The immortality of the soul

[steph_86]

St Thomas Aquinas holds that the immortality of the soul proceeds from its immateriality, its spirituality and its simplicity. The soul is immortal and will enjoy for all eternity the eternal blessedness of Heaven, or the damnation of hell.

God maintains everything into being. In him, we move, live and have our being. I would like to know according to what attributes of God, he maintains all souls into being. In particular, does the existence of all living things depend on the Will of God or on his Intellect?

In fact, it is known that, God has also the power to annihilate the soul totally and absolutely. Does God’s Will or God’s Intellect prevent him from contradicting the fruits of his Creative Thought? We know that God is immutable, yet how can we reconcile his contingent decisions with his Eternal Law, the plan he has formed at the beginning of creation.

 

[The_Exodus]

St Thomas Aquinas holds that the immortality of the soul proceeds from its immateriality, its spirituality and its simplicity. The soul is immortal and will enjoy for all eternity the eternal blessedness of Heaven, or the damnation of hell.

God maintains everything into being. In him, we move, live and have our being. I would like to know according to what attributes of God, he maintains all souls into being. In particular, does the existence of all living things depend on the Will of God or on his Intellect?

In fact, it is known that, God has also the power to annihilate the soul totally and absolutely. Does God’s Will or God’s Intellect prevent him from contradicting the fruits of his Creative Thought? We know that God is immutable, yet how can we reconcile his contingent decisions with his Eternal Law, the plan he has formed at the beginning of creation.

Great questions. I will offer what little I can.

Concerning the soul: yes, I believe you are on the right track. The soul is an immaterial substance. It is the form of the body, which is its matter, and the two make up a composite call a human being. (This is not dualism.)

All things whatsoever are depend on the will of God. Everything which is, even in God, is determined by his will. Hence, whatsoever he knows, he knows willingly, and he knows that he knows willingly. The mode of God’s knowledge is always dependent on his will.

There is a useful discussion, when thinking of these things, to speak of God’s will “before” and “after” his free decision to create. I find the best way to think of it is thusly:

God knows all things by knowing himself, and therefore, by knowing his essence, which is existence, he knows perfectly all that he is, and all that he is not. By knowing pure act perfectly, he subsequently knows all things that are merely potentially in act. St. Thomas says the same when answering “does God have knowledge of things that are not?” This knowledge is natural to God, in the sense of, if he never decreed to create a universe, he would nevertheless still know all that he knows. The only knowledge of God which can “change” is knowledge which is determined by his will, and hence, on the supposition that God did not will to create the universe, his knowledge would likewise be that, in fact, he did not create the universe. (See here for more on that point dhspriory.org/thomas/QDdeVer2.htm#13 )

Now, before God’s decree, he saw, say, an infinite number of universes which were purely possibile, but, on the supposition of his willing them to be, they would be actual. Since, at this point, his knowledge is not determined by any active decree of his, many people hold that, these infinite contingent truths or universes, exist always in the mind of God necessarily, since he necessarily wills to understand himself. Now, this is important, because it means that God can actualize a certain world, which contains contingent truths which were not determined by his decree; i.e. God did not determine Judas to reject Christ, but, rather, it was true in God’s mind that, were he to actualize this universe, Judas would freely reject Christ.

This is what the Molinists call “scientia media” and is very helpful in understanding the free choice of creatures, God’s foreknowledge, and his decree.

I’m sorry if this post has been sloppy or uninformative.

 

[JDaniel]

Great questions. I will offer what little I can.

Concerning the soul: yes, I believe you are on the right track. The soul is an immaterial substance. It is the form of the body, which is its matter, and the two make up a composite call a human being. (This is not dualism.)

All things whatsoever are depend on the will of God. Everything which is, even in God, is determined by his will. Hence, whatsoever he knows, he knows willingly, and he knows that he knows willingly. The mode of God’s knowledge is always dependent on his will.

There is a useful discussion, when thinking of these things, to speak of God’s will “before” and “after” his free decision to create. I find the best way to think of it is thusly:

God knows all things by knowing himself, and therefore, by knowing his essence, which is existence, he knows perfectly all that he is, and all that he is not. By knowing pure act perfectly, he subsequently knows all things that are merely potentially in act. St. Thomas says the same when answering “does God have knowledge of things that are not?” This knowledge is natural to God, in the sense of, if he never decreed to create a universe, he would nevertheless still know all that he knows. The only knowledge of God which can “change” is knowledge which is determined by his will, and hence, on the supposition that God did not will to create the universe, his knowledge would likewise be that, in fact, he did not create the universe. (See here for more on that point dhspriory.org/thomas/QDdeVer2.htm#13 )

Now, before God’s decree, he saw, say, an infinite number of universes which were purely possibile, but, on the supposition of his willing them to be, they would be actual. Since, at this point, his knowledge is not determined by any active decree of his, many people hold that, these infinite contingent truths or universes, exist always in the mind of God necessarily, since he necessarily wills to understand himself. Now, this is important, because it means that God can actualize a certain world, which contains contingent truths which were not determined by his decree; i.e. God did not determine Judas to reject Christ, but, rather, it was true in God’s mind that, were he to actualize this universe, Judas would freely reject Christ.

This is what the Molinists call “scientia media” and is very helpful in understanding the free choice of creatures, God’s foreknowledge, and his decree.

I’m sorry if this post has been sloppy or uninformative.

Pretty good, Exodus. BTW, you chose a great name. What a profound time for God’s chosen ones.

God bless,
jd