Attributes of God
An attribute of God is something or anything that the Bible says it’s true about God or that which the Bible shows is true about God. These are elements which God has revealed himself to be to us. God is the Supreme Being and as explained in the Bible, He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth and the giver and taker of life. God is known in many other names, e.g. in Islam he can be understood by the name Allah. He can be referred to as Elohim in the Bible, that is a name that means Strength, Might and Power.
There are exceeding attributes that can be used to describe the Supreme Being, God or in Islam referred to as Allah. Some of the attributes include Eternal, Faithful, Holy, Immutable, Infinite Jealous, Just, Mercy, Longsuffering, Wise, True, Sovereign, Self-existent, Omnipresent and the list is endless. God is righteous, because he gives according to his Will. Omnipotence shows that God is free in the sense that His choices are never influenced by non-rational desires of freedom and goodness (Phillip & Quinn, 2010).
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Before looking at some arguments brought fourth by philosophers, an individual must first think about the use of arguments for God ’s existence in general. Few philosophers in today’s world would view a single argument for God ’s reality as evidence.Moral arguments have not been discussed by philosophers as much as their popularity. This is due to a widespread sense that such arguments are vulnerable to devastating objections, even though a careful look reveals that these objections are not necessarily decisive. A serious problem is that a number of philosophers think that these arguments are tied to divine theories regarding to the moral arguments, and that these theories are both philosophically and religiously flawed.
Another type of objection, also discussed by Quinn, stems from Immanuel Kant ’ s doctrine of moral autonomy. Kant argues that a person should be devoted to morality for duty`s sake alone, but some philosophers believe that, if morality is thought to depend upon God, then one ’s commitment to morality would not be unconditional. However, as an example provided by Kant shows, it is far from clear that morality is somehow linked to God necessarily violates autonomy. Even if joining morality to believe in God creates an undesirable issue for autonomy in some senses, it is not obvious that autonomy in these senses is truly essential for the moral life.
The most famous and influential moral arguments can be found through those offered by Greek philosophers. However, the Five Ways as given by Thomas Aquina can be best understood as a type of moral argument, and this argument seems to rest on ideas, which can be traced to early Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. Other philosophers and theologians who have developed or defended moral arguments include Cardinal Newman, in his amazingly popular Mere Christianity , though of course not directed to a philosophical audience, is truly likely the most widely – convincing apologetic argument of the twentieth century.
McCloskey tries to establish the subject matter of the problem, when he observed that for more unheard theism, according to which God is omnipotent and perfectly righteous, evil creates a serious problem. In the conclusion of his argument on the problem of evil, McCloskey concluded what attempts both philosophers and theists make. Some theists agree that the problem of evil is a reality and then seek to assume it, declaring it to be a mystery which human beings cannot understand. Other philosophers adopt an approach and advance in their arguments to show that evil, if clearly understood, is compatible with, and even an act of God’s finest attributes. The Bible teaches that God had a definite purpose in mind before He brought the world and man into existence – the creation of a being who would be able, because of his own free will, to love God with all his heart and to render obedience to Him. Because of God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom, He knew that in order for such a being to exist he would have to live in an environment suited for His purpose (Phillip & Quinn, 2010).
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This is God’s ideal will in the matter. If this is God’s eternal purpose, and if the world`s creation as a vale of soul-making, what characteristics would such a world have? First, we would expect this world to reveal God to man without overwhelming him. God must set man at an epistemic distance, i.e., a distance of knowledge. A certain theist commented on this knowledge, when he said that it is necessary thus that God should make himself known without revealing himself to humans, by means of an understanding that is entirely accurate and certain without being so obvious. The world would be in a situation such that, humans would not be able to believe in God by free will, but rather, it would be such that proof of Him being seen readily to humans. Because of human beings physical attributes, he would have a connection with the world; yet because of his spiritual nature and the nature of free will that God bestowed to humans,they would go to Him as neccessity beckoned.
The problem of evil is connected to the aspect of God and creation of the entire universe as a whole so as to create a sense of moderation between the concepts of good and evil. According to some philosophers, some of God’s attributes being goodness, power, knowledge, which are limited cannot be questioned, because neither Him nor His own creation of human beings is absolutely free. This argument can be, somehow supported by the fact that human only act by neccessity and by assuming some of the attributes of God. Philosophers are in denial to declare that due to the fear of theologians. There is no charge that has been made with greater frequency or with intensity against the Christian faith than the existence of evil cannot be harmonized with the existence of God. The existence of evil reveals itself with the omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God.
To conclude, the existence of evil does not at all aspects assume that the infinite God of the Bible is non-existent due to the fact that many things, which are happening in the world today and the entire universe cannot be clearly explained, but rather left to the conclusion that God is at work. Sin is the only evil and this is clearly potrayed in the Bible in the book of Genesis. Suffering is the result of conditions that are neccessary in His purpose of creation so as to bring about a balance. Through creation, God defines the purpose as the Bible evidently potrays. He brought the world, all beings and non-beings, into existence. God in all wisdom, also gave to man the freedom to disobey and hate Him. Creation of the world and the entire universe did not come about by chance, since God is infinite in all His attributes, a justifiable conclusion is that the world is at its best for God and His purpose of creation.