Immanent/everlasting VS transcendent/eternal

What are the problems?

Problems with the idea of God being eternal/transcendent, and possible responses
1. PROBLEM: Eternal/transcendent vs omnipotent: If God is eternal (outside of time) he knows everything that has happened, is happening and will happen all at once. If this is the case that God sees everything happening all at once he is powerless to prevent anything from happening. POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God is both eternal and everlasting (i.e. Both outside and inside of time). He is also omnipotent. Therefore, he is capable of acting to prevent things. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: the problem of evil if, as an omnipotent being within time God can act to prevent bad things happening, why doesnt he?] PROBLEM: Transcendent/omnipotent are mutually incoherent: If God is transcendent, how can it make sense to say that God acts within space and time (e.g. miracles)? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God is both transcendent and immanent (i.e. Both inside and outside of space). He is therefore able to act inside and outside of space. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: Does it make sense to say that God is both inside and outside of space and time? Do we just have to accept that Gods nature is mysterious and ultimately beyond our comprehension?]

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Problems with the idea of God being eternal/transcendent, and possible responses
3. PROBLEM: Transcendence/benevolence are mutually incoherent: how would it be possible to form any kind of personal relationship with a being that is transcendent? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God became man in the person of Jesus to enable people to relate to him. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: such a position clearly requires one to accept the Christian story] PROBLEM: Eternal/omniscience are mutually incoherent: If God is eternal how can he know time-dependent propositions? If he sees all of time in one moment, how can he know what time it is now? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God is the creator of time and space and is immanent so it is not unreasonable to accept that he knows how it all works. PROBLEM: Eternal/everlasting and transcendent/immanent are mutually incoherent: how can it make sense to say that one being is both inside and outside of time, and inside and outside of space? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: As an omnipotent being, everything is possible with God. We may not understand how it is possible, but it is. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: Do we just have to accept that Gods nature is mysterious and ultimately beyond our comprehension?]

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Problems with the idea of God being everlasting/immanent and possible responses
1. PROBLEM - everlasting vs omnipotence: If God exists without beginning or end through everlasting time, then this suggests that he did not create time (and is therefore not omnipotent). Time would be, in this sense, independent from God. POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God is both inside and outside of time. We may not understand how it is possible, but it is. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: Do we just have to accept that Gods nature is mysterious and ultimately beyond our comprehension?] PROBLEM immanent vs omni-benevolent: If God exists within a sinful and evil world, then surely God, as part of it, must also be evil. POSSIBLE RESPONSE: God gave human beings free will. He did not create evil humans sinned against God and brought evil into the world. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: as a transcendent and omniscient being God would also know that the first human beings would sin and this would bring about much pain and suffering is this the action of a loving God?]

2.

Problems with the idea of God being everlasting/immanent and possible responses
3. PROBLEM immanent vs transcendent: Isnt it just too much to accept that God is both immanent and transcendent? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: We may not understand how it is possible, but it is. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: Do we just have to accept that Gods nature is mysterious and ultimately beyond our comprehension?] 4. PROBLEM immanence vs omniscience: If God exists within space and time, how can he know events in the future? POSSIBLE RESPONSE: he is not just within space and time, he is also outside of space and time. [FURTHER DISCUSSION: Is it too much to accept that God can be both these things at the same time?]

What do you think?

Theists generally want to maintain BOTH that God is within space and time and that he is outside space and time. As the supreme being, God may be a unique case where it is reasonable to accept that he can be both things at once. This apparent paradox may be part of the mysterious nature of an omnipotent being. Alternatively, you might argue that it is so paradoxical as to be meaningless If there is a God, he must be either eternal or everlasting, immanent or transcendent. If this is the case, though, it is hard to accept that God is also omniscient and omnipotent, as there are some things that an eternal being could not know/do, and some things that an everlasting being could not know/do. Perhaps you put this together with other problems with Gods attributes and conclude that the whole notion of God is incoherent. What do you think?