Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
13
The analogy between omnipotenc e and sovereignty shows that the paradox of
omnipot enc e c an be solved in a similar way. We must distinguish between first
order omnipotence (omnipotenc e (1)), that is unlimited power to ac t, and sec ond
order omnipotence (omnipotence (2)), that is unlimited power to determine what
powers to ac t things shall have. Then we c ould c onsistently say that God all the
time has omnipotenc e (1), but if so no beings at any time have powers to act
independently of God. Or we c ould say that God at one time had omnipotenc e (2),
and used it to assign independent powers to ac t to c ertain things, so that God
thereafter did not have omnipotence (1). But what the paradox shows is that we
c annot c onsistently asc ribe to any c ontinuing being omnipotenc e in an inc lusive
sense.
An alt ernat ive solut ion t o t his paradox would be simply t o deny t hat God is a
c ontinuing being, that any times c an be assigned to his ac tions at all. But on this
assumption (whic h also has diffic ulties of its own) no meaning c an be given to the
assertion that God made men with wills so free that he c ould not c ontrol them. The
paradox of omnipotence can be avoided by putting God outside time, but the free
will solut ion of t he problem of evil c annot be saved in t his way, and equally it
remains impossible t o hold t hat an omnipot ent God binds himself by causal or
logic al laws.
Conclusion
Of the proposed solutions of the problem of evil whic h we have examined,
none has stood up to c ritic ism. There may be other solutions whic h require
examination, but this study strongly suggests that there is no valid solution of the
problem whic h does not modify at least one of the c onstituent propositions in a way
whic h would seriously affec t t he essent ial c ore of t he t heist ic posit ion.
Quite apart from the problem of evil, the paradox of omnipotenc e has shown
that God’s omnipotenc e must in any c ase be restric ted in one way or another, that
unqualified omnipotenc e c annot be asc ribed to any being that c ontinues through
t ime. And if God and his ac tions are not in time, c an omnipotenc e, or power of any
sort , be meaningfully asc ribed t o him?