Theistic finitism

Theistic finitism, also known as finitistic theism or finite godism, is the belief in a deity that is limited.Geisler, Norman; Watkins, William D. (1989). Finite Godism: A World with a Finite God. In Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 187-216. McKim, Donald K. (1996). Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 278. It has been proposed by some philosophers and theologians to solve the problem of evil. Most finitists accept the absolute goodness of God but reject omnipotence.Sahakian, William S; Sahakian, Mabel Lewis. (1974). Realms of Philosophy. Schenkman Publishing Company. p. 319. "Theistic Finitism is meant the belief that God is limited in some capacity or quality, usually power or goodness; either he lacks absolute power or absolute goodness. The majority of Finitists accept the absolute goodness of God while relinquishing belief in his omnipotence".

Definition

Finitistic theism denies that God is omnipotent. Ray Harbaugh Dotterer in his book The Argument for a Finitist Theology (1917) summarized the argument for theistic finitism:

The idea that God is and must be infinite has been a nearly universal belief amongst monotheists. Only a minority of thinkers have advanced the idea of a finite deity.Hudson, Yeager. Omnipotence: Must God Be Infinite?. In Creighton Peden, Larry E. Axel. (1989). God, Values, and Empiricism: Issues in Philosophical Theology. Mercer University Press. p. 92.

History

The idea of a finite God has been traced to Plato's Timaeus. Plato's God was not an omnipotent Creator but a Demiurge struggling to control recalcitrant "stuff" or "matter". To Plato, matter was infected with evil, uncreated by God.

William James (1842–1910) was a believer in a finite God which he used to explain the problem of evil.Barnard, George William. (1997). Exploring Unseen Worlds: William James and the Philosophy of Mysticism. State University of New York Press. p. 251. "James's theology answer to the problem of evil is strikingly simple, but theologically daring: God is not all-powerful, all-knowing, or all-pervasive, but rather, is finite."Weidenbaum, Jonathan. (2013) William James’s Argument for a Finite Theism. In Diller J., Kasher A. (eds) Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities. Springer. pp. 323-331. James rejected the divine authorship of the Bible and the idea of a perfect God. He defined God as a "combination of ideality and (final) efficacity" and preferred a finite God that is "cognizant and responsive in some way".Kamber, Richard. (2016). William James: Essays and Lectures. Routledge. p. 159. Pomerlaeau, Wayne P. (1998). Western Philosophies Religion. Ardsley House Publishers. p. 492. James's finite God was not omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient or a creator of the universe.Schwartz, Robert. (2015). Rethinking Pragmatism: From William James to Contemporary Philosophy. Wiley. p. 25.

Theologian Clarence Beckwith (1849–1931) suggested that Horace Bushnell (1802–1876) was a finitist. According to Beckwith "one of the earliest attempts in America to show that God was finite was made by Horace Bushnell in his God in Christ (1849)., includes a preliminary dissertation arguing that language is inadequate to express things of the spirit.Beckwith, Clarence Augustine. (1922). The Idea of God: Historical, Critical, Constructive. New York: Macmillan. p. 214

A minority of historical freethinkers and rationalists advocated a finite God in opposition to the God in Abrahamic religions. H. G. Wells advocated a finite God in his book God the Invisible King (1917). Rannie Belle Baker in his book The Concept of a Limited God (1934) identified Gustav Fechner, Charles Renouvier, William James and John Stuart Mill as admitting the concept of a finite God. F. C. S. Schiller conceived of a finite, evolving God that is limited in power.Abel, Reuben. (1955). The Pragmatic Humanism of F. C. S. Schiller. King's Crown Press. pp. 132-133

Another advocate of theistic finitism was Peter Bertocci (1910–1989) who proposed that "God is all-good but not all-powerful". Most finitists have held that God is personal, although a few such as Henry Nelson Wieman (1884–1975) have stated God is impersonal.

Philosopher Edgar S. Brightman (1884–1953) defended theistic finitism in his book A Philosophy of Religion, published in 1940. Brightman stated that theistic finitism began with Plato and he traced the idea through history to Marcion, Mani and Manichaeism, Pierre Bayle, John Stuart Mill, H. G. Wells and others.Brightman, Edgar S. (1940). Historical Sketch of Theistic Finitism. In A Philosophy of Religion. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. pp. 286-301 Brightman developed the concept of a finite God to solve the problem of evil. He held the view that God is an infinite personal spirit but his power is limited.Erickson, Millard J. (1998). Finitism: Rejection of Omnipotence. In Christian Theology. Baker Books. pp. 439-442. Brightman suggested that Wells was first "to devote an entire book to the concept of God's finiteness". Wells dissociated his God in any respect from the biblical God.Wagar, W. Warren. (2004). H. G. Wells: Traversing Time. Wesleyan University Press. p. 154. Albert C. Knudson stated that John Stuart Mill was the first modern writer to advocate a finite God.Knudson, Albert C. (1924). Present Tendencies in Religious Thought. The Abingdon Press. p. 306

Philosopher Peter Geach (1916–2013) argued in Omnipotence (1973) that God should not be understood as "omnipotent", but as "almighty", taking the term "omnipotent" to mean "the ability to do anything" and taking the term "almighty" to mean "God's power over all things."

Rufus Burrow, Jr. a professor of Christian thought, has argued (2012) that Brightman was different from most other finitists as he held the view that God remains infinite in many ways.Burrow, Rufus Jr. (2012). The Finite-Infinite God. In God and Human Dignity: The Personalism, Theology, and Ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr. University of Notre Dame Press. This was in opposition to Plato and H. G. Wells. Burrow noted that Brightman characterized God as a "finite-infinite God". Charles Hartshorne who rejected omnipotence also argued for a finite-infinite God.

Other advocates of theistic finitism were Hartley Burr Alexander, John Elof Boodin, Dewitt H. Parker, William Pepperell Montague and W. T. Stace.Ferm, Vergilius Ture Anselm. (1959). An Encyclopedia of Religion. Littlefield, Adams & Co. pp. 279-280

Recent

Conservative rabbi Harold Kushner defended theistic finitism in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, published in 1981.Michael, Martin. (1990). The Finite God Theodicy. In Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. Temple University Press. pp. 436-438.

Philosopher Frank B. Dilley noted in 2000 that theistic finitism is rarely discussed in modern philosophical literature.

Theistic finitism

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