DOES DIVINE ACTION REQUIRE DIVINE INTERVENTION?GOD’S ACTIONS IN THE WORLD AND THE PROBLEM OFSUPERNATURAL CAUSATION

摘要

THE BELIEF THAT GOD ACTIVELY ACTS IN THE WORLD HAS BEEN FUNDAMENTAL TO CLASSICALCHRISTIAN THEOLOGY THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. SINCE THE RISE OFMODERN SCIENCE, HOWEVER, THIS TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S ACTIONS HASATTRACTED MORE AND MORE CRITIQUE. FIRSTLY, IT HAS BEEN ARGUED THAT GOD CANNOT ACTIN THE WORLD WITHOUT VIOLATING THE ALLEGEDLY ALL-ENCOMPASSING LAWS OF NATURE,AND, CONSEQUENTLY, BECAUSE THE LAWS OF NATURE CANNOT PRESUMABLY BE BROKENUNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, IT IS CONSIDERED ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TOINFLUENCE THE PHYSICAL WORLD IN ANY WAY. SECONDLY, IT HAS BEEN CLAIMED THAT EVEN IFBREAKING THE LAWS OF NATURE WAS NOT, IN THEORY, IMPOSSIBLE, IT WOULD STILL BE, INPRACTICE, IMPOSSIBLE FOR AN IMMATERIAL ENTITY SUCH AS GOD TO INFLUENCE THEMATERIAL WORLD BECAUSE NO MECHANISM OF SUPERNATURAL CAUSATION EXISTS.IN THIS ARTICLE, I ARGUE THAT THE FIRST OBJECTION, I.E., THAT GOD CANNOT ACT IN THEWORLD, HOLDS PARTLY TRUE. I MAINTAIN THAT GOD CANNOT ACT WITHOUT INTERFERING WITHTHE PROCESSES OF NATURE (ALTHOUGH SOME RECENT ATTEMPTS OF BUILDING NONINTERVENTIONIST THEORIES OF GOD’ ACTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE). NEVERTHELESS, I DO NOTSEE HOW GOD’S INTERVENTION WOULD CONSTITUTE A PROBLEM FOR MODERN PHYSICS, AS HASOFTEN BEEN PROPOSED. MOREOVER, THE SECOND CLAIM, I.E., THAT IMMATERIAL ENTITIESCANNOT AFFECT MATERIAL ENTITIES, IS NOT BASED ON EVIDENCE BUT ON AN UNFOUNDEDASSUMPTION THAT BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW THE MECHANISM OF CAUSATION BETWEENIMMATERIAL AND MATERIAL ENTITIES, THIS CAUSATION IS NOT POSSIBLE.