Month: July 2010

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. We’ve been going through the doctrine of God right now and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas has been our guide. This can be read for free at NewAdvent.org. We’re studying right now the doctrine of the Will of God. We’re on the eighth question tonight in this topic and asking if the will of God imposes a necessity on things. Let us go to the question.

This has a lot to do with human freedom and in fact the reason Aquinas states that God’s will does not impose necessity is because human beings do have free-will. However, he will not defend that here as Aquinas later on does defend that when he gets to the doctrine of man. For obvious reasons, he wishes to start with the doctrine of God first.

Aquinas is of the position that God’s will does not impose necessity, but whatever it is that you and I do, God willed that we would freely choose to do something. No parallel could be exact, but we in America can consider that we have freedom of religion, the press, etc. Thus, we can freely choose to do or believe what it is we do or believe, but we can only do those freely because our founders intended us to have that freedom. None of the founding fathers were Muslims, but their freedom does allow for someone to be a Muslim.

So why is it that it seems that many things he would desire does not happen? It is not because of a deficiency in God. That is impossible. Instead, it is then because of a deficiency in the object. It is God’s will that I be sanctified, but I can assure any readers that I realize I am a long way from that goal. I do believe that if I submitted to the Holy Spirit, I could avoid sin. However, I still sin every day. It is not because the Holy Spirit is weak that this happens, but it is because I am weak.

Now I have no reason to believe that God’s ultimate will is ever thwarted, with events such as the return of Christ. At the same time, I believe God is sovereign and nothing happens outside of his allowing it. How do those two work together? I would not dare say that I have a clear answer yet. I am willing to accept the freedom of man and the sovereignty of God and say that while it is fun to ponder, I see no place for dogmatism without conclusive arguments.

So in closing, I will simply say that whatever it is that you do, God willed that you would be able to freely do it. For the debates on secondary issues, I once again remind readers that I do not wish this blog to be about secondary issues. I am interested in helping Christians defend the issues that we all agree on regardless of how strongly I might hold to some secondary positions.

Finally readers, please keep in mind that this work that I do is in part supported by people like you and while there are many in hard times financially as I realize, I am as well. If you like what you see here and wish to support it, you may do so by going to the donate button. If you do, I thank you for your gift.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I hope you’re enjoying our blog series. If you are someone who regularly enjoys, I hope you will also be willing to make a donation. Right now, I am in a tighter financial spot than I’d like to be in and any help would be appreciated. If not that, your prayers are greatly desired. For our study now, we’re going through the doctrine of God in Christian thought and our guide for this has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. This can be read for free at newadvent.org. We’re on the topic of the will of God and we’re asking if the will of God is changeable. Let’s go to the text.

There is truly nothing new under the sun. In debates on open theism today, the verses that are used are two of the verses that Thomas Aquinas replies to. We have the account of the flood in Genesis where God repented of making man and then that of Jeremiah where is told that if he wants to destroy a nation and the nation repents, he won’t, and if he wants to bless a nation and the nation strays, he won’t.

For Aquinas, the first is to be understood metaphorically. God does not literally repent but his actions seem to be that of a man who repents. This is the same thing that is said about emotions like angry. God is not literally angry but he is acting like a man who is angry.

For the second, God is not changing his will but different things are falling under his will in different ways. If one does good, it is God’s will to bless that one generally. If one does evil, it is God’s will to punish that one. Aquinas wants us to know that because God wills a change in a thing, that does not mean the thing has somehow brought about a change in the will of God.

The will of God could only change if something in God changed. That would be his disposition would have to change or his knowledge would have to change. His disposition would refer to his goodness and his goodness cannot change. His knowledge cannot change either and both of these have been established in past blogs. Thus, since the source of the will does not change, his goodness, then his will cannot change in that way. He cannot get new knowledge so he decides to will something other than what he had willed before, so his will cannot change in that way. In either case, God’s will cannot change.

This again is the fascinating aspect of the medieval philosophers. They took these questions seriously. I believe that, for instance, Thomas Aquinas refuted the Mormon doctrine of God long before Mormonism ever came along. The apologists of the past were prepared in advance for the heresies that were coming by having a thorough knowledge of God. May we learn to be prepared in advance for the challenges coming our way today so we are not merely responsive but are proactively making a difference.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. Right now, we’re going through the doctrine of God in Christian thought and the guide that has been chosen for this is the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas which can be read for free at newadvent.org. As I remarked to a friend this morning, the more we understand the doctrine of God, the more we can enjoy our relationship and appreciate him for who He is for greater knowledge of something increases our enjoyment of it. We’re studying right now the will of God and we’re asking tonight if God’s will is always fulfilled.

This is a more controversial one and as you read over the section, you will notice that many of the questions we ask today are still relevant. For instance, we have the passage of saying that God wills all men to be saved. Anyone who has been in the Calvinist and Arminian debate knows about this verse.

And lo and behold, they knew about it also. Augustine had already said that God wills all men to be saved who are to be saved as Aquinas points out. It is not because there is someone who he does not wish to be saved but no one who is saved whose salvation God does not will.

There is also the possibility that this text refers to every class of men as if to say that God wants all kinds of people to be saved. There is indeed nothing new under the sun. These same debates have been going on in Christian history for centuries and will no doubt continue until the return of Christ.

And of course, there is the view that God does want all people to be saved beforehand, but knows that this will not happen. Aquinas uses an analogy of a judge who would will that all men be allowed to live, but at the same time will will the hanging of a murderer.

In this case, somehow everything does return to the will of God. If you fall out of the will at this point, you will fall in under another point. If you are not saved, you will submit to the will of God in judgment over your soul for instance. Whatever happens to you, you can be sure that God is aware of it.

Aquinas says that all must come under the will of God in some way and come about that way because ultimately, nothing can thwart the will of God. All causes that are secondary will trace back to the cause that is primary and through that cause all things come about. There is nothing that can override that. Now how this works with free-will and such, that is an in-house debate and like all in-house debates, I choose to not comment.

For Christians tonight, consider this. Whatever happens in your life has not escaped the notice of God and he has allowed it. We can often worry about so many things and when we do, it is because we have forgotten that God is in control of the world we live in. Trust him today. His will be accomplished and since we are told that will includes your Christlikeness in passages like Romans 8, that will happen as well.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the Ocean of Truth. We’re going through the doctrine of God in Christian Theology and our guide for this has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. You can read this online at newadvent.org. We’re studying the topic of the will of God right now and we’re asking if any cause can be assigned to the divine will. Let’s go to the question.

This is along the lines of the question of “If God created everything who created God?” If the will of God is the cause of all things, what caused the will of God? However, this can continue to an infinite regress. If there is a cause of that, we can ask what caused that. Can we rest in the conclusion that nothing causes the will of God?

Suppose you want to do something. For instance, I just mailed a letter out at a local mailbox. It’s a distance away, but not too far away, so I chose to walk. My end of course was getting the letter in the mail and I figured a walk would grant me some more reading time. However, I could have just as easily got in my car and drove over to the mailbox or I could have even just left it for the mail carrier to pick up here in the morning.

However, once I will the ends, I also will the means I want to go through to get to that end, but those are two different activities. I had the end in mind already that I wanted, but there were a number of ways that I could use in order to get to that end and willing the means was something separate.

It is the same with knowing a conclusion based on a principle. In seeing the conclusion, one can look at the principles then and understand how one got to that conclusion. Think back to being in a math class and being given a problem and seeing the answer and wondering how that answer was reached. Then, your teacher, if they were a good one, went through a process and showed you. You knew the conclusion, but in a separate act, you knew the way by which that conclusion was reached.

It is the same with the will of God. God wills all things by his goodness. However, once he has the end in mind, he does not will a means because of that end but in order to get to that end. It is by willing the means that he wills the end desired by that mean.

For my scientifically minded friends, Aquinas has some words for you also. By all means, seek out means by which processes come about. However, those are not primary causes. You can by all means consider why it is the arrow flies at the target, but do not neglect that there is an archer pulling the bow launching the arrow at that target. There is no need for Christians to fear secondary causes. These are instrumental causes God is using to bring about his goal.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the Ocean of Truth. I’ve had an odd day and I just ask everyone keep praying for me. I’m realizing more areas to work on and my tendency is unfortunately to focus on the negative. God’s making me a better man though with a great instrument to do that with. For now, let’s focus on our study of the doctrine of God. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica has been our guide and we’ll be continuing our study on the will of God. You can read the Summa for yourself online for free at newadvent.org. For now, let’s get to the question.

Tonight, we’re asking if the will of God is the cause of things. An important distinction needs to be made at the start. By things, Aquinas means substances I believe. I do not think Aquinas is saying that God is the cause of every action or event. Now he would believe that God allows every action or event, but God is not the cause of evil for instance, especially since evil isn’t a substance.

We have seen that God does not have to will anything outside of himself. He needs only will himself and he is complete in himself. However, his will flows out of his goodness and is an act of intellect. There must be an intellect before there is action as action seeks to reach an end.

This is also a challenge to our naturalistic way of thinking that tries to deny God. In this, there is no purpose. Things act, but ultimately, there is no reason why they act. The gazelle might seek to survive so it can reproduce, but there is no ultimate meaning for its reproducing. Even if it passes on fitter genes, so what? In the end, all dies in a cold death. There is no true progress for there is nothing for us to progress to.

God is also not determined by anything outside himself. He does not act out of necessity but out of the desire of his goodness and this is done through the will acting through the means of his intellect. Since the will is the one that acts through the intellect to produce things, then the will is the cause of those things.

Further, Aquinas tells us that results are produced insofar as they pre-exist in an agent. The classic example is that a painting is produced insofar as it pre-exists in the mind of the painter. In God, all things pre-exist in him. Since they pre-exist in the intellect, the way they come out is through the working of the will. If that is the case, then the will of God is the cause of things.

Thus, we conclude in agreement with Thomas that the will of God is the cause of things. How this relates to the problem of evil and the free-will of man will be discussed later on, but all substances that exist exist because it is the will of God that they exist.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. We are going through the doctrine of God right now in Christian thought so we can learn all the more about the one who identified himself as “I AM”, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who revealed himself best in Jesus Christ. Our guide for this has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. This can be read online at newadvent.org. We’re discussing the will of God and tonight, we’re going to discuss whether God wills what he wills necessarily.

There are some aspects to this that make it seem like it would be so. Mainly, isn’t God eternally doing all things and thus whatever he wills, he has been willing for all eternity? If that is the case, then he is willing necessarily. If he is eternally willing necessarily, then whatever he wills has been willed necessarily has it?

Not so fast.

Aquinas says that things can be said to be necessary absolutely or by supposition. Suppose you meet someone who is a bachelor. It is absolutely necessary that he be an unmarried male. If he is not an unmarried male, then he cannot be a bachelor. Suppose you want to draw a triangle. It is necessary that what you draw be an enclosed figure with three straight lines and three angels totaling 180 degrees.

The reason that these are necessary is that they are contained in the term itself. A bachelor is an unmarried male. A triangle is an enclosed figure with three straight lines and angles totaling up to 180 degrees. If you want to draw a figure that does not have those properties, it could be a figure indeed, but it is certainly not a triangle.

Thus, if you say “That bachelor is an unmarried male,” you are not saying anything about the bachelor that could not be known otherwise. If you say “That bachelor drives a Mercedes”, then you are saying something new. It is necessary to being a bachelor that one be an unmarried male. It is not necessary that one drives a Mercedes.

How about Socrates sitting? It is not necessary to the nature of Socrates that he be sitting. However, if Socrates is sitting, he necessarily sits. He cannot not be sitting if he is sitting. He can choose to stand up if he so desires, but he cannot stand up and be sitting at the same time.

God’s will is more that way. Whatever he wills, once he wills it, he wills it necessarily. However, it was not necessary to him that he will that. The only thing that he necessarily wills is his goodness. Aquinas says we can picture willing to go on a stroll. We do not have to will a horse to go on that scroll. We can go on a scroll without a horse, but riding a horse could be more pleasant.

God does not need to will anything else besides himself for his happiness. However, he can will other things in a way of diffusing his goodness that did not have to be. Once they are however, he wills them of necessity and cannot change that he wills something once he wills it.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. We are going to resume tonight our study on the doctrine of God in Christian thought. Our guide for this has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. This can be read online at newadvent.org. We’re discussing the topic of the will of God. Tonight, we’re going to be asking if God wills things other than himself.

What can you get the man who has everything? The answer would be nothing we say. If he has everything, what more does he need? While this is true, it does not follow that he would not want something else. Something can be desired out of need, the way we desire food and water, and some out of want, such as material objects, friends, pleasure, etc.

What about God? Scripture makes it clear that he needs nothing. Does he want some things? Scripture makes it clear that he wants some things as well, which is why he sends the prophets and he sent the apostles. God wanted his message to be known that men might come to salvation.

However, there is nothing outside of God that he needs. He only wants other things. He is not dependent on us for anything at all. We cannot alter him in any way. We cannot reduce him to something lower than what he is. (We can lower him in our minds of course, but not in actuality.) We cannot make him greater than what he is.

Yet the question can be why does God will things other than himself? An obvious answer to the question of if he can can be answered by looking at the fact that we are here, but the medievals would not accept such an explanation. They wanted to look at the philosophical implications of what was said. It was not enough to say “The case is true.” It also had to be “Why is the case true but it doesn’t conflict with the other theology here?”

For Aquinas, when God wills something other than himself, it is because all creatures not just seek their own goodness but to multiply their goodness. Hence, all beings that are alive in some way seek to take part in reproduction. If a human does not directly take part, he tends to what to make sure that others can and favors the spread of human life. Those that do not are anomalies.

This is the same way in which God multiplies his goodness. God does not create out of necessity but rather out of abundance and this creation is his will. You are alive because God willed for you to be alive. You serve an important part in the plan for him. You are not an accident. As the Psalmist says, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Christian. Take comfort in knowing that God created you out of an abundance of love and that you are invited to share in that love. If you are sharing in that love, why not take time today to enjoy your life. It is his gift to you and all good and perfect gifts come from him and he gives all good things to us for our enjoyment, including our lives.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. We are diving into the ocean of truth here. Keep an eye on this site as hopefully we will see some expansion of Deeper Waters in the not-too-distant future. For now, we’re going to continue the path that we’ve been on. We’re going through the Summa Theologica now of Thomas Aquinas with the goal of being getting a more thorough understanding of the doctrine of God. For those who do not own a copy, you can read it at NewAdvent.org. We’re starting tonight looking at the Will of God and we’re going to be asking tonight if God has a Will.

To begin with, this is not speaking about God’s will for our lives in that way. We’ve already done a short series on that. It is also not speaking about moral will at this point, although I do believe each of those could be included in some way. For now, the will has more to do with desire. Does God have desire?

Desires are meant towards end. God has no end however. Things that have ends are objects created for a purpose. You and I were created to glorify God. Angels were created for the same purpose. That we have an end does not mean that end will be fulfilled always, but we do have one.

God’s end however is himself. He was not created, but he is his own good and desire. What does God desire more than anything else? It’s not us. It’s himself. For Aquinas, when the will has that which it desires, then it can rest in the happiness of what it has.

We know this to be true for ourselves. If you are married, you should not be looking at other people of the opposite sex for sexual fulfillment. If you are hungry and eat something, generally, you have your appetite fulfilled and you can rest in that fulfillment. If you have had a hot day and you get a cold drink, you are fulfilled in that.

God has a will however because will is related to the intellect. God is his own intellect and he desires that which is the greatest good, which is of course himself. The desire is related to that which is intelligible. This is different from the appetitive sense, which even the animals have. Now appetite is a function of our will, but our will is not limited to that. We desire truth and goodness, something that the animals do not desire.

What we can take from this at this point is that we do not change the life of God. We do not make him happier by worshipping nor do we make him sad when we don’t. He has all he desires within himself. He wishes to share that love, but he will not suffer if we do not return the favor. In fact, we can only gain by receiving the love he has for us. The one who thinks he hurts God by shunning him only hurts himself.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. It is really good to be back and writing regularly again after not having the net for that short period of time. We’ve been going through the doctrine of God lately and trying to understand it better. Our guide on our search for truth has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. It can be read by anyone at newadvent.org. We’re going to wrap up our look at the life of God and ask tonight if all things are life in God. Tomorrow then, we begin a longer study of the will of God which will be most enjoyable I’m sure.

Last time, we quoted the verse in Acts 17 where Paul says that in God all things live and move and have their being. What did he mean by that? Well we cannot know entirely, but Paul was a strong theologian who knew his Tanakh very well and knew the doctrine of God and he was working his theology on how Christ fit into this, but that still allowed him to keep the basic idea of God intact, one that he was able to present to the Greek philosophers.

In today’s question, we look at that. For Aquinas, in God, the intellect and God’s existing are one and the same. That which is in God as understood then is the life of God. Thus, in God, all things are alive. Not that they have life in themselves in that way, but that they are in the divine mind and thus have an effect upon the world.

Without God, there could not be anything that is alive. Now we have said earlier that God has life in a different way than we do. While we have life by his gift, he has his life by nature. There is a sense however in which what we have is more actual than what is in the mind of God.

In the mind of God, man does not exist materially. That is because in God there is no matter. Now of course, God knows that man is a material being, but the idea of a man is not material. It is the man who is actual that is material. In the mind of God, you are an immaterial idea, but in reality, you are material.

However, you do live in God. All that is in him is life and that includes the ideas of God. This does not mean that rocks are living things in this world, but that the ideas are in God and are active and being the exemplar cause of all things that exist, that is, that after which something is.

Let us take time then to consider and celebrate the life of God. I would definitely consider getting the book Perelandra if you haven’t read it yet and read the section on the dance between Mars and Venus. It is one of the most astounding ones in literature and one that I really think shows the glory of God. Thomas would be pleased.

We shall continue tomorrow.