Omniscience

Omniscience is the divine attribute by which God knows all things — past, present, and future — completely and perfectly. God's knowledge is not acquired through observation or inference but is identical with his own being: he knows all things in knowing himself (CCC 208).

The Scope of God's Knowledge

God knows every creature, every thought, every event, every possibility — not sequentially as humans know things, but in one eternal and complete act of knowing. "Before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it completely" (Psalm 139:4). Nothing is hidden from God; no heart is opaque to him (CCC 208).

God Knows the Future

God's knowledge encompasses all of time — past, present, and future — in a single eternal "now." He does not predict the future by calculating from present causes; he knows all things directly. This divine foreknowledge does not eliminate human freedom — God sees our free choices without causing them to be what they are (CCC 600).

God Knows Each Person

Omniscience is not cold or impersonal. God knows each human being with infinite intimacy — "I know you by name" (Exodus 33:17). The Catechism emphasizes that this knowledge is personal and loving, not merely informational (CCC 208).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does God's foreknowledge mean our choices aren't free? No. Knowing what someone will freely choose is not the same as causing them to choose it. When God foreknows a free choice, that choice remains free — his foreknowledge follows the choice without determining it. This is one of theology's great mysteries, explored deeply by St. Thomas Aquinas and Luis de Molina (CCC 600).