Aseity
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Aseity is a theological term, a characteristic of being self-derived in contrast to being derived from or dependent on another, hence (apriori) predicable only of God in classical theology. Ideally, this term means that God necessarily exists as opposed to it happens to be the case that God exists. Karl Barth interprets aseity as the freedom of God.
The term Aseity is used to describe One who is the Ultimate Being. God is said to possess aseity, since He was not created, but rather always existed. He has the power of being within Himself, and nothing can exist without Him.
Some people claim that the universe should be described as having aseity. This is generally a position held by atheists. Logically there is no incompatibility between belief in both a self-derived universe and a self-derived being possessing the divine attributes. Whether or not this being should be desribed as God turns on whether 'Creator' is a rigid designator of God. Given that theists understand all that is not God as brought about by God, and many of them (for example, Aquinas) argue from the non-aseity of the universe to the divine aseity, this problem is somewhat theoretical.
