Divine omnipotence means that God possesses all power and potency without any external limitation. The notion of omnipotence indicates a basic principle for the description of divine agency within monotheistic thought. However, in a monistic and emanative conception of God (e.g., as the perfect One in the philosophy of Plato and Plotinus, or Baruch Spinoza's idea of the intrinsic unity of perfection, necessity, and reality), there is no need of divine action. Within theism, divine omnipotence means the power to do all possible things that are not contrary to God's will and knowledge. The concept of God is often characterized by omnipotence in the description that God is the all-determining reality (Wolfhart Pannenberg), although others regard omnipotence as a projection of human desires onto an illusory, usually male, godhead (Sigmund Freud).

The idea of omnipotence comprises not only the actual reign over all human history as...