In The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence, Thomas Oord has taken on one of the most difficult topics in philosophical theology: God's omnipotence. As the title indicates, Oord is both trying to eliminate traditional views of divine omnipotence and to replace these views with amipotence, a view of divine power more appropriate to open and relational theologies as well as to real-life experiences.
In previous books, such as Pluriform Love and God Can't, Oord has brought up these issues, but in the context of a more inclusive discussion. In this book, as the title indicates, omnipotence and amipotence take center stage. The first three chapters discuss many of the difficulties with traditional views of omnipotence. The traditional views include the following claims: (1) God exerts all power; (2) God can do absolutely anything; and (3) God can control others or circumstances. Each of these three chapters...
