Therories Exalting Entire Dependence On God---Continured

Know that the 

LORD

He is God;

It is He who

has made us, and

not we ourselves,

We are His people

and the sheep

of His pasture.

Psalm 100:2

     Continuing to evaluate and examine those doctrines that advance the idea that all the universe is dependent upon God; removing second causes. All is God, all that happens is due to God exercising His power, man has little to do or nothing to do with the events in their life. I wrote of past theologians that are noted to be influential in the Christian religion and how many of those men taught and believed that God is all, and any event that seems as though, it be a second causes, is because ordered it has been that way. I wrote as to the imputation into the church this idea and and several questions that are to be answered; but first, you must know what is being taught. John Calvin, a reformer that has had much influence upon Protestantism did not go as far as other church men did, he admits that matter has its own properties, that matter within its properties has a cause and effect, a second cause derived from its matter, that there are second causes that are a real efficiency. Society as a whole, and individuals separately, are affected by the ideologies, philosophies, and without knowing, that they are affected by such men holding various philosophical views, such ideologies, as fully dependent upon God as taught, do what they do without knowing why they do what they do. Some just don't care; leave them alone they may say, I like the way I live. That attitude may last for awhile but as time goes on and life has made several turns that are distasteful you may begin to wonder how did all this happen? One man who in the seventeenth century, who had a major impact upon education, society as a whole and even infected some churches was: Rene Descartes who reinforced an ancient Grecian philosophy found in Plato and Aristotle; that the human mind or soul could not be identified with the physical body; he gave a name to this philosophy or idea: dualism. Descartes famous saying: "I reflect therefore I am" held that the immaterial mind and the material body are two completely different types of substance and that they interact with each other; the mind and the soul were indivisible. This ideology, or philosophy, merged second causes into the first cause leading the way to idealism and pantheism. Both 'ism's' are opposed to the God of the Bible.Some men such as Nicholas Malebranche (1638-1715), a philosopher and theologian of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; was a major French philosopher who followed Descartes and developed them to bring them more in line with standard Roman Catholic orthodox belief. He admitted that on the testimony of the Scriptures that God created the heavens and the earth and that the external world has a real existence. Then he denied that this external world and all the creation could produce any effects, or that the soul could in any way act upon matter. He admits that we see all things in God. In other words, when we perceive anything out of ourselves, these perceptions are not due to the impression made by the external objects, but to the immediate agency of God. Therefore, any activity of our minds is only a form of the activity of God. This system is only avowed idealism because all evidence of the existence of an external world was destroyed and his philosophy that he was advancing; was only Spinoza's pantheism; it must be simply admitted it is Cartesianism. From such men the church, not only the Catholic church, has been invaded with such thinking and teaching affecting the lives of those who desire to live Christian lives and know what and who God is, the doctrines of the Bible. The devout Reformed theologians desired to thwart all forms of Pelagian and semi-Pelagian doctrine went to far teaching that the dependence of creatures upon the Creator supersedes all efficiency of second causes. It was stated: "The of absolute dependence of the existence and course of the world permits has no other cause than the divine, so that intermediate causes are only his instruments and organs, it through their totality as through all the various intermediate causes solely through acting as the Cause, This is he very different the the presence of the gods or at least the essential virtue of the divine, which is the Being of all being, the movement of all movement of all movements." Men such Albert Schweizer and Schleirmacher, held to this doctrine, but this is not the doctrine of the Reformed theologians and is plainly known from all their teachings especially the doctrine of concursus, that is concurrence, which means to be acting together in combined action or effort. Albert Schweizer would only admit in opposition to this doctrine as he held that no creature can act, that is dependence upon God is absolute and all power that is manifested is the power of God, this leads to continued creation, a teaching that I refuted in an earlier blog. Furthermore, this teaching leads to the doctrine of occasional causes that second causes have no real efficiency, they are only God occasional power manifested in such a way in the world. It is only an instrument that God uses. It has been taught that God is unable to create independent agents because the world would be independent of God. Further that God would have endowed them with divinity. Therefore, since men are dependent agents, all their motions, exercises, or actions must originate in divine efficiency. This teaching teaches that God creates all the volitions of the soul, and effects and by his Almighty power causes all changes in the material world.
     From this overview of this doctrine that only God is effectual in the events, actions, the motions, of this universe and the effect that this doctrine has infected the church with such ideas, therefore the next blog by necessity must present the objections to this Doctrine of Dependence. This important Doctrine has affected people of all races as it has been taught by missionaries, pastors and educators leading people to believe that God is responsible for every action. Furthermore our worship of God is tainted by this Doctrine as it makes God the author of all that happens, both good and bad. It will be important to understand the objections. 

The words of the
    LORD are pure
words, like silver 
    tried in a furnace
of earth,
    purified seven times.
                Psalm 12:6


Draw Near to God and Hear Him


Richard L. Crumb