VERANDERT GOD MENSEN TEN GOEDE—EN ZO JA, HOE?

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Summary This article's basic theses concerning the moral transformation of human beings are, first, that such a transformation is generally necessary in view of the human predicament. And, secondly, that belief in God makes a difference between a theistic (christian) and an atheistic view of life precisely at the point of how to account for its possibility. The truth of the first thesis is more or less assumed. The greater part of this contribution is devoted to the clarification and elaboration of the second thesis. Two fundamental theological positions are distinguished: realism and non-realism. Within a theological-realist conceptual framework, three models of divine transformation of persons are discussed: the fiat, the interpersonal and the sharing models. It is argued that a qualified interpersonal model is the most helpful for an adequate understanding of divinely inspired moral change. Is it possible to give a coherent account of moral betterment brought about by God on the basis of non-realist presuppositions? And if so, what to think of it? These questions are central in the final sections of the article. The first question receives a positive answer. As to the latter, it is suggested that a non-realist understanding of divinely inspired moral change entails for the christian faith both a loss of substance and of practical relevance.