Divine power, justice, and reconciliation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2024.v10n3.a6Keywords:
divine limitation theory, theodicy, omnipotence, reconciliationAbstract
This contribution seeks to provide a plausible answer to the question as to whether the biblical concepts of justice and reconciliation are compatible with the notion of an omnipotent God. Justice presupposes conditions of injustice, while reconciliation presupposes situations of enmity. This give rise to questions about theodicy: If God is an omnipotent and good being, why would he in the first place have allowed a dysfunctional situation where injustice and enmity could enter creation? The question is dealt with in three sections. The first evaluates answers provided by divine self-limitation theory and the opposing secundae causae theory. I point out that these theories show serious shortcomings. Section 2 reflects on divine power from a philosophical, theological, and biblical perspective. I argue that omnipotence does not mean that God possesses a capacity to act in logically impossible ways. Moreover, omnipotence is a non-necessary attribute of God. God is not a prisoner of his power but can limit and retake his power whenever he wants to. Section 3 deals with the relation between divine power, justice, and reconciliation. I argue that the topic of divine power must be approached through a trinitarian lens that understands God’s attributes in terms of his ad intra perichoretic communion which is revealed ad extra through the concrete ways in which God deals with us. Seen in this light, the exercise of divine power is intricately related to God’s nature as a faithful, loving, and free being who allows for creaturely freedom and who decides to redeem and renew rather than to coerce and obliterate.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Nico Vorster
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Please note that erroneous copyright information is given in the PDFs before Volume 9, 2023.