Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/644

 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

that His existence ean be demonstrated, as the anti- Modernist oath prescribed by Pius X expressly affirms. But this method of arriving at a knowledge of God is toilsome; for it must proceed by way of denying imperfection in God and of ascribing to Him in higher excellence (eminenter) whatever perfections are found in creatures; nor does the light of revela- tion and of faith elevate our knowledge to an essen- tially higher plane. Hence all our knowledge of God on this earth impUes painful deficiencies which will not be filled except by the beatific vision.

The metaphysical essence of God is generally said to be self-existence, which means, however, the ful- ness of being (Gr. avromla), and not merely the nega- tion of origin (ens a se — ens non ab alio). The so- called positive aseity of Prof. Schell, meaning that God realizes and produces himself, must be as uncom- promisingly rejected as the Pantheistic confusion of ens a se with the impersonal ens universale. The relation existing between God's essence and His attributes may not be called a real distinction (theoret- ical Jlealism, Gilbert de LaPorr^e), nor yet a purely logical distinction of the mind (Nominalism). Inter- mediary between these two objectionable extremes is the formal distinction of the Scotists. But the virtual distinction of the Thomists deserves prefer- ence in every regard, because it alone does not jeop- ardize the simplicity of the Divine Being. If self- existence is the fundamental attribute of God, both the attributes of being and of operation must proceed from it as from their root. The first class includes infinity, simpUcity, substantiality, omnipotence, immutability, eternity, and immensity; to the second category belong omniscience and the Divine will. Besides, many theologians distinguish from both these categories the so-called moral attributes: veracity, fidelity, wisdom, sanctity, bounty, beauty, mercy, and justice. Monotheism is best treated in connexion with God's simpUcity and unity. The most difficult problems are those which concern God's knowledge, especially His foreknowledge of free future actions. For it is here that both Thomists and Mofinists throw out their anchors to gain a secure hold for their respective systems of grace, the former for their -pTcemoiio physica, the latter for their scientia media. In treating of the Divine will, theolo- gians insist on God's freedom in His external activity, and when discussing the problem of evil, they prove that God can intend sin neither as an end nor as a means to an end, but merely permits it for reasons both holy and wise. While some theologians use this chapter to treat of God's salvific will and the allied questions of predestination and reprobation, others refer these subjects to the chapter on grace.

Being the corner-stone of the Christian rehgion, the doctrine of the Trinity is thoroughly and extensively discussed, all the more because the Liberal theology of the Protestants has relapsed into the ancient error of the Antitrinitarians. The dogma of God's three- fold personality, traces of which may be found in the Old Testament, can be conclusively proved from the New Testament and Tradition. 'The combat which the Fathers waged against Monarchianism, Sabel- lianism, and Subordinationism (Arius, Macedonius) aids considerably in shedding light on the mystery. Great importance attaches to the logos-doctrine of St. John; but as to its relation to the logos of the Stoic Neoplatonists, the Jewish Philonians, and the early Fathers, many points are still in an imsettled condition. The reason why there are three Persons is the twofold procession immanent in the Godhead: the procession of the Son from the Father by genera- tion, and the procession of the Holy Ghost from both the Father and the Son by spiration. In view of the Greek schism, the dogmatic justification of the addi- tion of the Filioquc in the Creed must be ecicntifically established. A philosophical understanding of the

dogma of the Trinity was attempted by the Fathers, especially by St. Augustine. "The most important result was the cognition that the Divine generation must be conceived as a spiritual procession from the intellect, and the Divine spiration as a procession from the will or from love. Active and passive generation, together with active and passive spiration, lead to the doctrine of the four relations, of which, however, only three constitute persons, to vriX, active and passive generation (Father, Son), and passive spiration (Holy Ghost). The reason whj' active spiration does not result in a distinct (fourth) person, is because it is one and the same common function of the Father and the Son. The philosophy of this mystery includes also the doctrine of the Divine properties, notions, appropriations, and missions. Finally, with the doctrine of circuminsession, which summarizes the whole theology of the Trinitj', the treatment of this dogma is brought to a fitting con- clusion.

(b) Creation (De Deo creanle). — The first act of God's external activity is creation. The theologian investigates both the activity itself and the work produced. With reg.ard to the former, the interest centres in creation out of nothing, around which, as along the circumference of a circle, are grouped a number of secondary truths: God's plan of the uni- verse, the relation between the Trinity and creation, the freedom of the Creator, the creation in time, the impossibiUty of communicating the creative power to any creature. These momentous truths not only perfect and purify the theistic idea of God, they also give the death-blow to heretical Dualism (God, matter) and to the Protean variations of Pan- theism. As the beginning of the world supposes creation out of nothing, so its continuation supposes Divine conservation, which is nothing less than a continued creation. However, God's creative activ- ity is not thereby exhausted. It enters into every action of the creature, whether necessary or free. What is the nature of God's universal co-operation with free, rational beings? On this question Tho- mists and Molinists differ ■widely. The former regard the Divine activity as a previous, the latter as a simultaneous, concursus. According to Molinism, it is only by conceiving the concinsus as simultaneous that true freedom in the creature can be secured, and that the essential holiness of the Creator can be maintained, the fact of sin notwithstanding. The crowning achievement of God's creative activity is His providence and universal government, which aims at the realization of the ultimate end of the universe, God's glory through His creatures.

The work produced by creation is divided into three kingdoms, rising in tiers one above another: world; man; angel. To this triad correspond dog- matic cosmology, anthropologj', angelologj'. In dis- cussing the first of these, the theologian must be satis- fied with general outlines, e. g. of the Creator's activity described in the hexaemeron. Anthropology is more thoroughly treated, hecau.se man, the micro- cosm, is the centre of creation. Revelation tells us many things about man's nature, his origin and the unity of the human race, the spirituality and inmior- tahty of the .soul, the relation of soul and body, the origin of individual souls. Above all, it tells us of supernatural grace with which man was adorned and which was intended to be a permanent possession of the human race. The discussion of man's original state must be preceded by a theory of the super- natural order witliout which the nature of original sin could not be understood. But original sin, the wilful repudiation of the ssuiiernatural state, is one of the most important chapters. Its existence must lie carefully proved from the sources of faith; its nature, tlie mode of its transmission, its effects, must be subjected to a thorough discussion. The fate of