critically assess the philosophical problems raised by the belief that God is omniscient

The belief that God is omniscient in the strong sense as having unlimited knowledge of all time, raises many philosophical problems including the problem of evil, human autonomy and the nature of God's other attributes. However, these can be resolved by accepting a definition of God's omniscience in the weak sense (limited knowledge of the past and present). One of the biggest problems raised by the belief in God's omniscience in the strong sense if the lack of human free will. If, as Boethius asserts, God is eternal and has unlimited knowledge of all time, human actions are predetermined. This means humans have no real control of their actions since God cannot have false knowledge of the 'future'. As a result, humans live merely with the illusion of free will, much like the man in Locke's locked room-ignorant of his inability to escape yet believing he chooses to stay. This raises the an issue with moral culpability and the very foundations of our legal system. If human actions are involuntary, being punished seems unjust. Along these lines, the defence attorney of Leopold and Loeb 'successfully' argued that determinism diminishes responsibility. Thus, a conception of God's omniscience in the strong sense rhas wide reaching and dangerous repercussions for society. However, Boethius attempted to rescue human autonomy. He argued that God does not have 'foreknowledge' of our actions but is merely a witness to our choices (viewing time simultaneously, whilst we see the future as uncertain). However, this fails to explain how God's witness to our actions and awareness of our decisions fails to restrict our choices given that Gods still retains knowledge of our future (regardless of whether we view it as uncertain). Thus, only a view of God's omniscience in the weak sense can rescue human autonomy.