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
Copy the exact wording into a retrieval list, then practise explaining why the quotation matters.
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
Retrieve before you reveal
Answer each question without notes. Use the answer to check accuracy, then add an example of your own.
Check the whole-topic summary
- Eternity: Boethius (timeless/atemporal) vs process (everlasting/in time).
- Omniscience + free will: Boethius' hill analogy; open theism limits foreknowledge.
- Benevolence: Aquinas — esse est bonum; challenged by the problem of evil.
- Whitehead: primordial + consequent nature; God lures, not coerces.
- Classical theism vs process theology across five attributes.
Knowledge and argument
Test terms and analyse the debate
Read the explanation after each answer. Argument identification is a starting point for AO2; your essay still needs a reasoned judgement. Best scores remain on this device.
Related and synoptic links
Recommended reading
These titles offer further explanation and wider context. Use the title and ISBN to identify the edition through your school or library.
OCR A Level Religious Studies: Developments in Christian Thought (2020, ISBN 9781510479968)
An OCR-focused course textbook for securing the specification foundations of the Christian Thought paper.
My Revision Notes: OCR Christian Thought (ISBN 9781510418066)
A concise companion for consolidating thinkers, debates and exam-focused recall.
McGrath & Thomas, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 7th ed. (ISBN 9781394202881)
A detailed academic introduction for richer theological context and more precise evaluation.