Classical Theism, Interpersonal Relations, and the Receptivity of God
A central tenet of classical theism is that God is Pure Act, and thus many classical theists reject the notion that there is any receptivity in God. This is to say, while God can act on creatures, he cannot be acted on by those creatures. While such a view is commonplace for classical theists, in th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Religions
Year: 2024, Volume: 15, Issue: 10 |
| Further subjects: | B
Pure Act
B divine receptivity B Classical Theism B Interpersonal Relationship |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | A central tenet of classical theism is that God is Pure Act, and thus many classical theists reject the notion that there is any receptivity in God. This is to say, while God can act on creatures, he cannot be acted on by those creatures. While such a view is commonplace for classical theists, in this project, I challenge the claim that there is no receptivity in God by drawing on a Thomistic philosophical anthropology. Highlighting the intrinsically reciprocal second-person relation, I note that persons must be both active and receptive in this bidirectional relation. Insofar as God is a person who enters into second-person relationships with his creatures, it follows that there must be receptivity in God. Nevertheless, I suggest that this receptivity is, in fact, a feature of God’s Pure Activity, and thus, it ultimately poses no serious problem for classical theism. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel15101253 |
