Divine Action Research Articles

A critical assessment of Bruce L. McCormack's christological proposal

AbstractBruce L. McCormack's recent christological proposal intends to move beyond the apparent impasse in theological discourse between God's aseity and God's world relation. In describing the second mode of divine being as personally constituted by receptivity to the human Jesus of Nazareth without losing the logos asarkos, McCormack's proposed christological innovation offers a way to consider relation to the world as proper to God through the Son, without absolute pronobeity coming to dominate in the doctrine of God. This being said, his christological proposal, as it stands, implies both that election is antecedent to triunity and that the person of Jesus of Nazareth is antecedent to the act of the incarnation. With the former comes the problem of sequence in the priority of divine act over divine being. With the latter comes the problem of offering a unified account of two agencies. As such, while ontological receptivity continues to hold significant possibilities for the doctrine of God, it requires more careful coordination to the relation of passive generation as such.

The Meaning of Sacraments as “Signs of Faith” – Reciprocity between faith and sacraments

God, through the Church, enters into a personal dialogue with man out of his desire to save him. This dialogue is carried out in different ways and based on certain criteria. One of these is the sacramental reality. The sacraments are a concretization of the divine action that fully realizes the mystery of salvation. In 2020, a document of the International Theological Commission was published with the title: Reciprocity between faith and sacraments in the sacramental economy. Here it is reaffirmed that the essence of faith is found in the principle of sacramentality. This principle represents the very nature of Christian revelation, namely, the dialogical response of the believer and the Christian community, such that there is no authentic sacramental celebration without faith. The theological study has always linked the doctrine of the sacraments and their celebration to the gift of faith that the believer receives from God exclusively based on the merits of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Christ, giving birth to the sacraments, also gives them the ontological power that works on the inner plane in the human being. This gives the believer a certain spiritual experience that enables him to live and act as a person of faith. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between faith and sacraments, starting from the meaning of the notion of faith

Ebū’l-Muʿīn en-Nesefī’de İmanın İki Yönü ve İnsanın Özgür İradesiyle İlişkisi: Felsefi Bir Analiz

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between knowledge (ʿilm or maʿrifa) and faith (īmān), or intellect (ʿaql) and religious assent (taṣdīq), in the thought of Abū al-Muʿīn al-Nasafī (d. 508-1115), the most distinguished theologian after the founding father of the Māturīdī school. Regrettably, the works of al-Nasafī and his school have not received the recognition they deserve in academic circles of the English-speaking world. This study aims to fill this gap and contribute to the studies already conducted in Turkish academia. The study distinguishes itself from other works in Turkish scholarship by exploring the philosophical reasoning behind the moral praiseworthiness of the act of faith in the Māturīdī tradition, as represented by al-Nasafī. To this end, the initial focus of this article involves conducting research on the essence of faith using al-Nasafī’s corpus. It then explores the relationship established by al-Nasafī between knowledge and faith, or intellect and religious assent. This paper also examines the impact of God’s intervention on human free will in the act of faith and whether this act should be viewed as a human or divine act. The findings of this study show that, according to al-Nasafī, the truth or legitimacy of a religious belief can only be established through knowledge or evidence (dalīl). Imitating the beliefs of forefathers (taqlīd), relying on intuition (ilhām), or trusting in the goodness of those beliefs cannot be a means of acquiring true knowledge of religions. Nevertheless, faith cannot be reduced to knowledge. Instead, faith is a special assent of the heart that is grounded in knowledge. With this voluntary assent, a person adopts the Islamic faith and its values as the most fundamental guiding principle of their life. The assent that al-Nasafī deems worthy of being called faith is a special kind of assent of this kind.

I will not let you go, unless you bless me (Gen. 32:26)

In this article I point out the possibilities of a blessing in a society which does not look favourably upon religious institutions and traditions. Across history and religions, people come to realize that they are only partially able to provide for their own well-being and secure the foundations of their lives. They therefore need hope, love, energy for a good life, and a protective and invigorating force: in other words, blessings. The Bible sees blessing as an expression of continuous divine action. By their willingness to be blessed, the blessed confess their trust in God and present their needs to Him. A blessing can be part of a ritual game that helps structure life in an unstructured reality. A blessing is a space for an encounter between God and people, but also for their encounter with tradition.

Wholly Good, Holy God

Mark Murphy dedicates Divine Holiness and Divine Action to answering two questions: What is divine holiness? And why does it matter for understanding divine action? According to Murphy, divine holiness consists in God’s having those features that make it appropriate for creatures to be simultaneously attracted to and repelled by God. This account, in turn, affords a novel framework for understanding divine action, one intended to avoid the pitfalls of alternative approaches emphasizing God’s moral goodness or lovingkindness. In this essay, we express agreement with Murphy’s idea that divine holiness is crucial for understanding divine action. But we find ourselves balking at two significant junctures. First, we contend that Murphy’s characterization of divine holiness requires revision, as appeal to attraction and repulsion doesn’t adequately capture attitudes such as awe and reverence that are central to experiences of the holy. And, second, we argue that the ‘holiness framework’ for divine action fails to accomplish its aims, largely because it rejects the claim that God’s perfect moral goodness and lovingkindness ground God’s holiness. We conclude that theorists should instead embrace a framework for action that integrates God’s perfect moral goodness, lovingkindness, and holiness.

The Difference Holiness Makes

Terence Cuneo & Jada Twedt Strabbing, Samuel Fleischacker, Jonathan Rutledge & Jordan Wessling, and Sameer Yadav have generously engaged with the accounts of divine holiness and its implications offered in my Divine Holiness and Divine Action (2021), criticizing its arguments and in some cases offering attractive alternative accounts. Here I respond to some of their criticisms.

God of Holy Love

In the exceptional book Divine Holiness and Divine Action, Mark Murphy defends what he calls the holiness framework for divine action. The purpose of our essay-response to Murphy’s book is to consider an alternative framework for divine action, what we call the agapist framework. We argue that the latter framework is more probable than Murphy’s holiness framework with respect to select theological desiderata.

Précis of <i>Divine Holiness and Divine Action</i>

This article is a précis of Mark C. Murphy’s Divine Holiness and Divine Action (Oxford University Press, 2021), which offers an account of God’s holiness and of the difference this view of God’s holiness should make to our understanding of divine action.

An Introduction to the Symposium on Mark Murphy’s <i>Divine Holiness and Divine Action</i>

The purpose of this essay is to introduce the symposium within the Journal of Analytic Theology on Mark Murphy’s latest book, Divine Holiness and Divine Action. To this end, the main aims of Murphy’s book are presented and the essays within the symposium are summarized.

God’s Things

This response to Mark Murphy’s Divine Holiness and Divine Action constructs an account of what Murphy calls “secondary holiness” — the holiness of everything other than God — oriented to the Jewish tradition. On the theory that differences come out most sharply against a background of similarities, an initial section lays out what the author shares with Murphy methodologically. The essay then offers a reading of the aesthetic and ethical significance of Jewish ritual practices that delimit holy objects and times. Central to the ethical aspect of this account is an analysis of what it might mean, in interpersonal relationships, to respect certain things as “sacred” to another; this leads to the suggestion that regarding certain things as sacred to God may be a basis on which to develop a personal relationship with God.

The Antinomic Method of Gregory Palamas : Between Transcendence and Immanence, God’s Essence and Energy, Single and Multiple Trinity

The article examines the theological method of antinomy and the conceptual solution to the problem of the ontological “gap” between transcendence and immanence of the Holy Trinity in the theological thought of the outstanding Byzantine theologian of the 14th century Gregory Palamas. The article analyzes how Palamas, in his patristic teaching on the distinction between the essence and energy of the Holy Trinity, substantiates the unity, trinity, and multiplicity of divine action in the world, and how he interprets this distinction in God’s nature. Particular attention is paid to biblical and patristic analysis and the significance of Palama’s methodological “triangle”: apophatic, cataphatic, antinomy; his understanding of the personal dimension of the energies of the hypostases of the Trinity, and the problem of the “simplicity” of the Triune God.

Analisis Klaim Al-Ghazali tentang Tindakan Allah dalam 'Al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad': Kajian terhadap Bantahan atas Pemikiran Mu'tazilah

Imam Al-Ghazali, whose full name is Abu Hamid bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Ghazali, is a prominent figure in Islamic philosophy and theology who was born in 450 AH near Thus, Khurasan, Islamic Republic of Iraq. His important work, "Al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad" (Balance in Belief), provides an in-depth view of Allah's actions, while also being a critical response to Mu'tazilite rationalist thought. This research aims to analyze al-Ghazali's claims regarding Allah's actions and discuss his refutation of Mu'tazilah arguments which emphasize rationality and justice in Divine actions. Al-Ghazali argued that Allah has absolute freedom and his actions are not bound by human understandings of justice and rationality. In contrast, the Mu'tazilites argued that every action of Allah must be in accordance with the principles of justice that can be understood by human reason. This research uses text and context analysis to explore al-Ghazali's argumentative methods and their impact on the theological debates of his time, as well as to understand their relevance in Islamic theological discourse. The results of the research show that according to al-Ghazali, God can burden humans with something they are unable to do, which is different from the Mu'tazilah view which rejects this concept. The Mu'tazilites emphasized that God should not burden humans with something beyond their abilities, because this is considered unfair and destructive. This research provides in-depth insight into al-Ghazali's theological position in defending the doctrine of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah from the Mu'tazilite rationalist challenge

Divine Design and the Creation-Evolution Debate as Questions for Christian-Muslim Dialogue

ABSTRACT Inter-religious discussion on science and religion can help focus on neglected theological and metaphysical aspects. Here, I consider two examples of this: (1) the effect of models of divine action on design arguments, and (2) the effect of theological hermeneutics on the creation-evolution debate. Regarding design arguments, I analyze and respond to Shoaib A. Malik’s four Ashʿari criticisms of the design argument. Regarding theological hermeneutics, and building on Malik’s analysis, I use the debates over the Age of the Earth and the Flood as a test case of the differences between Christian and Muslim ways of interpretation.

Divine Action and Emergence: An Alternative to Panentheism by Mariuscz Tabaczek, O.P. (review)

Divine Action and Emergence: An Alternative to Panentheism by Mariuscz Tabaczek, O.P. (review)

The God of Chance and Purpose: Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World

The God of Chance and Purpose: Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World

The Origin of Humanity and Evolution: Science and Scripture in Conversation

The Origin of Humanity and Evolution: Science and Scripture in Conversation

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

NIODA and the Problem of Evil: God as Ultimate Determiner

The problem of evil permeates contemporary theodicy, raising the question of how an omnipotent and benevolent God can allow its existence. Exploring this inquiry is inherently tied to investigating divine action, specifically the interplay between time and eternity within a temporary creation. In recent decades, the Non-Interventionist Objective Divine Action (NIODA) project has endeavored to present a science-backed perspective that acknowledges a respectful divine action harmonizing with the workings of nature. However, this viewpoint has faced criticism from various angles, particularly for its perceived inability to provide a definitive response to the problem of evil. This contribution aims to overcome these criticisms. While not necessarily endorsing the NIODA proposal, it seeks to present a fresh outlook on the question of evil that aligns with NIODA, addressing the dichotomy between the unity and plurality of divine action in the world and offering novel insights for the Christian doctrine of creation.

Murphy's Anselmian theism and the problem of evil

Abstract Mark Murphy has recently defended a novel account of divine agency on which God would have very minimal requiring reasons and a wide range of merely justified reasons. This account grounds his response to the problem of evil. If God would not have requiring reasons to promote the well-being of creatures, Murphy argues, then the evil we observe would not count as evidence against theism. I argue that Murphy's conclusion, if successful in undermining the problem of evil, also undermines probabilistic arguments for theism. However, there is good reason to resist his conclusion. Even if God does not have requiring reasons, but merely has justifying reasons, to promote creaturely well-being, God may nevertheless have most motivating reason to do so, and this would be enough to predict divine action, at least given Murphy's further assumption that God is perfectly free. It does not follow from the rational permissibility of God's Φ-ing that it is possible for God to Φ.

Scientific Realism and Anti-Realism Through the Lens of Sunnī Divine Action Models

ABSTRACT Scientific realism and anti-realism, in various forms, frame many philosophical discussions about what constitutes a successful scientific theory. This paper explores this within an Islamic framework by examining the Sunnī theological tradition's various divine action models (DAMs) for their possible impact upon the theological reception of scientific realism and anti-realism, concluding that the tradition would be committed to an agnostic stance on the question. This enables the tradition to remain relevant to a broad spectrum of future scientific developments and changing intellectual currents.