Omnipotence is perfect power, free from all mere potentiality. God cannot effect the non-existence of actual events of the past, for it contradictory that the same thing that has happened should also not have happened. a square circle, an infinite creature, etc. Mutually exclusive elementsĪnother class of intrinsic impossibilities includes all that would simultaneously connote mutually repellent elements, e.g. It is sometimes objected that this aspect of omnipotence involves the contradiction that God cannot do all that He can do but the argument is sophistical it is no contradiction to assert that God can realize whatever is possible, but that no number of actualized possibilities exhausts His power. (c) The creation of an absolutely best creature or of an absolutely greatest number of creatures is impossible, because the Divine power is inexhaustible Thus by His absolute power God could preserve man from death but in the present order this is impossible, since He has decreed otherwise. The absolute power of God extends to all that is not intrinsically impossible, while the ordinary power is regulated by the Divine decrees. Hence theologians distinguish between the absolute and the ordinary, or regulated, power of God ( potentia absoluta potentia ordinaria). If these decrees were not irrevocable, it would follow either that God's wisdom was variable or that His decisions sprang from caprice. (b) The decrees of God cannot be reversedįrom eternity the production of creatures, their successive changes, and the manner in which these would occur were determined by God's free will. Thomas, "is to be capable of failure in one's actions, which is incompatible with omnipotence" (Summa, I, Q, xxv, a. Man's power of preferring evil to good is a sign not of strength, but of infirmity, since it involves the liability to be overcome by unworthy motives not the exercise but the restraint of that power adds to the freedom and vigour of the will. a square circle, an infinite creature, etc.Īctions out of harmony with God's nature and attributes Any action that would simultaneously connote mutually repellent elements, e.g.Any action on the part of God which would be out of harmony with His nature and attributes.Victor, "and He is almighty because He cannot be powerless" (De sacram., I, ii, 22).Īs intrinsically impossible must be classed: "God can do all things the accomplishment of which is a manifestation of power," says Hugh of St. 3), "it is more exact to say that the intrinsically impossible is incapable of production, than to say that God cannot produce it." To include the contradictory within the range of omnipotence, as does the Calvinist Vorstius, is to acknowledge the absurd as an object of the Divine intellect, and nothingness as an object of the Divine will and power. The intrinsically impossible is the self-contradictory, and its mutually exclusive elements could result only in nothingness. The universality of the object of the Divine power is not merely relative but absolute, so that the true nature of omnipotence is not clearly expressed by saying that God can do all things that are possible to Him it requires the further statement that all things are possible to God. These last words of the definition do not imply any imperfection, since a power that extends to every possibility must be perfect. Omnipotence is the power of God to effect whatever is not intrinsically impossible. (Latin omnipotentia, from omnia and potens, able to do all things). Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99. Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download.
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