Sydney Bell

PHIL 2350

March 23, 2020

Midterm Paper

In the beginning, there was God… or at least that is what perfect being theologians would

suggest. In the mind of a perfect being theologian, God embodies every attribute necessary for

perfection: omniscience, omnipotence, omnibenevolence, impassibility, immutability, and

eternal nature. Each of these characteristics collaborate to create a being worthy of worship. This

paper will define, explain, and explore each attribute to better understand what God is like. There

will be problems with and possible solutions for these traits presented as well. Although there are

many ways to interpret these characteristics, this paper will give a general view of them and

leave specific interpretation in the hands of the individual— as most religious matters do.

The omniscience of God is described as, “God knowing all true propositions”1 or simply,

all-knowing. A being that knows absolutely everything would seem rather enticing to worship.

Students spend a majority of their days in schools, workers invest in training to better perform

their tasks, scientists make a living researching just about everything, and these are only the

beginning of our educational pursuits as human beings. To suggest that there is some being that

already knows everything we are so desperately trying to learn is quite a statement. Some find

joy in believing that God knows all things, for if He really does, then everything must work out

just how it is “supposed to”. In the midst of the earthquakes and failed midterm papers, we can

rest easy, knowing that all is taken care of and there is a greater plan at hand. Everything will

1
Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief: an
Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Fifth ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 147.
turn out for the best because, after all, God knows best. Others, however, stumble upon trouble in

this idea of total omniscience. If God already knows everything, there seems to be little point in

doing anything at all. Setting the world record for running the fastest mile race and camping out

on the sofa for days on end would be of exactly the same consequence. If God knows it all

anyway, we might as well save the effort and succumb to our inner couch potato. Regardless of

opinion, it would take an unusually large brain capacity and an incredible amount of time to

learn everything there is to know. Therefore, it appears that the only one capable of such a feat

would be, in fact, God.

In addition to God knowing all things, He is also considered omnipotent. Omnipotence is

“the power to do anything whatever.”2 If knowing everything wasn’t enough, being able to do

everything seems to put the cherry on top. In the way that omniscience can be viewed both

positively and negatively, omnipotence can be seen similarly. While some see God’s great power

as helpful and comforting, others see it as excessive and intrusive. In addition, significant

questions arise when contemplating the omnipotence of God. The mind wanders to the

possibility of God sinning, creating and destroying whatever whenever, or even making round

squares.3 Each of these questions can be summed up in The Paradox of the Stone: “Can God

create a stone that he cannot lift?”4 This paradox suggests that God cannot possibly be all-

powerful. If God can create the stone, He can’t lift it, therefore making Him not omnipotent. If

He can’t create the stone, well, He isn’t omnipotent. This conundrum seems pretty rock solid (no

pun intended), but George Mavrodes offers possible solutions. Mavrodes held the view that

God’s power to do all things is better defined as the power to do all things that are logically

possible and in line with His nature. So, in response to the creative paradox, a stone like that

2
Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach, and Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief, 146.
3
Atkinson, Shannon. "Handout 1 Lecture." Jan. 2020. Lecture/Class Notes.
4
Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach, and Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief, 146.
couldn’t possibly exist because it is simply self-contradictory. Further, even if there could be a

stone like that, God wouldn’t create it because it isn’t consistent with His nature of perfection.

Thus, Mavrodes concludes, as long as the task is logically possible and fits within God’s nature,

God has the power to do it: He is omnipotent after all.

The characteristic of omnibenevolence is that “God is essentially morally perfect—that

his very nature is such that it is impossible for him to act in a way that is morally wrong.”5 It is

clear to see why a perfect being would have to be all-loving. Good people love other people, so a

good God would love all people. Remember, He is also omniscient, so God knows everything

about us and loves us anyway! We can’t help but be grateful for His omnibenevolence because it

sure would take a God to love such imperfect people like us. It’s easy to see God’s perfect love

this way, but there are those who feel strongly otherwise. We are imperfect people. In fact, some

of us are extremely imperfect. For heaven’s sake, there are murderers and rapists out there. The

world is imperfect. Nations war against each other over silly things like oil. Society is imperfect.

Political ideologies separate us so deeply, we parade in the streets yelling at one another. There is

no way God could be all-loving when there is so much unhappiness, suffering, and evil in the

world. This is exactly the point that the philosopher, Epicurus makes when he says, “Is God

willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then

he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then from whence comes evil?”6 This argument

not only attacks God’s omnibenevolence, but it also undermines His omnipotence. This is one of

the greatest arguments in favor of atheism as a whole. This argument tugs at the heartstrings the

same way animal shelter commercials do. No rational person can sit idly by and watch a puppy

cry, stuck in a wire cage. God should do something about this!

5
Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach, and Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief, 148.
6
Atkinson, Shannon. "Handout 1 Lecture." Jan. 2020. Lecture/Class Notes.
 These ideas make us wonder what kind of a God would watch so much bad happen to

humankind and do seemingly little or nothing about it. Peter Kreeft gave four responses to this

“problem of evil” in an attempt to restore faith in the goodness of God.7 First, he affirms that

God only creates good things because He is perfect. God could not possibly create evil, for that

would be against His nature. Secondly, he bravely suggests that human beings are the creators of

evil. As imperfect beings, we are the ones making bad choices, which result in the suffering of

others—not God. Third, God is so loving and kind, He provided His son, Jesus Christ, to come to

earth, suffer, and die to balance the scales of good and evil. If we will but rely on His gracious

gift, we can come to a better understanding of and overcome the evil in the world, too. Kreeft’s

last solution is that we simply need to be more optimistic and positive about everything. “It's not

why do bad things happen to good people, but why do good things happen to bad people or good

things happen at all.”8 God is so kind to let the sun rise every morning. He’s the reason the birds

sing and the flowers bloom. He lends us breath in every moment. Oh, how we ought to be

grateful for His loving goodness! This large philosophical problem depends greatly upon how it

is chosen to be seen. We are imperfect and, unfortunately, that makes the world so very

imperfect. Yet, we are imperfect, and God loves us anyway. An all-knowing, all-powerful, all-

loving God must surely be the greatest conceivable being.

The next two characteristics of God are closely related; thus, they are presented together.

Along with the classic triad of God’s perfect traits, He is also impassible and immutable.

“Impassibility is the view that God cannot be affected by human beings or other creatures,”9

while immutability is the idea that God cannot change. We make good and bad decisions daily,

and perfect being theologians propose that none of these things affect God. He does not
7
“The Problem of Evil.” The Problem of Evil by Peter Kreeft. Accessed March 23, 2020.
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/evil.htm.
8
Atkinson, Shannon. "Handout 1 Lecture." Jan. 2020. Lecture/Class Notes.
9
Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach, and Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief, 376.
experience emotion, and He is not changed. In other words, “While the world is affected by

God, God is not affected by it.”10 This unchangeable God may seem impersonal and passive

to some. No matter what we do, God will always respond the same way. We could achieve

world peace and come together as an earth united, or we could fight in opposition as warring

nations and tear humanity apart. Either way, it would seem, God would not be affected. He

would not necessarily be proud of or disappointed in us. This could make it easy to wonder if

what we do really matters at all. However, change the lens with which we view this idea, and

God’s immutability and impassibility suddenly becomes a good thing. God will always

respond with love, for “God is love.”11 So, world peace or world annihilation, He will love us

either way. What a comforting thought. No matter how bad the mistake is, God will always

respond with an, “I love you.” That seems like a pretty good deal on our end. Only a perfect

God could accomplish this.

Finally, God’s eternal nature is what ties all of His perfect qualities together. For God to

be eternal, he must have always existed and always continue to exist.12 God is outside of time, so

past, present, and future are all one, harmonious now to Him. Because of this, He is not limited

in any way. This allows Him to be omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, impassible, and

immutable. To be eternal is the quintessence of perfection.

Although opinions can shift the way we view these characteristics, a being who embodies

all of these perfect traits is most unequivocally worthy of worship. How could we not worship a

being that knows all, is capable of all, loves all, and is such forever and ever? It would almost

seem to be our duty to fall at His feet in awe, wonder, and gratitude. Whether we foster a belief

10
Wainwright, William. “Concepts of God.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, December
19, 2012. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concepts-god/#Imp.
11
1 John 4:8
12
Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach, and Basinger, Reason & Religious Belief, 149.
in this perfect God or not, perhaps these are characteristics we may all strive to develop. In the

beginning, there may have been God, but in the end, it is up to us to become what we want to be

—perhaps even one day perfect as He is.