God subtsance Spinoza

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billcu1

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Espinoza says God is infinite in attributes. And all substances have a nature. Ok now this is not what I’ve understood from Thomism. Aquinus if I understand right says God has no attributes. Is pure Act with No potency. And has three personages. If God is pure substance then he must have a nature now is this true? Substance is changed by transubstantiation without altering accidents of the wine and bread species. Does substance have nature? If so it can’t be God can it?

God is very abstract and mighty. And can be and is the most personal thing to us.
Right?
 
God’s substance is pure spirit.

And theological tomes are filled with discussion of God’s attributes: eternity, justice, omnipotence, mercy, omnipresence. But that’s another discussion. Attributes are not distinct from his essence or from each other.
 
JimG said:
God’s substance is pure spirit.

And theological tomes are filled with discussion of God’s attributes: eternity, justice, omnipotence, mercy, omnipresence. But that’s another discussion. Attributes are not distinct from his essence or from each other.
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The way I understood Aquinas and I might be wrong is that what you mentioned as attributes is for our understanding. For example, It’s not God has love God is love. God doesn’t have something he IS the thing. 🤷
 
billcu1 said:
The way I understood Aquinas and I might be wrong is that what you mentioned as attributes is for our understanding. For example, It’s not God has love God is love. God doesn’t have something he IS the thing. 🤷
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Yes, that’s exactly right. We can fill books discussing these attributes of God and what they mean. But each of them is identified with God’s essence. God is love, God is mercy, God is justice, etc. And God’s mercy is his justice which is his love.
 
JimG said:
Yes, that’s exactly right. We can fill books discussing these attributes of God and what they mean. But each of them is identified with God’s essence. God is love, God is mercy, God is justice, etc. And God’s mercy is his justice which is his love.
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Essence you say. Is that the same as Substance? Or spirit or nature? What is personage of? Is that his essence too?
 
billcu1 said:
Essence you say. Is that the same as Substance? Or spirit or nature? What is personage of? Is that his essence too?
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Philosophically speaking, essence is the same as the nature of a thing, which is to say, it’s substance. And since God is a pure Spirit, yes, his nature / essence / substance is one Spirit.

Person is a relation, not an essence. For example, I as a human being, and one essence–a human being. That’s my nature. I am also a person, which expresses who I am, but being a person does not make me two beings instead of one, because person is not a nature, but an expression of a nature as a who.
 
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