Philosophy of Religion: Boethius, Free Will, Omnibenevolence,

Reward/PunishmentMr. Dezilva

Philosophy Year 13December 10th, 2013.December 17th, 2013

Continuing with Boethius **Note** Updated notes from last class will be sent via email (in a

Powerpoint this week).

One group still has to present their article:

Without Sin, would we really know what “goodness” is. Sin allows for different learning experiences for us to achieve perfection

Augustine thinks that if God knows that something is already going to happen then it has to happen The future is necessary Before God, there was nothing and there was no “time” He created time and thus,

is time.

Task: From what you know about Boethius, in about 50 words or less, can you

please try and summarize his views on Eternity, Omniscience, and the attributes of God in regards to our free will.

After you have done this – exchange it with a classmate and compare

Where Are We?

This Class… We will have finished up and wrapped up Boethius, his claims, and some

responses to his claims.

We will have looked into Omnibenevolence and Omnipotence on a basic level. Next class (Wednesday), we will look at the philosophical problems that go along with Eternal, Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnibenevolence.

Next week we will look further at Omnibenevolence and a “Good God” vs. a “Bad God”

Discussion of Free Will and Challenges to Boethius John Calvin (16th Century): Calvinism

God, during the creation of everything, created a timeline for each individual to follow. Because he is omniscient, he knew from the beginning of time who would go to Heaven and who would go to hell. This is known as Predestination

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_bn3pWI8gYEre

Anthony Kenny (21st Century) The idea of timeless eternity leads to absurdity A is simultaneous with B and C – but how can the creation of Rome be

simultaneous with the fall of Rome?

Continued… Richard Swinburne (21st Century)

God can only know that of which is logically possible God is within our timeline

Augustine (4th and 5th Century) God is Timeless and immutable The problem of foreknowing and free will

Augustine understands “Free” as “Not done by compulsion” This is seen as both a challenge and support to the argument.

Support On Next Wednesday’s class – we are going to look at Support in depth for

Omniscience (as well as the challenges we have already looked at, in brief). So keep these notes in mind. We will come back to them.

Omnibenevolence (All Loving or All Good) The Christian understanding of God holds that God’s nature is love

This is seen both in the Old Testament (OT) and in the New Testament (NT) The Hebrew word for God’s love for Israel is hesed or chesed The NT word for love is agape showing unconditional love through action. God’s love is compared to that of a human parent, while the people are his

children (sometimes referred to as a whole city) The story of Hosea (OT): The prophet who was to work as a symbol for God’s love

for Israel. In the NT, the theme of God’s love is linked to concepts of salvation, redemption,

reconciliation – particularly through the actions and sacrifices of Jesus

Important to Note In the Bible, God is frequently equated with love

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) What does this mean? Discuss

God’s Goodness God is Perfectly Good, but the question arises: does good exist

independently and separate from approval, or does good exist as a consequence of it being approved?

If God commands things because they are good, then it implies there is a standard of goodness independent of God. There is a standard of values outside of his control and creativity.

If whatever God thinks or does is simply by definition “Good,” regardless of what it is, then does it make sense to praise God for his Goodness?

Does it make sense to praise God for His Goodness?

Solution Accept that there is an objective standard, but the standard is not external to god, but internal. Morality is grounded in the character of god, who is perfectly good. His commands are rooted in His character – this is not the same as saying God and

good are identical, Goodness is an essential characteristic of God

Key Thinkers Aquinas: When we speak of the love of God, we are using analogy, we are talking of a

love which is like ours in some respects, but we have to bear in mind that God is infinitely greater than us and we can only understand a tiny proportion of divine love. God commands things because they are good, but he knows what to command with perfect

knowledge, because his nature is entirely good. Thus, God would never command something like murder being good. Goodness is part of His character, and his commands are an expression of his character.

William Alston: God’s Goodness “We can think of God Himself, the individual being, as the supreme standard of goodness.”

Jurgen Moltmann: The Crucified God Christianity shows that God does not just sit outside time being perfect and immutable, he gets

involved with us and shares the pains of human existence to the extent of suffering death by torture.

Key Thinkers Continued (Challenges) Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion

God of the Old Testament potentially has favourites, uses people as a means to an end, encourages killing (cleansing), and can be angry/jealous.

God’s punishments seem less than just (i.e. King David has Uriah killed so that he can marry Uriah’s wife, God punishes David by killing his baby son).

Scripture rules are “obnoxious”

John Stuart Mill: God’s Evil “Nearly all the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to one

another, are Nature’s everyday performances”

Mill Continued: “Nearly all the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to one

another are nature’s everyday performances” There is no intelligent designer, and if there is, it is a cruel one. “Either there is no

God, or there exists an incompetent or immoral God”

More Challenges The Euthyphro Dilemma

Did God choose to love it (i.e Israel) because it had loveable qualities, or does Israel have loveable qualities because God loves it?

“Does God command things because they are good, or are things good because God commands them” – Plato in Euthyphro

God’s love results in our own responsibility Being loved by God led a whole nation to obey his commands (The Ten

Commandments)

God punishes and judges those He loves the most The story from the Book of the prophet Amos

THE GOOD GOD AND DIVINE: REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

Belief in God’s judgement at the end of time.

Judgement will separate just from unjust.

Good and evil are a reality.

Evil is not the will of God – people will be held to account for how they use their freedom.

Should God, who is perfectly good, punish or reward people?

Rewards and PunishmentTwo aspects to question of divine rewards and punishments:

a. Physical rewards and punishments;

b. Rewards and punishments in the afterlife.

Both are concerned with justice.

God’s justice demands that people receive their appropriate reward / punishment.

Biblical Examples

Jesus promises followers that they will be rewarded appropriately if they suffer on account of his name , e.g. Matthew 5:11-12:

“How blessed you are, when you suffer insults and persecution and every kind of calumny for my sake. Accept it with gladness and exultation, for you will have a rich reward in heaven.”

Biblical Examples continued Also many warnings of God’s judgement:

“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25 31-46

God’s Goodness Many theologians argue that ultimately, if a person chooses to

live a wicked life, God’s goodness demands two things:

i. That the person has the real freedom to choose to be wicked and

ii. That God’s justice demands that people are treated fairly.

This ensures that people who are wicked are indeed punished, and people who experience lives full of undeserved suffering are rewarded.

Richard Swinburne “If there are any lives which nevertheless are on balance bad, God

would be under an obligation to provide life after death for the individuals concerned in which they could be compensated for the bad states of this life, so that in this life and the next their lives overall would be good … Thus God treats us as individuals, each with her own vocation.”