Traditional Theism Research Paper
Christians strive to emulate the perfect' life of Jesus, though they know that they will never truly achieve their goals. The idea of God is almost always boiled down to the "aspiration to participate in or be in harmony with perfection.1" But how does this perfection shape our conception of God? The nature of perfection is defined in theistic circles as love. There are two schools of thought addressed in the selection; traditional theism & process theism. Cobb & Griffin discuss the conflict between traditional theism and process theism's definition of divine love, the possibility of divine dependence, and the idea that God's love is more than a creative-impassive love.
Thomas Aquinas, a traditional theologian, makes a point that …show more content…
There is a type of absoluteness that is admirable, which is the crux of traditional theism. It is that absolutism that is the defining factor of God. He is the unmoved mover, the being with which no greater being can be conceived! If there is an absoluteness that is unqualifiedly admirable, it being the lynchpin in categorizing God, this means that there is divine absoluteness. Process theory differs not by refuting his absolutism, but by proposing there is also a type of dependence that is admirable. This dependence hinges upon God's creation of free will. God's omnipotence depends upon knowing everything which is knowable, but the concrete actuality' is that God is dependant upon His creations to make the decisions, that create the events which were before unknowable. Boethius agrees to this statement with a small caveat "..all things God foreknows do come to pass, but certain of them proceed from free will...Providence truly sees in her present that you can change it, whether you will change it, a whither you may change it, you can not avoid the divine …show more content…
The progression from God loving His creations in a way that a watchmaker would love his watches, as objects with a purpose, to loving them for what His creations can do with their sentience I find to be persuasive. The introduction of additional definitions (sensitivity to subjective experience, divine dependence & responsiveness) does not completely contradict traditional theism, but merely adds on to the definition in such a way that is easily accepted as
Thomas Aquinas, a traditional theologian, makes a point that …show more content…
There is a type of absoluteness that is admirable, which is the crux of traditional theism. It is that absolutism that is the defining factor of God. He is the unmoved mover, the being with which no greater being can be conceived! If there is an absoluteness that is unqualifiedly admirable, it being the lynchpin in categorizing God, this means that there is divine absoluteness. Process theory differs not by refuting his absolutism, but by proposing there is also a type of dependence that is admirable. This dependence hinges upon God's creation of free will. God's omnipotence depends upon knowing everything which is knowable, but the concrete actuality' is that God is dependant upon His creations to make the decisions, that create the events which were before unknowable. Boethius agrees to this statement with a small caveat "..all things God foreknows do come to pass, but certain of them proceed from free will...Providence truly sees in her present that you can change it, whether you will change it, a whither you may change it, you can not avoid the divine …show more content…
The progression from God loving His creations in a way that a watchmaker would love his watches, as objects with a purpose, to loving them for what His creations can do with their sentience I find to be persuasive. The introduction of additional definitions (sensitivity to subjective experience, divine dependence & responsiveness) does not completely contradict traditional theism, but merely adds on to the definition in such a way that is easily accepted as