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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame Monotheistic religions generally attribute '''omnipotence''' to the deity of whichever [[fa...'
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[[Monotheistic]] [[religions]] generally attribute '''omnipotence''' to the [[deity]] of whichever [[faith]] is being addressed. In the philosophies of most Western monotheistic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one of a deity's [[Attributes|characteristics]] among many, including [[omniscience]], [[omnipresence]], and omnibenevolence. Within the trinity concept of [[Hinduism]], omnipotence is the characteristic of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu Vishnu][1] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva Shiva] among the three deities, [[manifestations]] of the Supreme God ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman Brahman]).
==Meanings of omnipotence==
Between people of different faiths, or indeed between people of the same faith, the term omnipotent has been used to connote a number of different positions. These positions include, but are not limited to, the following:
:1. A deity is able to do anything that is [[logic]]ally [[possible]] for it to do.
:2. A deity is able to do anything that it [[chooses]] to do.
:3. A deity is able to do anything that is in accord with its own [[nature]] (thus, for instance, if it is a logical consequence of a deity's nature that what it speaks is [[truth]], then it is not able to lie).
:4. Hold that it is part of a deity's nature to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for said deity to go against its own laws unless there was a reason to do so.
:5. A deity is able to do anything that corresponds with its [[omniscience]] and therefore with its purpose.
:6. A deity is able to do [[absolute]]ly anything, even the logically impossible.
Under many philosophical definitions of the term "deity", senses 2, 3 and 4 can be shown to be equivalent. However, on all [[understandings]] of omnipotence, it is generally held that a deity is able to intervene in the world by superseding the [[laws]] of [[physics]], since they are not part of its nature, but the principles on which it has created the physical world. However many modern scholars (such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polkinghorne John Polkinghorne]) hold that it is part of a [[deity]]'s [[nature]] to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for a deity to go against its own laws unless there were an overwhelming [[reason]] to do so.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence]
[[Category: General Reference]]
[[Category: Philosophy]]
[[Category: Religion]]
[[Monotheistic]] [[religions]] generally attribute '''omnipotence''' to the [[deity]] of whichever [[faith]] is being addressed. In the philosophies of most Western monotheistic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one of a deity's [[Attributes|characteristics]] among many, including [[omniscience]], [[omnipresence]], and omnibenevolence. Within the trinity concept of [[Hinduism]], omnipotence is the characteristic of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu Vishnu][1] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva Shiva] among the three deities, [[manifestations]] of the Supreme God ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman Brahman]).
==Meanings of omnipotence==
Between people of different faiths, or indeed between people of the same faith, the term omnipotent has been used to connote a number of different positions. These positions include, but are not limited to, the following:
:1. A deity is able to do anything that is [[logic]]ally [[possible]] for it to do.
:2. A deity is able to do anything that it [[chooses]] to do.
:3. A deity is able to do anything that is in accord with its own [[nature]] (thus, for instance, if it is a logical consequence of a deity's nature that what it speaks is [[truth]], then it is not able to lie).
:4. Hold that it is part of a deity's nature to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for said deity to go against its own laws unless there was a reason to do so.
:5. A deity is able to do anything that corresponds with its [[omniscience]] and therefore with its purpose.
:6. A deity is able to do [[absolute]]ly anything, even the logically impossible.
Under many philosophical definitions of the term "deity", senses 2, 3 and 4 can be shown to be equivalent. However, on all [[understandings]] of omnipotence, it is generally held that a deity is able to intervene in the world by superseding the [[laws]] of [[physics]], since they are not part of its nature, but the principles on which it has created the physical world. However many modern scholars (such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polkinghorne John Polkinghorne]) hold that it is part of a [[deity]]'s [[nature]] to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for a deity to go against its own laws unless there were an overwhelming [[reason]] to do so.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence]
[[Category: General Reference]]
[[Category: Philosophy]]
[[Category: Religion]]