The Humility of God in a Scientific World

Abstract

Revolutionary scientific discoveries in this century, particularly in the area of cosmology, have made the question of divine action in the created world a controversial one. While conservative theologians hold on to a medieval world view in which God acts in and guides a closed universe that comfortably fits “in the palm of God’s hand,” others have abandoned the medieval view to confront the challenges posed by the new cosmology. A universe in which chance, chaos, and complex interactions comprise the physical fabric compels theologians to interpret divine action in radically new ways. The myriad of books and articles on this subject within the last ten years is an indication that the new cosmology is calling for a new theology. While the efforts of scholars to discern the role of God in creation are commendable, they are, at the same time, circumscribed by the notion of God as unified being. The Christian version of Aristotle’s unmoved mover, thanks to the genius of Thomas Aquinas, has compelled scholars to speak of God as a single agent acting in the world. While the notion of God as absolute being is not disputed, it tends to obscure the fact that the Christian God is a trinity of persons and acts in the world as trinity. In this paper I will explore God’s action in the world not as being but as absolute and self-diffusive good, an idea based on the theology of the Franciscan theologian, Bonaventure. For Bonaventure, God is trinity precisely because God is by nature a self-diffusive good. My thesis is that God acts in the world as the good and this good is the love of the triune God. Since the good is hidden in the ordinary events of the universe, I propose that divine love is a humble love that undergirds the creativity of the physical world and allows the goodness of the world to unfold, revealing the universe as the heart of God.