Is God passive in His permissive will?

[LeonardDeNoblac]

God is Pure Act, so there is no passive power in Him (S.T., I, q. 25, art. 1 ). But God is not the active principle of evil, but merely allows it to be committed by free human beings, in His permissive will. But this seems to imply passivity from the part of God. How do we solve this difficulty?

 

[Jen7]

Hmmm… maybe because he’s not passive but actively attempting to turn our hearts back to him while holding Himself back from overriding our wills / the laws of nature and directly intervening?? I may let my stubborn child stand on an overturned salad bowl, knowing she will slide off and fall on her bottom… but I don’t let her do it passively. While she climbs up there I’m saying “hey, sweetie! You’re going to fall! That is not going to make a good step stool!” But if she just insists on doing it… I just might let her experience the consequences so she really learns for next time.

 

[johnjacob2004]

Because humans are separate from God, God is not pantheistic. Humans and fallen angels have free will and God actively upholds existence and free will, but passively allows free will to be free will.

 

[johnjacob2004]

Love is never forced on humans, God has acted in our lives, but passively waits for humans to choose to love.

 

[Wm777]

When a building is built, there is usually an architect, contractor and owner involved. Each plays their part in the construction process; they all actively work together collaboratively and cooperatively.

In the case of the Trinity, God built man and sustains him day to day; in turn, when man cooperates with God, they build a city together in the Spirit of Truth.

According to your question, now, try removing God from the picture, if possible, as in the case of sin. You’ll see the buildings crumble and the city fall. This is because the work of the creature is not greater than its Creator. In fact, since you’re positing God as action, the building’s materials wouldn’t even be able to actually exist to be assembled into a building; at best, they would only remain in a state of potential. But, generally, it seems, when man uses his freewill to act outside of God’s way, it doesn’t last long at all. Larger projects may last awhile, but eventually they’ll all give way to the natural order of things.

The only way the buildings and city could remain standing in this situation is if God was actually to somehow come into agreement with the human effort, and then the building would stand because it would be “reconnected” to the Source of all Creation’s existence.

So, only if the Lord builds the castle, will it be built upon rock; and, it will remain.

The mortar is the common and shared faith between God, man and all creation; similar to the Architect, Contractor and Owner.

fwiw, that’s my best guess anyway…

 

[Latin]

Joseph said about the treachery perpetrated by his brothers, “You meant it for evil; God meant it for good” (Gen.50:20).

God’s Decretive will was served through the bad will of Joseph’s brothers.

This does not mean that since they were only doing the Decretive will of God the acts of the brothers were actually virtuous.
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324 Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life.
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That God brings good out of evil only underscores the power and the excellence of His sovereign, decretive will.

We face difficulties. When God is “passive,” He is, in a sense, actively passive.

God’s permissive will is NEVER OUTSIDE His Decretive will, He is actively wills His permissive will.

The Decretive Will is God’s determination of what will be, assuring that His plan for man will come to pass.

The Decretive Will is related to the Decrees of God; it is to do with the plan of God.

The Decretive Will of God determines all events that happened or will happen in the Universe, man can never negate the Decrees of God.

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The Divine will is cause of all things that happen, as Augustine says (De Trin. iii, 1 seqq.). Therefore all things are subject to fate.

The same is true for events in our lives. Relative to us they often appear to be by chance.
But relative to God, who directs everything according to his divine plan, nothing occurs by chance.

Hence if this divine influence stopped, every operation would stop.
Every operation, therefore, of anything is traced back to Him as its cause. (Summa Contra Gentiles, Book III.)

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St. Thomas (C. G., II, xxviii) if God’s purpose were made dependent on the foreseen free act of any creature, God would thereby sacrifice His own freedom, and would submit Himself to His creatures, thus abdicating His essential supremacy–a thing which is, of course, utterly inconceivable.

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Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott;

For every salutary act internal supernatural grace of God (gratia elevans) is absolutely necessary, (De fide).

There is a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul, which precedes the free act of the will, (De fide).
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St. Thomas teaches that all movements of will and choice must be traced to the divine will: and not to any other cause, because Gad alone is the cause of our willing and choosing. CG, 3.91.
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308 The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator.
God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes:
"For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."171
Far from diminishing the creature’s dignity, this truth enhances it.

2022; “The divine initiative in the work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man. Grace responds to the deepest yearnings of human freedom, calls freedom to cooperate with it, and perfects freedom.”

God bless

 

[Richca]

God is the first cause of the human act of sin or evil for God is the first efficient cause of all being and an evil or sinful human act is a being, it exists. But that an human act is evil is due to the human person for a sinful or evil human act lacks being and goodness but not entirely which is due to the human person but that a human act is an act or being at all, God is the first cause of it. No human person or any creature can produce an act at all, good or evil, without God as the first cause and first mover of it.

 

[steve-b]

God is Pure Act, so there is no passive power in Him (S.T., I, q. 25, art. 1 ). But God is not the active principle of evil, but merely allows it to be committed by free human beings, in His permissive will. But this seems to imply passivity from the part of God. How do we solve this difficulty?

In Genesis, I think this explains it all

Gen 30

We don’t live in a consequence free existence.

AND

God gives us free will, therefore he gives us choice. And we are to exercise choice properly.

Therefore

Choose blessings and life, not death and curses. But the choice is there.

 

[Wesrock]

God is Pure Act, so there is no passive power in Him (S.T., I, q. 25, art. 1 ). But God is not the active principle of evil, but merely allows it to be committed by free human beings, in His permissive will. But this seems to imply passivity from the part of God. How do we solve this difficulty?

God is not passive. He is active in enabling the operation of our voluntary wills. If people say he is passive or permissive in this sense, they’re not referring to his state of being, but simply to him allowing human freedom and cooperation. But this does not mean he is not in act.

 

[o_mlly]

God is Pure Act, so there is no passive power in Him (S.T., I, q. 25, art. 1 ). But God is not the active principle of evil, but merely allows it to be committed by free human beings, in His permissive will. But this seems to imply passivity from the part of God. How do we solve this difficulty?

Unlike his Creator, man does not enjoy the fullness of being. When he commits evil, man decreases his being. When he complies with his Creator’s will he increases his being.

The fullness of God’s being is neither increased or decreased by man’s acts, good or evil. As God is the source of all goodness, the effects of man’s good acts merely affirm His goodness. The effects of man’s evil acts await the fullness of God’s being which always brings goodness even out of that evil. His economy of salvation is a “full-time job” in making, saving and sanctifying us, so to speak.

 

[Maximus1]

I think God pours out his love and grace and it it not dependant on us.
He makes it rain on " everyone."
Also, we possess a Divine Indwelling.

 

[EndTimes]

But God is not the active principle of evil, but merely allows it to be committed by free human beings, in His permissive will. But this seems to imply passivity from the part of God. How do we solve this difficulty?

No need to solve anything…

There’s neither difficulty nor problem.

Man’s will is Freely Given by God: Ergo, God shall not override Man’s Free will.

No evil which Man does - can be blamed Upon God; rather, only upon Man

Were there No Free Will. Then? No Need for Commandments.

IF a person Murders - that event occurs b/c the person willfully DisObeys God