I honestly do not know how you know when God "irruptively breaks the
continuity of creaturely cause/effect relationships and coerces creatures
(any member of the Creation, animate or inanimate) to do something beyond or
contrary to their God-given capabilities." He who sustains the creation is
in full control and it is hard for humans to know how that translates into
what we experience and know. Moorad
----- Original Message -----
From: "Howard J. Van Till" <hvantill@novagate.com>
To: "Moorad Alexanian" <alexanian@uncwil.edu>; <pruest@mysunrise.ch>
Cc: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: Response to: What does the creation lack?
> >From: Moorad Alexanian <alexanian@uncwil.edu>
>
> > I have a simple question regarding your last paragraph:
> >
> >>My hypothesis is that the creaturely system to which God has given being
> >> (which includes atoms, molecules, cells, organisms and every physical,
> >> chemical and biological thing they are capable of doing) has the
> >> capabilities to actualize -- without divine intervention -- every type
of
> >> life form that has ever appeared on the face of the earth. Of course,
> > atoms,
> >> molecules and cells are themselves systems actualized from even simpler
> >> components.
> >
> > Is the creation apart from God in the sense that if God ceased to be,
then
> > the creation would still go on as you suppose?
>
> No, I have never suggested such a thin
>
> > If not, isn't that divine intervention?
>
> No, that divine action has long been referred to as God's action of
> "sustaining" the Creation in being. By "divine intervention" I have
> consistently meant a supernatural divine act that irruptively breaks the
> continuity of creaturely cause/effect relationships and coerces creatures
> (any member of the Creation, animate or inanimate) to do something beyond
or
> contrary to their God-given capabilities.
>
> As the terms are ordinarily used in theological discourse, "intervention"
> and "sustaining" are very different types of divine action.
>
> Howard Van Till
>
>
>
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