Creatio ex Capacitas and Creatio Continua: When having Power just isn't Enough
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, "Let there be light;" and there was light. ~ (Genesis 1:1-2a; 3 NRSV).
The biblical passage above has been the subject of much debate in light of not only how God created, but also as to out of what He created. There are two main camps in this debate: those who affirm creatio ex nihilo and those who affirm panentheism. Both speak of God's omnipotent creativity expressed through the generation of new modes of existence. Creatio ex nihilo advocates claim that God did this 'out of nothing;' creating all things out of absolutely nothing. Panentheists purport that God created by influencing a realm of 'non-divine actualities.' These non-divine actualities are comprised of 'moments of experience,' which have always been, and these actualities present the options from which the next moments are created. Panentheists believe a realm of actualities has always existed alongside God, although the individual actualities themselves are neither eternal nor do possess any divine power in, or of, themselves.
Those on both sides of this debate profess God to be a sovereign, holy, omnipresent, and a personal being who interacts with the loving intent of bringing about the most possible good for all creation. The discrepancy in the debate is found in the different views of how this goal is carried out. As a result, some of the attributes of God are conceived differently: in particular God's love and omnipotence, and free creaturely response to God.
Those professing creation ex nihilo come under fire by those who ask the question "what is nothing?" This question cannot be ignored, because, while it endows God with unlimited power over creation by showing Him to be the sole actor in creating, creatio ex nihilo seems paradoxical. Or as Peter Van Inwgen says,
To say that there is nothing is to say that there isn't anything, not even vast emptiness. If there were a vast emptiness, there would be no material object - no atoms or elementary particles or anything made of them - but there would nevertheless be something: the vast emptiness (Qtd. "Creation Out of Nothing" Lodahl. 2).
Critics criticize panentheists for affirming the existence of a 'realm of non-divine actualities.
Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ” A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it.
is absolutely nothing in the world, no sky, no earth, no minds, no bodies." Then he goes on to say that
Hemp was viewed as a threat to several competing industries which caused them to create a smear campaign against hemp. By associating hemp with marijuana and by creating the propaganda film “Reefer Madness” this caused hysteria amongst the population (History of Hemp, n.d.). Hemp prohibition started in the 1930s. Hemp was grouped under the umbrella of marijuana and effectively made illegal under the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. Furthermore, In 1970 Industrial hemp was classified as marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act in spite of decades of government-funded research that identified industrial hemp to have a unique structure and function (Hemp’s History, n.d.). In spite of Hemp being illegal in America, Hemp is legally grown in about 30 countries around the world, with China and France as the leading producers of hemp. Canada our neighbor to the north legalized Hemp cultivation in 1998. Farmers, there must have a licensed and also grow approved low-THC seeds. Hemp grown in Canada has to be tested to ensure they contain less than 0.3 percent THC. This essay will
In order for Canada to share an equal part in the overall media industry as any other country, Canadian content regulations must be in place. CanCon regulations should be enforced on Canadian media content, as it is a crucial aspect of national culture, representative of the country as a whole. Without such regulations determined by CanCon, Canadian society risks becoming lost within the commotion of international media and their varied interests.
Moreover, Stern’s explains how God is the creator of all things he is the uncreated [author’s italicization]. Furthermore, he gives in details God’s unfailing love for his creation by showing creation right from wrong. “According to the New Testament, he is love. His love is expressed, in part, in providing law
The rise of conventional antisemitism occurred in places like Germany, France, and Austria between 1817 and 1914. In Germany, it was because the Jews profited from the industrial revolution unlike most of the native population. In France, the Jews were blamed for the French downfall in World War II, and in Austria they merely blamed Jews for any problems they had. Because of this, these countries began to have new national ideas. They believed nations were culturally exclusive, meaning it should be one ethnic group, and one culture, and no other group should contaminate it. They believed Jews would deteriorate the race and weaken the ethnicity. Antisemitism then became a secular idea rather than a religious one. Gentiles hated Jews simply because they were Jewish, not because of their religion. Once the idea began, it spread rapidly. In Germany, they had antisemi...
Taras, D. (n.d.). Constructing canada: Do we need a public broadcaster to enhance democracy?. Communication and Canadian Society, 4-10.
Quebec's and Canada's main interest is the promotion and maintenance of their "cultural identity" and their main fear is too much American influence, especially within the media (Tremblay, 1992). In accordance with this need of protection, the Canadian broadcasting policy within the Broadcasting Act of 1991 strictly adheres to th...
Although Hester accepts the Puritan’s punishment like putting her in jail and standing on the scaffold, she does not allow her emotions to show on the outside. Instead she keeps the guilt she feels inside in the same way John Proctor hides his guilt from the Puritan community.
In Genesis, god created merely by speaking. It was god who created the heavens and earth also known as cosmos. Water was already pre-existent matter; everything else was created by god. It all began when god spoke in the darkness and said let there be light and there was light. God saw that the light was good. During the day there would be light, and the darkness would be at night. By the second and third day, god created a firmament (dome) which separated the waters from the waters. God called the firmament heaven and said that all the waters under heaven should be gathered as one allowing for dry land to appear. This created one place for the water and another place for dry land. It was the dry land that beca...
The concept of God can be a difficult one to grasp especially in today's world - a world in which anyone that believes in God is trying to define exactly what God is. To even attempt to grasp such a concept, one must first recognize his own beliefs in respect to the following questions: Is God our creator? Is God omnipotent (all-powerful) or omniscient (all-knowing) or both? Does God care? Is God with us? Does God interfere with life on earth? These questions should be asked and carefully answered if one should truly wish to identify his specific beliefs in God's existence and persistence.
Throughout history many groups of people have been ostracized for their appearance, religion, cultural, and social traits. Beginning in ¬¬¬pre-Christian society people of the Jewish faith have been blamed and alienated from society. Anti-Semitism, or hostility or prejudice against Jews was a distorted belief that changed course over history. Although in pre-Nazi Germany anti-Semitism was apparent, Hitler used propaganda to change anti-Semitism from some people having prejudice towards Jews to eventually the dehumanization and genocide of Jewish people.
The problem of evil is a lasting philosophical problem that goes back as far as Epicurus. Aquinas believes that the problem of evil is not a proper question to be asking because those asking it are not taking into account God’s nature. However, I maintain that Aquinas’s philosophy does not refute the problem of evil. To illustrate this I will raise three objections to Aquinas. First, I will show that although Aquinas is not attempting a theodicy, his arguments lead him into a position where one must defend how God can exist in a world with evil. Next, I will argue that moral agency is required for goodness. Then, I will contend that the problem of evil requires a moral justification.
When God created the world “by faith is we understand that the world were framed by the word of God, so that the things which we see how did not come into being out of things which had previously appeared” (Athanasius...