Metaphysics and a Personal God

Abstract

Many people think of God as similar to a human being, but without various limitations and defects, and with much greater powers. They hold that although much that we say when likening God to human beings is either analogical or metaphorical, much is not: it is literally true that God has beliefs, intentions and other mental states, in the same sense, or in close to the same sense, as when we say that human beings do. This paper defends this view by arguing that it is consistent with thinking of God as God's incorporeal, omniscient, immutable, and timeless. It is inconsistent with the claim that God lacks a plurality of properties; but one does not need to hold anthropomorphism to find simplicity with respect to properties implausible.