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3 - Not out of God

God Is Not the Material Cause of Creation

from I - Participation and Causation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2019

Andrew Davison
Andrew Davison
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

Alone among Aristotle's four causes, the dynamic of material causation cannot be ascribed to God when it comes to creation. The material cause is that 'out of which' something comes to be, and creation is not made out of God. God is, however, the cause of materiality. Discussion of these themes allows us to see the profound difference between accounts of participation and notions of pantheism or panentheism. It also opens up a discussion of what it means for creatures to be 'substantial': they have real being, but it is not self-grounded being; they have being, but it is being had from another.

Keywords

participationtheologydoctrinemetaphysicsAquinasmaterial causationmaterial causepantheismsubstantiality
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Participation in God
A Study in Christian Doctrine and Metaphysics
 , pp. 65 - 83
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Not out of God
  • Andrew Davison, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Participation in God
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108629287.005
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  • Not out of God
  • Andrew Davison, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Participation in God
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108629287.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Not out of God
  • Andrew Davison, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Participation in God
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108629287.005
Available formats
×