Is God "Omnipotent"?

Is God omnipotent?

If by "omnipotent" we mean that God is all-powerful and in control of all, then there's a good case for answering the question with, "No."

In her wonderful book on God and prayer, In God's Presence, Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki says, "In bringing the world into being, God has chosen to share power. This means that the power we experience is not illusory; it is our reality. God has power, but so does the world, and the world's power is as real as God's."

She goes on to say, "I suggest that...prayer in a universe with a relational God who shares power and freedom with a people is quite different from prayer in a universe where God can at will override all persons and situations...

"So imagine with me the dynamics of relationship between God and the world. Think of it as a dance, whereby in every moment of existence God touches the world with guidance toward its communal good in that time and place, and just as the world receives energy from God it also returns its own energy to God. God gives to the world and receives from the world; the world receives from God and gives to God, ever in interdependent exchange...

"We are told in our tradition that God bids us to pray, invites us to pray, inspires us to pray. If it is truly an interdependent world, existing in interdependence not only within itself but also with the ever-creating God, then God's call to us to pray is neither whimsical nor irrelevant to God work with the world. (Prayer) is not a manner of (God) receiving compliments, nor is it a reminder service informing God of what needs to be done in the world. Rather, prayer is God's invitation to us to be willing partners in the great dance of bringing a world into being that reflects something of God's character."

The Meaning of the Word "Believe"

From Marcus Borg, New Testament scholar and theologian:

Prior to the seventeenth century, the word “believe” did not mean believing in the truth of statements or propositions, whether problematic or not. Grammatically, the object of believing was not statements, but a person. Moreover, the contexts in which it is used in premodern English make it clear that it meant: to hold dear; to prize; to give one’s loyalty to; to give one’s self to; to commit oneself. It meant. . . faithfulness, allegiance, loyalty, commitment, and trust.

Most simply, “to believe” meant “to love.” Indeed, the English words “believe” and “belove” are related. What we believe is what we belove. Faith is about beloving God. . . To believe in God is to belove God. Faith is about beloving God and all that God beloves. . . Faith is the way of the heart.