Key Terms
Glossary
- Timeless eternity
- (Boethius) God exists outside time — an eternal present, seeing all events simultaneously; atemporal, not everlasting.
- Everlasting
- (Process theology) God is within time but everlasting — grows and changes as the world develops.
- Omniscience
- God knows all things — past, present and future.
- Impassibility
- The classical view that God does not suffer or feel; process theology denies it.
Key Scholars
Learn AO1 knowledge
God as eternal
Boethius — Timeless Eternity
God exists outside time — God's "eternal present" sees all events simultaneously. Eternity is not everlasting (infinite time) but atemporal (no time at all).
"The complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of unlimited life."
Process Theology — Everlasting
God is within time but everlasting — grows and changes as the world develops. God has a consequent nature affected by the world.
Whitehead: God and the world are interdependent — God lures creation toward goodness.
God as omniscient
Classical view: God knows all things — past, present, future. This raises the problem of free will: if God foreknows all choices, are humans truly free?
Boethius' solution: God's timeless knowledge does not cause events — it is like seeing from a hill. God sees freely-made choices without determining them.
Open theism: God voluntarily limits foreknowledge of future free acts to preserve genuine human freedom.
God as benevolent
Classical theism: God is perfectly good and wills the good of creation. Aquinas: God's goodness is intrinsic to his nature — esse est bonum (being is goodness).
Challenge from the Problem of Evil: if God is both omnipotent and wholly good, why does evil exist?
Alfred North Whitehead
Evaluate AO2 arguments
Classical theism vs process theology
| Classical Theism | Process Theology | |
|---|---|---|
| Eternity | Timeless, atemporal | Everlasting — within time |
| Immutability | God does not change | God changes — affected by the world |
| Omnipotence | All-powerful (absolute) | Persuasive power, not coercive |
| Impassibility | God does not suffer or feel | God suffers with creation |
| Transcendence | Radically other, beyond creation | Dipolar — both transcendent and immanent |
Compare the scholars
A high-level essay does more than name thinkers: it identifies exactly where their assumptions, methods or conclusions diverge.
| Scholar | Core position | AO2 use | Quotation or evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boethius | Defined God's eternity as timeless — the 'eternal present'. | The key classical account of divine eternity in Nature of God. | “The complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of unlimited life.” |
| Alfred North Whitehead | Founder of process theology; God has primordial and consequent natures. | The key process theologian contrasted with classical theism in Nature of God. | Use the scholar's argument accurately; a quotation is optional. |
| Thomas Aquinas | Dominican theologian; father of Natural Law and author of the Five Ways. | The anchor scholar for Natural Law, Conscience and Christian Moral Principles. Deploy the precepts and double effect in AO1, and use Sartre/Moore against him in AO2. | “A fornicator seeks a pleasure which involves him in moral guilt.” |
Key quotations
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Practise Exam questions
Build a response
- Assess Boethius' account of divine eternity.
- 'Process theology offers a more convincing account of God than classical theism.' Discuss.
Recall and self-test
Retrieval cards
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Self-test
Match the term to its definition
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Related and synoptic links
Recommended reading
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OCR A Level Religious Studies: Developments in Christian Thought (2020, ISBN 9781510479968)
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My Revision Notes: OCR Christian Thought (ISBN 9781510418066)
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McGrath & Thomas, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 7th ed. (ISBN 9781394202881)
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