IS IT COHERENT TO CONCEIVE OF GOD AS A FREE, PER-SONAL AGENT THAT HUMANITY CAN FREELY INTERACT WITH?
IS IT COHERENT TO CONCEIVE OF GOD AS A FREE, PER-SONAL AGENT THAT HUMANITY CAN FREELY INTERACT WITH?

Summary/Abstract: How do we conceive of God? How can we understand God‟s agency? How do weinteract with God? Can we say the relationship between God and humanity is oneof free inter-personal relations? I argue that the way we conceptualise Goddemands that we cannot describe God as a free, personal agent or that ourrelationship with him is free in itself. I analyse what cognitive linguistics has to sayabout how we understand and assign characteristics to God, all the whilemeasuring these implications with the notion of human and divine free will. I thendiscuss whether established key characteristics of God are philosophicallyconsistent with cognitive linguistics‟ suggestions about the method of ourconceiving of God. I argue that there are inconsistencies regarding the classicaltheistic understanding of divine causality and divine qualities which render thisunderstanding of God incoherent. I measure the implications that thesesuggestions have on the notion of God‟s free agency. I will not argue for oragainst the existence of God, but rather comment on the philosophical implicationsof theological statements about the nature of God and humanity‟s interaction withGod as an abstract concept. I base my understanding of God on a classical theisticfoundation. On this understanding God is simple, personal, omni-benevolent,omniscient and omnipotent and can entertain an active relationship with all of Hiscreation. I conclude that this understanding of God is not only internallyincoherent, but furthermore literally impossible to accredit to God, since wecannot separate our talk of him from talk of ourselves. This means that we cannotknow God, let alone coherently conceive of a „free‟ relationship with him.

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