There really is nothing new under the sun.
“For if there is reason in the universe, if things have any cause and purpose, then there must be a God who embodies and expresses reason: for God is not to be thought of as an arbitrary despot.”
If God do all things at his pleasure,
Because he will, and not because it's good,
So that his actions will have no set measure,
Is't possible it should be understood
What he intends?
- Henry More, Philosophical Poems, 1647
"Just as reason in the universe implies a Divine Reasoner - and by the same token design in the universe implies a Divine Designer - so also reason within the creation entails the Creator's having a purpose, which is the good of his creation."
2 comments:
So are you trying to say that you're not a voluntarist?
Out of curiosity, what do most modern Christians believe? Do the mainstream denominations have a consensus position? (I only know about the C17 debate!)
You know, I can't even remember where these quotes are from (except the Henry More one, of course)! They might be from Alister McGrath, but I'll have to check sometime. Not now - I've got a PhD thesis to finish!
To be honest, I don't think most modern Christians would have a clue whether they were voluntarists or not, and neither would they care!
I don't think anyone wants to say that God is an arbitrary despot (except perhaps for Richard Dawkins, but he's not a Christian, so he doesn't count in this discussion) but on the other hand, no one wants to say that God is constrained by anything.
Most likely, the average Christian would put this in the "too hard" basket, along with questions like "how can God be sovereign while we have free will" and "how can God be three persons in one" etc.
We don't know - he just is!
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