4. Theological and Philosophical Developments

Learners will examine how philosophy of religion has, over time, influenced and been influenced by developments in religious beliefs about the nature of God

4. Theological and Philosophical Developments: List

Divinity and Free Will

The Nature and Attributes of God

Content

developments in the understanding of:
- omnipotence
- omniscience
- (omni)benevolence
- eternity
- free will

Key Knowledge

divine power and self-imposed limitation
divine knowledge and its interaction with temporal existence and free will
divine benevolence and just judgement of human actions, including Boethius’s argument relating this to divine foreknowledge, eternity and free will
divine eternity and divine action in time, including Anselm’s four-dimensionalist approach as an extension of Boethius’s view
the extent to which human free will reasonably coexists with these attributes
the above should be studied with reference to alternative possibilities presented by Boethius, Anselm and Swinburne

4. Theological and Philosophical Developments: CV