The Catholic World, Vol. 19, April 1874‐September 1874Various
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 19, April 1874‐September 1874
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
“The action of God upon us during life is constant, and this is what we
mean by his providence” (p. 137). This is another mistake. The author
confounds the notion of providence with that of _concursus_.
“In regard to its wrong use (of liberty), God cannot have an immediate,
but only a mediate, influence on man’s actions, in the sense that he has
granted liberty of which a bad use is made against his suggestions. His
sanctity forbids that he should act immediately in that case” (p. 138).
Not at all. God _immediately_ concurs to all our actions, whether good or
bad, as every theologian knows, inasmuch as they are physical actions; and
concurs neither immediately nor mediately to their badness, because their
badness is nothing but a privation, and therefore requires no efficient
cause.
The author misrepresents (pp. 138, 139) the doctrine of the Molinists
concerning the influence (_concursus_) of God upon our actions. He says
that this influence, according to the Molinists, “is positive and direct,
but _not on our will_,” and “consists in affording a concourse of
circumstances the most suitable for the determination.” The author may
have found this interpretation of Molina’s doctrine in some old book; but
it is known that the Molinists have always admitted God’s influence “on
our will,” though they never admitted the physical predetermination; and
it is no less certain that none of them maintain that “a concourse of
circumstances” suffices to explain God’s influence on our free actions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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