According to the definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, theism means

: belief in the existence of a god or gods ; specifically : belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world

One of the major problems in the work of finding useful complementary interactions among science, philosophy, and theology is the question of divine action in creation: how does God interact with His creation?

Three are three basic schools of thought that address this question:

Classical theism (CT): God is Being per se; He created all contingent beings ex nihilo (from nothing) and holds all creation in existence; He exercises His will according to His nature as Love through instrumental causality (sacraments, people); He allows moral evil as a consequence of His choice to give His human creatures free will; natural evil is a consequence of the fall and the entrance of death into creation; He is Self-limiting, that is, limited only by His own choices and wholly unaffected by His creation. Total transcendence.

Pantheism (P): God is identical with creation, “All is God, God is All”; Spirit is the Soul/Mind of the physical universe, which is God’s body; everything is divine because everything is God, there is nothing “outside” God; God acts in the universe in a way analogous to the human mind acting within the human body; as the universe grows and changes, so does God; God is directly affected by free human choices; moral and natural evil are consequences of physical law, God is unable to intervene; He is naturally limited by physical law. Total immanence.

Panentheism (EN): God contains creation but transcends creation, “All in God, but not all of God in All”; creation is ex nihilo but also on-going; creatures assist in on-going creation through free will and choice; God allows His will to be affected by free human choices; He operates in the world through persuasive human agency; moral evil is a consequences of this agency; natural evil is the consequence of physical law. Transcendent and immanent.

Tags: Inspirational

Listeners to EWTN and Catholic Answers LIVE will probably be familiar with Patrick Madrid. You’ve heard him on the radio/podcasts. You’ve read his books. You’ve probably even seen and heard him speak in person. You may even have subscribed to his Envoy magazine. Now, here’s a chance for you to hear (read) more from this brilliant apologist.. his very own blog (rss)!

Patrick notes in his email newsletter (which you can subscribed to from PatrickMadrid.com), that he’ll be “regularly posting there, some things serious, some lighthearted, some theological, some non-theological, but hopefully, all of it interesting and thought-provoking. It will be another way for us to stay in touch.”

If you like Patrick’s frankness and sharpness in approaching sensitive yet important topics of the faith and the world, and have enjoyed what you’ve been seeing/reading/hearing from him all this while, this is one blog you’ll HAVE to keep a watch on!

For links to this and other blogs I like, please visit my Links page!

Tags: apologetics, blogs, Catholic, Reviews