The Comprehensive Case for Omnisubjectivity 

The Comprehensive Case for Omnisubjectivity:

In discovering who God is, it is equally important to acknowledge his characteristics. The characteristic we will defend through a cross-sectional analysis is omnisubjectivity. A comprehensive case can be made for the empathic model of omnisubjectivity using the relevant fields of philosophy, psychology, and theology. 

Firstly, let's break down the term here. Omni means all, subjectivity meaning “...a conscious state as that state is experienced by the one who has it” (Zagzebski, pg 1, 2023). Zagzebski explains that omnisubjectivity is “the divine property of having a complete and perfect grasp of the subjective states of all beings who have such states” (Zagzebski, pg 1, 2023). Simply put, we are saying that God possesses a perfect understanding of the subjective experiences (subjective states, first-person view) of creatures who are aware (consciousness) of such experiences. This section argues that omnisubjectivity is needed if one believes God is omniscient. Below is the syllogism, which is a collection of statements from which conclusions are made logically (and is in that sense valid): 

1: God is omniscient, meaning he knows all actual, hypothetical, and future things. 

2: Subjectivity is an actual thing. 

3: God knows all there is to know about subjectivity. 

4: Therefore God is omnisubjective. 

Both testaments teach that God knows all things (Willmington, 2017, 1 Jn 3:20, Job 37:16). Paul Enns (2014) defends the biblical teaching that God knows all actual, hypothetical, and future things. What is meant by that statement? God knows person x exists (an actual thing), person x may not have ever existed (hypothetical), and he knows person x will exist tomorrow (future). God is wisdom (1 Cor 1:20-25; John 1:1-11). In a more theological and philosophical discussion, we can say that God is the greatest being ever, and knowledge is a great-making property (knowledge makes someone great). Therefore, God possesses perfect knowledge. This argument, built on perfect being theology, was developed by Anselm. To quote Wierenga (2021), “Anselm expands on what he means by greatness by giving the formula that “God is whatever it is better to be than not”, and he concludes that this includes such properties as making other things from nothing, being just, being happy, and being perceptive, omnipotent, and merciful. Anselm can derive omniscience from this list because he holds that ‘to perceive is nothing else than to know’ (Anselm 1998: 90)”. 

Subjectivity seems rather self-evident. Person X’s experience with food will not be the same as person Y’s, and so on. Subjectivity is very evident in something like trauma (aside from biological factors). As indicated by the field of psychology, it is “the subjective experience of the objective events that constitutes the trauma…” (Giller, 1999, para 4). This definition is important because it stops the psychologist from telling others what trauma is and noting the reality that two people can experience the same event while only one gets traumatized. Now that the two premises are true, the conclusion that God is omnisubjective must be accurate. With all that said, how does omnisubjectivity work? 

Zagzebski (n.d) argues that one of the models to think about how omnisubjectivity works is empathy. She states, “I propose that an omniscient being must have perfect total empathy with you and with all conscious beings. This is the property I call omnisubjectivity” (p. 14). By perfect and total she means "If perfect empathy includes a complete and accurate representation of another person’s emotions, perfect total empathy includes a complete and accurate representation of all of another person’s conscious states" (P. 14). As such, it is relevant to define and understand what empathy means. 

Empathy is “...a complex capability enabling individuals to understand and feel the emotional states of others... Empathy requires cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and moral capacities...” (Reiss, 2017, para 16). This allows us to “step into someone's shoes” or see the world through their eyes. There are some pretty important things to note here. Empathy is something that causes us to understand. One can get, intellectually or cognitively, what it is like to go through something. There is a difference between cognitive and emotional empathy, as seen in psychopaths, for example (Fallon, 2018). Secondly, this causes us to feel. People can feel pain, just reduced (Reiss, 2017, para 9-10). My mother can cry when watching a movie or TV show because she empathizes with a character and thus “feels” what they feel, just reduced. We know reading books is great for our brain. One of the reasons for this is because it allows us to empathize with characters to such an extent that we would start running if the character in the book was doing so, if not for the fact that it is not as intense to read about it (Carter, 2018). Furthermore, it motivates behavior, as data indicates that stirring up empathy in another motivates them to not only act but also act selflessly or altruistically (Miller, 2022). Finally, while often empathy, compassion, and love are used as synonyms, they are not. As noted by one psychology educator, "Empathy is characterized by an awareness of other people's emotional experiences and an attempt to feel those same emotions from their perspective. Compassion is characterized by the desire to take action to help the other person" (Cherry, 2023, Para. 6). 

Empathy is necessary for healthy relationships. Relationships where one of the people is not empathic can sometimes suffer (Brandt, 2020). When combined with other traits, it causes abuse (Miller, 2023). Another important note is that empathy for another does not mean agreement with another. For example, “Sally does not lose her own awareness of herself in the process of empathizing. She will have her own perspective on, and her own evaluative judgments about, the conscious states with which she is empathizing” (Mullins, Para. 6, 2020). Individual empathy is not perfect either. A person does not make completely accurate copies of the other person's emotions. Furthermore, one often empathizes with others because they went through something similar, but this is not always the case. 

Before we can apply these things to God, we should ask: Is God empathic? The tradition in Christianity has stated no to this question, for the most part (Mullins, 2020). Here are some arguments as to why God has empathy. As noted, relationships with non-empathic (emotionally or cognitively) persons are difficult. Due to that, having an intimate relationship with a non-empathetic (whether cognitively or emotionally) deity would be unhealthy and cause many troubles. It would be difficult, as empathizing creatures, to have a relationship with a being who has none. We can thus infer that God, if he wants a relationship with us, has empathy for us. There are also biblical arguments to consider. 

In Isaiah 63, the author begins by talking about the vengeful day of the Lord. After this discussion regarding wrath and strength, he turns to discuss the love of God. It is here that it is written, “In all their affliction he was afflicted” (63:9). Gary Smith (2009) writes, “It appears that this verse is communicating the idea that God suffers or is distressed (“he was afflicted”) when his people suffer affliction” (P. 671). The text will go on to say, “but they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). Scholars have noted that the phrase grieved his Holy Spirit can be translated as "grieved, hurt the feelings of” (NET, 2019). This is why the Expanded Bible translates this as “...made his Holy Spirit very sad” (ExB, n.d). God is hurt (emotionally) due to the suffering of his people and the sins of his people. All of this ties into the book of Acts where Jesus, speaking to the persecutor of the church, says, “Why are you persecuting me” (Acts 9:4). To afflict God's people is to afflict God. That is a consistent theme across both testaments. 

The book of Hebrews may have one of the clearest examples of an empathic God. In Heb 4:15 it is written, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…” As noted by one scholar, “The underlying Greek word often denotes a bond stronger than the English ‘“to sympathize’ (cf. 4 Macc 13:23). This is a ‘“sympathy’ that leads to active assistance” (Cockerill, 2012, p. 127). Thayer, Friberg, and Kittel all indicate that something deeper than sympathy and something more like how we defined empathy is meant here (as cited in REV Bible commentary, n.d). As one scholar noted, “There is a great difference between an omniscient but detached awareness of what human beings face and a personal experience of the power of temptation. Only Jesus can “empathize” (TNIV) with us in that way” (France, 2011, para 4). This text also alludes to Jesus identifying with us in 2:17-18, showing empathy.  Many more verses show us God having empathy (Luke 10:25-37; Ps 103:13-14). However, a consistent notion across the Testaments is that this applies to covenant relationships. Furthermore, the NT uses the incarnation to show how Christ can empathize with us. These facts seem to conflict with the omnisubjective model here because this is grounded in God's all-knowing, not incarnation. As noted, omnisubjectivity extends to all creatures, not just covenant people. Here are some ways to think about this. 

Omnisubjectivity is reasoned out or is the logical and necessary conclusion of omniscience. Given that omniscience is taught in Scripture, it follows that omnisubjectivity is the logical conclusion from the teachings of Scripture. However, we may have to look at different models of omnisubjectivity if the empathic model does not hold with Scripture, which Zagzebski (2022) has provided. 

Beyond that, we can refer to the language of identity and relationship to resolve the issue. God has perfect total empathy for all conscious creatures, but he does not have a unique covenantal relationship with all conscious creatures. Due to that, the passages discussed above show a special relational status and identification God has with his people, his bride (Eph 5:22, Isaiah 54:5). God has empathy for all. Still, he is not the husband of all and does not identify with all. He does not identify with the non-believer because they are not his people, nor is he is not their God (2 Cor 6:14-18). Empathy is not synonymous with identification, nor is it always indicative of a special relationship, so there is no contradiction here. 

There is still a question about the passage in Hebrews. This model of omnisubjectivity may conflict with Hebrews 2:17-18 and 4:15 because these texts ground the empathy of Christ (with regards to temptation) in the incarnation, not his omniscience. Yet a solution is still to be found in his omniscience. We must remember that God knows what will be, perfectly and completely. As such, God has always been able to access the subjective state of Christ during his temptation in the wilderness and other places to empathize with his people. The writers of the Old Testament did not have this access because God had not become incarnate yet, but God has always had access because he always knew he would become incarnate. As a side note, because God is also present at every point in time simultaneously, the persons of the Trinity have always witnessed the subjective state of Christ incarnate during his temptation and were with him in it. Though omnipresence is biblical (Enns, 2014) and God's attributes often relate, the connection between omnipresence and omniscience as related to omnisubjectivity will not be explored further here. Now that a comprehensive case can be made for the empathic model of the divine attribute of omnisubjectivity using the resources of philosophy, psychology, and the Holy Scriptures has been validated, one question remains: Why does any of that matter? 

It is easy to say because God has empathy, Christians should too. The people of God are supposed to imitate him (1 Pet 1:15-16; Matt 5:48; Phil 2:5-11). What would that look like in action? Empathizing with LGBTQIA2S+ people, black people, and other minority groups would be a great example. Remember that there are cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects to empathy. One should try to understand their perspective to be like God (who is empathic) in these communities. We should then try to feel what they feel. What is it like for these communities to feel depressed? Suicidal? Oppressed? Hunted? Feared? Abandoned? Think about what it's like. Understand them emotionally and cognitively. Then, seek to exhibit compassionate behavior toward them. It need not mean we agree with everyone's perspective, but we act in such a way as to show that we understand even if we don't agree. Be virtuous to them, like Christ to them, like God. 

Given the fact that God has empathy for and knows what it's like to be nonhumans who have subjective states, should we not have empathy for them? As it is written, “A righteous person cares for the life of his animal…” (Prov 12:10). As noted above, empathy is a great motivator for virtuous action, so we should use and build our empathy and treat these creatures better. We can also note the mission of humanity, which is to have dominion over and take care of the planet we inhabit (Gen 1:26-30, 2:15). 

It is possible (though there is no empirical research to show this) that the belief in this empathic model of omnisubjectivity may be therapeutically and psychologically beneficial. We know that religious belief can support people recovering from trauma, provided the religious beliefs applied to a given trauma are beneficial (Wortmann et al., 2011). Religion can also create an increase in post-traumatic growth and resilience to traumatic events (Va.Gov, n.d). Perhaps, though not formally tested, belief in an omnibenevolent and empathic omnisubjective deity would be helpful when it comes to recovering from tragic events or building resilience. Given the data, the reverse would be true as well. 

Christianity has many philosophical and theological thoughts on suffering and evil in the world. While some of these are better than others, omnisubjectivity can help us disarm this problem in Christianity and comfort us. God, being omnisubjective, would “co-suffer” with us. He empathizes with us in our sufferings and tangibly feels what we do. As Dr. Sollereder notes, “If God shares in the sufferings of creatures, then although God does not prevent it… you have a view of the one who feels every pain, notices every suffering, and who participates in it” (Dr. Sollereder, 38:31-38:47, 2024). This truth is articulated in the empathy model of omnisubjectivity, and through the cross, where “Jesus shows us what God is most like” (Dr. Sollereder, 38:58-39:03, 2024; John 1:14, 14:9).

References:

A defense of omnisubjectivity (Dr. Linda Zagzebski). (2022). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KEG3Yjn0CQ 

Brandt, A. The secret to a happy relationship is empathy | psychology today. (2020). from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-anger/202003/the-secret-happy-relations hip-is-empathy 

Cherry, K. (2023, June 05) Compassion vs. Empathy: What’s the difference? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/compassion-vs-empathy-what-s-the-difference-7494906 Cockerill, L., G. (2012). Hebrews. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Eerdmans. 

David E. Garland. (2011). Hebrews - Revelation. Zondervan Academic. 

Does evolution make God evil? Ft. Dr. Bethany sollereder. (2024). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwHv1coRo6k 

Giller, E. (1999). What is psychological trauma? from 

https://konselingindonesia.com/read/296/what-is-psychological-trauma.html Hebrews 4:15, rev bible and commentary. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.revisedenglishversion.com/Hebrews/chapter4/15 

JHS, T. (2018, April 12). James Fallon | How to spot a psychopath. Jordan Harbinger. https://www.jordanharbinger.com/james-fallon-how-to-spot-a-psychopath/ 

Miller, K. (2023, March 14). 6 types of narcissists—And the one you really need to avoid, according to mental health experts. Well+Good. https://www.wellandgood.com/types-of-narcissists/ 

Mullins, R. T. (2020). Omnisubjectivity and the problem of creepy divine emotions. Religious Studies, 58(1), 162-179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003441252000022010 

Paul Enns. (2014). The Moody Handbook of Theology: Vol. 25th anniversary edition. Moody Publishers. 

Riess H. (2017). The Science of Empathy. Journal of Patient Experience, 4(2), 74–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373517699267 

Smith, G. (2009). Isaiah 40-66: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture: Vol. New international version. Holman Bible Publishers. 

The psychological research will shock you (Dr. Christian Miller). (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUUKNm6wjYA 

Va. Gov | Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). [General Information]. Retrieved February 1, 2024, from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/care/toolkits/clergy/spiritualityResilience.asp Wortmann, J. H., Park, C. L., & Edmondson, D. (2011). Trauma and PTSD Symptoms: Does Spiritual Struggle Mediate the Link? Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice and policy, 3(4), 442–452. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021413 

Why reading matters | Rita Carter | tedxcluj. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muuWRKYi09s 

Wierenga, E. (2023). Omnipresence. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/omnipresence/ 

Zagzebski, L. (2023). Divine Subjectivity and intersubjectivity. Religious Studies, 1–13 doi:10.1017/S003441252300029X 

Zagzebski, L. (n. d.) Omnisubjectivity. Baylor University. Retrieved February 8, 2024 from https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/39971.pdf

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