Abstract
Classical theism rests on the belief that God is infinite, that his infinity is to be understood primarily in terms of his self-existence, and that he is therefore the Creator of the world ex nihilo. But many distinguished philosophers have held that God is finite. I shall mention three — two from the ancient, and one from the modern, world.
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Notes
Sankara’s teaching, and Hindu monism as a whole, is well summarised by R. C. Zaehner in his ‘Hinduism’ (Oxford University Press, 1962) ch 2–4. The Western philosopher closest to Sankara is F. H. Bradley, who regarded the world as a mere ‘appearance’ of the Absolute. It is important to realise that (as Zaehner shows) the monistic element in Hinduism has always coexisted with theistic elements. I shall recur to this point later in this book.
It cannot be too strongly stressed that the doctrine of the Trinity defines the Christian understanding of God’s love. For the basic principles that govern the interpretation of the doctrine I must refer the reader back to my remarks in my first section on ‘Classical theism’. A full and perceptive account of recent writing on the subject is contained in C. Welch’s ‘The Trinity in Contemporary Theology’ (S.C.M. Press, 1953).
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© 1971 H. P. Owen
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Owen, H.P. (1971). Chapter 2. In: Concepts of Deity. Philosophy of Religion Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00093-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00093-7_2
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