The Divine Attributes

Nicholas Everitt's "The Divine Attributes" examines the coherence and philosophical defensibility of properties traditionally ascribed to God in classical theism. The article engages with fundamental questions about whether the concept of God, as defined by core attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, perfect goodness, and necessary existence, can withstand rigorous philosophical scrutiny.

Everitt systematically analyzes each divine attribute, exploring both their individual coherence and their mutual compatibility. His approach draws on contemporary analytic philosophy, employing careful conceptual analysis and logical argumentation to assess whether these attributes can be meaningfully defined and consistently maintained. The work addresses classical puzzles such as the paradox of omnipotence (can God create a stone too heavy for God to lift?), the compatibility of divine foreknowledge with human freedom, and the problem of reconciling perfect goodness with the existence of evil.

The article situates itself within ongoing debates in philosophy of religion, engaging with both historical formulations from figures like Anselm, Aquinas, and Descartes, and contemporary discussions from philosophers such as Plantinga, Swinburne, and Mackie. Everitt examines various strategies theists have employed to defend the coherence of divine attributes, including attempts to reformulate problematic concepts and proposals to limit or qualify traditional definitions.

A significant portion of the analysis focuses on inter-attribute conflicts—whether possessing one divine perfection might preclude possessing another. For instance, Everitt explores whether absolute simplicity can coexist with the complexity implied by omniscience, or whether immutability conflicts with divine responsiveness to prayer. The article also considers whether the classical conception of God remains religiously adequate once subjected to philosophical refinement.

Everitt's contribution to the God debate lies in providing a comprehensive critical assessment of theism's conceptual foundations. By scrutinizing the logical architecture of the God concept itself, the work addresses a prerequisite question for many arguments about God's existence: whether the very idea of God as traditionally conceived is internally consistent. His analysis suggests that serious conceptual difficulties attend the classical divine attributes, challenges that theistic philosophers must address to maintain the intellectual credibility of their position. The article thus serves as an important resource for understanding contemporary philosophical challenges to traditional theism.