystical states, and historical testimony.
According to the Hindu philosophy the essence of God or Brahman can never be understood or known since Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.(''brahmano hi pratisthaham'', Bhagavad Gita 14.27).
So presuming there is a god-like entity consciently taking actions, we cannot know the limits of God's powers.[5]
Since the current laws of physics are only known to be valid in this universe, it is possible that the laws of physics are different in parallel universes, giving a God-like entity, more power. If the number of universes is unlimited, than the power of a certain God-like entity is also unlimited, since the laws of physics may be different in other universes, and accordingly [6] making this entity omnipotent. Unfortunately concerning a multiverse there is a lack of empirical correlation. To the extreme there are theories about realms beyond this multiverse (Nirvana, Chaos, Nothingness).
Also trying to develop a theory to explain, assign or reject omnipotence on grounds of logic has litte merit, since being omnipotent would mean the omnipotent being is above logic. A view supported by René Descartes Descartes' Ontological Argument He issues this idea in his Meditations on First Philosophy.
It can also be debated that God, assuming there is a God-like entity, is consciously taking actions. It could be concluded from an emanationism[7] [8] point of view, that all actions and creations by God are simply flows of divine energy (the flowing Tao in conjunction with qi is often seen as a river[9]; Dharma (Buddhism) the law of nature discovered by Buddha has no beginning or end.)
Pantheism and/or panentheism sees the universe/multiverse as the body of God, making God everybody and everything. So if one does something, actually God is doing it. We are God's means according to this view.
In the Taoist religious or philosophical tradition, the Tao is in some ways equivalent to God or the logos. The Tao is understood to have inexhaustible power, yet that power is simply another aspect of its weakness.
1. eg Aquinas ''Summa Theologica'' link here
2. eg St Augustine ''City of God''
3. . This is a consistent theme of Polkinghorne's work, see eg Polkinghorne's ''Science and Religion''.
4. City of God, Book 5, Chapter 10
5. Since this article deals on the all power of God, it would be logic to assign God both sexes. Since having only one sex would make God less powerful and thus no longer all-powerful. This article is also not (only) on omnipotence of the biblical God, there are other monotheistic religions who consider their God having both sexes (Shaktism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism). These aspect are not meant literally, but are aspects of divinity to illustrate a duality just as the Tao in Taoism consists of Yin and Yang.
Also an anthropocentric perspective seems at odds with many philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Leibniz, etc,.
6. String Theory and Parallel universes
7. Catholic view on emationism
8. Hindu view on emationism
9. Tao Te Ching Chapter LXI Verse 140 |Comments on the Tao Te Ching
★ Augustine, ''City of God and Christian Doctrine''
★ C.S. Lewis, ''The Problem of Pain''
★ Charles Hartshorne, ''Man's Vision of God''
★ Plato, ''Sophist''
★ Tertullian, ''Against Praxeas''
★ Thomas Aquinas, ''Summa Theologica''
★ Problem of evil
★ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
★ "Does God Observe the Law of Contradiction? ... Should We?" by Richard Pratt, professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary
★ Omnipotence and Free Will in Judaism
★ Problems with Divine Omnipotence
'Omnipotence' (literally, "all power") is power with no limits i.e. unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to God.
In the philosophy of most Western monotheistic religions, omnipotence is listed as one of God's characteristics among many, including omniscience, omnipresence, and benevolence.
Meanings of omnipotence
Between people of different faiths, or indeed even between people of the same faith, the term ''omnipotent'' has been used to connote a number of different positions. These positions include, but are not limited to, the following:
#God is able to do anything, i. e. the answer to "can God do x" is always "yes", regardless of what x may be. However this leads to obvious contradictions and is not a view held by philosophically aware theologians. Although it can be argued that to try and rationalize God's omnipotent power is a vain undertaking, since we cannot ever really understand God's power, and is perhaps better to take it on faith.(see Kierkegaard)
#God is able to do anything that is logically possible for God to do[1].
#God is able to do anything that God chooses to do[2].
#God is able to do anything that is in accord with his own nature (thus, for instance, if it is a logical consequence of God's nature that what God speaks is truth, then God is not able to lie).
Under many philosophical definitions of the term "God", senses 2, 3 and 4 can be shown to be equivalent. However, on all understandings of Omnipotence, it is generally held that God is able to intervene in the world by superseding the laws of physics, since they are not part of his nature, but the principles on which he has created the physical world. However many modern scholars (such as John Polkinghorne) hold that it is part of God's nature to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for God to go against His own laws unless there were an overwhelming reason to do so[3]
Scholastic definition
Thomas Aquinas acknowledged difficulty in comprehending God's power. Aquinas wrote that while "all confess that God is omnipotent...it seems difficult to explain in what God's omnipotence precisely consists." In the scholastic understanding, omnipotence is generally understood to be compatible with certain limitations upon God's power, as opposed to implying infinite abilities. There are certain things that even an omnipotent God cannot do. Medieval theologians drew attention to some fairly trivial examples of restrictions upon the power of God. The statement "God can do anything" is only sensible with an assumed suppressed clause, "that implies the perfection of true power." This standard scholastic answer allows that creaturely acts such as walking can be performed by humans but not by God. Rather than an advantage in power, human acts such as walking, sitting or giving birth were possible only because of a ''defect'' in human power. The ability to sin, for example, is not a power but a defect or an infirmity. In response to questions of God performing impossibilities (such as making square circles) Aquinas says that "Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God." [1]
In recent times, C.S. Lewis has adopted a scholastic position in the course of his work The Problem of Pain. Lewis follows Aquinas' view on contradiction:
Rejection or limitation of omnipotence
Some monotheists reject the view that God is or could be omnipotent, or take the view that, by choosing to create creatures with freewill, God has chosen to limit divine omnipotence. In Conservative and Reform Judaism, and some movements within Protestant Christianity, including process theology and open theism, God is said to act in the world through persuasion, and not by coercion (for open theism, this is a matter of choice--God could act miraculously, and perhaps on occasion does so--while for process theism it is a matter of necessity--creatures have inherent powers that God cannot, even in principle, override). God is manifest in the world through inspiration and the creation of possibility, not necessarily by miracles or violations of the laws of nature.
The rejection of omnipotence often follows from either philosophical or scriptural considerations, discussed below.
Philosophical grounds
Process theology rejects unlimited omnipotence on a philosophical basis, arguing that omnipotence as classically understood would be less than perfect, and is therefore incompatible with the idea of a perfect God.
The idea is grounded in Plato's oft-overlooked statement that "Being is power."
From this premise, Charles Hartshorne argues further that:
The argument can be stated as follows:
:1) If a being exists, then it must have some active tendency
:2) If beings have some active tendency, then they have some power to resist God
:3) If beings have the power to resist God, then God does not have absolute power
Thus, if God does not have absolute power, God must therefore embody some of the characteristics of power, and some of the characteristics of persuasion. This view is known as dipolar theism.
The most popular works espousing this point are from Harold Kushner (in Judaism). The need for a modified view of omnipotence was also articulated by Alfred North Whitehead in the early 20th century and expanded upon by the aforementioned philosopher Charles Hartshorne. Hartshorne proceeded within the context of the theological system known as process theology.
Scriptural grounds
In the King James version of the Bible, as well as several other versions, in Revelations 19:6 it is stated "...the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Although much of the narrative of the Old Testament describes God as interacting with creation primarily through persuasion, and only occasionally through force. A primary New Testament text used to assert the limit of God's power is Paul's assertion that God cannot tell a lie [3]. Thus, it is argued, there is no scriptural reason to adhere to omnipotence, and the adoption of the doctrine is merely a result of the synthesis of Hellenic and early Christian thought.
Many other verses in the Bible do assert God's omnipotence without actually using the word itself. There are several times in the Bible when God is called simply "Almighty", showing that the Bible supports the belief in an omnipotent God. Some such verses are listed below:
Psalms 33:8-9: Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Genesis 17:1: And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
At his command a storm arose and covered the sea. (Psalm 107:25)
Paradoxes of omnipotence
''For further discussion, see the main article Omnipotence Paradox''
Belief that God can do absolutely anything can be thought to yield certain logical paradoxes. A simple example goes as follows: Can God create a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it? If he can, then the rock is now unliftable, limiting God's power. But if he cannot, then he is still not omnipotent. This question cannot be answered using formal logic due to its self-referential nature. See liar paradox and Godel's incompleteness theorem. This problem led in the High Middle Ages to developing the concept of mathematical infinity, and laid the basis for infinitesimal calculus. Combining omnipotence with omniscience can yield the difficulty of whether or not God can pose a question to which he would not know the answer.
Augustine, in his City of God, argued that God could not do anything that would make God non-omnipotent:
For He is called omnipotent on account of His doing what He wills, not on account of His suffering what He wills not; for if that should befall Him, He would by no means be omnipotent. Wherefore, He cannot do some things for the very reason that He is omnipotent. [4]
Thus Augustine argued that God could not do anything or create any situation that would in effect make God not God.
Others have argued that (alluding to C.S. Lewis' argument above), that when talking about omnipotence, referencing "a rock so heavy that God cannot lift it" is nonsense just as much as referencing "a square circle." So asking "Can God create a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it?" is just as much nonsense as asking "Can God draw a square circle?" Therefore the question (and therefore the perceived paradox) is meaningless.
Uncertainty and other views
All the above stated claims of power are all based on scriptual grounds and upon empirical human perception. This perception is limited to our five senses. The power of God is related to its existence; ''for more info on the proof on the existence of God and methods see Excistence of God''.There are however other ways of perception like: reason, intuition, revelation, divine inspiration, religious experience, mystical states, and historical testimony.
According to the Hindu philosophy the essence of God or Brahman can never be understood or known since Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.(''brahmano hi pratisthaham'', Bhagavad Gita 14.27).
So presuming there is a god-like entity consciently taking actions, we cannot know the limits of God's powers.[5]
Since the current laws of physics are only known to be valid in this universe, it is possible that the laws of physics are different in parallel universes, giving a God-like entity, more power. If the number of universes is unlimited, than the power of a certain God-like entity is also unlimited, since the laws of physics may be different in other universes, and accordingly [6] making this entity omnipotent. Unfortunately concerning a multiverse there is a lack of empirical correlation. To the extreme there are theories about realms beyond this multiverse (Nirvana, Chaos, Nothingness).
Also trying to develop a theory to explain, assign or reject omnipotence on grounds of logic has litte merit, since being omnipotent would mean the omnipotent being is above logic. A view supported by René Descartes Descartes' Ontological Argument He issues this idea in his Meditations on First Philosophy.
It can also be debated that God, assuming there is a God-like entity, is consciously taking actions. It could be concluded from an emanationism[7] [8] point of view, that all actions and creations by God are simply flows of divine energy (the flowing Tao in conjunction with qi is often seen as a river[9]; Dharma (Buddhism) the law of nature discovered by Buddha has no beginning or end.)
Pantheism and/or panentheism sees the universe/multiverse as the body of God, making God everybody and everything. So if one does something, actually God is doing it. We are God's means according to this view.
In the Taoist religious or philosophical tradition, the Tao is in some ways equivalent to God or the logos. The Tao is understood to have inexhaustible power, yet that power is simply another aspect of its weakness.
Notes
1. eg Aquinas ''Summa Theologica'' link here
2. eg St Augustine ''City of God''
3. . This is a consistent theme of Polkinghorne's work, see eg Polkinghorne's ''Science and Religion''.
4. City of God, Book 5, Chapter 10
5. Since this article deals on the all power of God, it would be logic to assign God both sexes. Since having only one sex would make God less powerful and thus no longer all-powerful. This article is also not (only) on omnipotence of the biblical God, there are other monotheistic religions who consider their God having both sexes (Shaktism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism). These aspect are not meant literally, but are aspects of divinity to illustrate a duality just as the Tao in Taoism consists of Yin and Yang.
Also an anthropocentric perspective seems at odds with many philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Leibniz, etc,.
6. String Theory and Parallel universes
7. Catholic view on emationism
8. Hindu view on emationism
9. Tao Te Ching Chapter LXI Verse 140 |Comments on the Tao Te Ching
References
★ Augustine, ''City of God and Christian Doctrine''
★ C.S. Lewis, ''The Problem of Pain''
★ Charles Hartshorne, ''Man's Vision of God''
★ Plato, ''Sophist''
★ Tertullian, ''Against Praxeas''
★ Thomas Aquinas, ''Summa Theologica''
See also
★ Problem of evil
External links
★ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
★ "Does God Observe the Law of Contradiction? ... Should We?" by Richard Pratt, professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary
★ Omnipotence and Free Will in Judaism
★ Problems with Divine Omnipotence
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