The new book offers whole chapters devoted to eight questions. Topics include prayer, miracles, eschatology, creation, love, Jesus, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/kindle-cover-2-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOne chapter explores what it means to say “God acts.” This blog essay is an excerpt. So…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOD AND YOUR PARENTS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Did God create you, or did your parents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best answer to these two questions is \u201cyes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t mean it\u2019s a paradox. I mean creating involves multiple causes. In this example, your parents couldn\u2019t create you without God\u2019s action. But an uncontrolling God can\u2019t create you without your parents\u2019 actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It takes (at least) two, baby!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea our lives required both divine and creaturely causation may seem obvious. But some theologians reject it. They worry this makes God \u201cone cause among many,\u201d to use their expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BISHOP BARRON SAYS GOD IS NOT ONE CAUSE AMONG OTHERS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/bishopbarron-1-206x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBishop Robert Barron raised this worry during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. He was responding to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who said humans, not God, stopped the virus from spreading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnderlying [his statement),\u201d said Barron, \u201cis the view God is one competitive cause among others. [Cuomo thinks] there\u2019s all the causality we affect in the world. But alongside that, there\u2019s the fussy intervening causality of God. [I believe] God is not one fussy cause among many.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of what Barron says in his several minute response fits the uncontrolling love view. He says, for instance, God and <\/em>humans worked to combat the virus. He rejects the idea of God intervening, and he says God enables humans to act. But unlike Barron, the uncontrolling love perspective believes God is one cause among many.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Barron thinks at stake when saying God is \u201cone cause among many\u201d emerges when he recommends how we should think about overcoming the Coronavirus. We should say, \u201cWe did it,\u201d he says, \u201cand God has everything <\/em>to do with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWe should say in regard to this and anything else,” says Barron, “\u2018Oh Lord, it was you<\/em> who has accomplished all that we<\/em> have done.\u2019\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nYOU <\/em>DID ALL WE <\/em>HAVE DONE?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n“You<\/strong> <\/em>did all we<\/strong> <\/em>have done?” What\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n\n\n\nSaying God is not one cause among many leads to confusion. This claim makes it impossible to know whom we should praise or blame. To say God \u201caccomplished all that we have done\u201d sounds like God acted as a sufficient cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It makes no sense to say God did it all <\/em>and creatures did some. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nImagine saying, \u201cShe did it all, but I helped.\u201d If you helped, she didn\u2019t do it all<\/em>. There were multiple causes: your causation alongside hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe problem with saying \u201cGod isn\u2019t one cause among many\u201d remains largely hidden when good things happen. God gets all <\/em>the credit. \u201cIt\u2019s all God,\u201d a diva might say in response to praise and applause. And we might think, \u201cShe\u2019s humble, after all.\u201d Giving God all <\/em>the credit means we get none.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf God is the sole <\/em>cause of good, however, we are wrong to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d to those who help. No need to thank the chef; God did it. We should not express gratitude to those who sacrifice for our sake; it was all God. From this view, it\u2019s nonsense to say \u201cThanks!\u201d to a teacher, medical worker, garbage collector, computer technician, or police officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAny good they seemed to have done was, in Barron\u2019s view, fully accomplished by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHEN THINGS GO BAD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The problem with saying, \u201cGod is not one cause among many\u201d becomes more obvious when tragedy, abuse, and other evils occur. If, as Bishop Barron says, God \u201cdoes it all\u201d and \u201caccomplishes everything,\u201d we should blame God for evil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God did the bad too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God \u201cdoes it all but is not one cause among many\u201d is how some theologians weasel out of conceptual conundrums like the problem of evil. \u201cGod\u2019s causation isn\u2019t like ours,\u201d is what they\u2019re saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s just a sophisticated way to play the mystery card. It removes any responsibility from God.[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
My overall point: we should say God is one cause among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God is not an exception to the basic rules of causation. God has unique causal functions, of course. For instance, God provides opportunities to creation. And God is the only causal individual who exists everlastingly. But God can act in these uniquely causal ways as one cause among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God and creatures affect what happens in life. When we experience goodness, we should praise God for being its source. But we should also thank creatures who cooperated with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When outcomes are evil, we can blame uncooperative creatures, random events, or the conditions of creation. God did not want this evil, and creatures and creation sometimes oppose God\u2019s work for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/kindle-cover-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSaying God is one cause among others makes better sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope you found this excerpt helpful. Please consider getting Questions and Answers for God Can’t<\/strong><\/em>. It’s currently in audiobook and ebook. The print version will be published in July 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n[i]<\/a> Bishop Robert Barron, \u201cBishop Barron Governor Cuomo and the Nature of God https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IgI29K3DC8w<\/a> (accessed 5\/18\/20)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBishop Robert Barron raised this worry during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. He was responding to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who said humans, not God, stopped the virus from spreading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnderlying [his statement),\u201d said Barron, \u201cis the view God is one competitive cause among others. [Cuomo thinks] there\u2019s all the causality we affect in the world. But alongside that, there\u2019s the fussy intervening causality of God. [I believe] God is not one fussy cause among many.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of what Barron says in his several minute response fits the uncontrolling love view. He says, for instance, God and <\/em>humans worked to combat the virus. He rejects the idea of God intervening, and he says God enables humans to act. But unlike Barron, the uncontrolling love perspective believes God is one cause among many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Barron thinks at stake when saying God is \u201cone cause among many\u201d emerges when he recommends how we should think about overcoming the Coronavirus. We should say, \u201cWe did it,\u201d he says, \u201cand God has everything <\/em>to do with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe should say in regard to this and anything else,” says Barron, “\u2018Oh Lord, it was you<\/em> who has accomplished all that we<\/em> have done.\u2019\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n “You<\/strong> <\/em>did all we<\/strong> <\/em>have done?” What\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saying God is not one cause among many leads to confusion. This claim makes it impossible to know whom we should praise or blame. To say God \u201caccomplished all that we have done\u201d sounds like God acted as a sufficient cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It makes no sense to say God did it all <\/em>and creatures did some. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine saying, \u201cShe did it all, but I helped.\u201d If you helped, she didn\u2019t do it all<\/em>. There were multiple causes: your causation alongside hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with saying \u201cGod isn\u2019t one cause among many\u201d remains largely hidden when good things happen. God gets all <\/em>the credit. \u201cIt\u2019s all God,\u201d a diva might say in response to praise and applause. And we might think, \u201cShe\u2019s humble, after all.\u201d Giving God all <\/em>the credit means we get none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If God is the sole <\/em>cause of good, however, we are wrong to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d to those who help. No need to thank the chef; God did it. We should not express gratitude to those who sacrifice for our sake; it was all God. From this view, it\u2019s nonsense to say \u201cThanks!\u201d to a teacher, medical worker, garbage collector, computer technician, or police officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Any good they seemed to have done was, in Barron\u2019s view, fully accomplished by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with saying, \u201cGod is not one cause among many\u201d becomes more obvious when tragedy, abuse, and other evils occur. If, as Bishop Barron says, God \u201cdoes it all\u201d and \u201caccomplishes everything,\u201d we should blame God for evil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n God did the bad too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God \u201cdoes it all but is not one cause among many\u201d is how some theologians weasel out of conceptual conundrums like the problem of evil. \u201cGod\u2019s causation isn\u2019t like ours,\u201d is what they\u2019re saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s just a sophisticated way to play the mystery card. It removes any responsibility from God.[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n My overall point: we should say God is one cause among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n God is not an exception to the basic rules of causation. God has unique causal functions, of course. For instance, God provides opportunities to creation. And God is the only causal individual who exists everlastingly. But God can act in these uniquely causal ways as one cause among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God and creatures affect what happens in life. When we experience goodness, we should praise God for being its source. But we should also thank creatures who cooperated with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When outcomes are evil, we can blame uncooperative creatures, random events, or the conditions of creation. God did not want this evil, and creatures and creation sometimes oppose God\u2019s work for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saying God is one cause among others makes better sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you found this excerpt helpful. Please consider getting Questions and Answers for God Can’t<\/strong><\/em>. It’s currently in audiobook and ebook. The print version will be published in July 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [i]<\/a> Bishop Robert Barron, \u201cBishop Barron Governor Cuomo and the Nature of God https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IgI29K3DC8w<\/a> (accessed 5\/18\/20)<\/p>\n\n\n\nYOU <\/em>DID ALL WE <\/em>HAVE DONE?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WHEN THINGS GO BAD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
CONCLUSION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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