(July 13, 2011 at 3:37 am)fr0d0 Wrote: On the attributes, because I don't have much time...
A being or object has attributes and that is what defines them. A god is a composite of attributes. God does not equal the attributes individually, but collectively. Allah is not God, so has different attributes (using the term loosely).
Omnipotence =/= omniscience =/= loving
God = omnipotence + omniscience + loving (etc)
To sum up all of God's attributes into one label... God = positive force
Are you sure that I'm the one who doesn't understand the doctrine of divine simplicity? Because what you just described is EXACTLY what divine simplicity is proposed to avoid!
From your own link: "In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. The general idea of divine simplicity can be stated in this way: the being of God is identical to the "attributes" of God. In other words, such characteristics as omnipresence, goodness, truth, eternity, etc. are identical to his being, not qualities that make up his being"
And from plato.stanford.edu:
"God is thus in a sense requiring clarification identical to each of his attributes, which implies that each attribute is identical to every other one."
" If each attribute is identical to God, then each attribute is identical to each other by the Transitivity of Identity. For example, if God = omniscience, and God = omnipotence, then omniscience = omnipotence. But how could each attribute be identical to God?"
"So far we have seen how God can be (i) identical to his nature, (ii) identical to his existence, and (iii) such that his omni-attributes are identical to one another."
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