In theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term Divine Providence (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which refers to God's continuous upholding of the existence and natural order of the Universe, and "special providence", which refers to God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people.[1]Miracles and even retribution generally fall in the latter category.[2]
"Divine" evolved in the late 14th century to mean "pertaining to, in the nature of or proceeding from God or a god". This came from the Old French devin, with a similar meaning, and that from the Latin divinus, meaning "of a god", in turn from divus, with similar meaning, which was related the Latin deus, meaning god or deity. The word "providence" comes from Latin providentia meaning foresight or prudence, and that in turn from pro- "ahead" and videre "to see".[3] The current use of the word in the secular sense refers to foresight, or "timely preparation for eventualities",[4] or (if one is a deist or an atheist) "nature as providing protective care".[5]
Divine providence (Hebrew: השגחה פרטיתHashgochoh Protis / Hashgachah Pratit lit. [Divine] supervision of the individual) is discussed throughout Rabbinic literature, and in particular by the classical Jewish philosophers. These writings maintain that divine providence means that God is directing (or even recreating) every minute detail of creation. This analysis thus underpins much of Orthodox Judaism's world view, particularly as regards questions of interaction with the natural world.[6]
Roman Catholic
Augustine of Hippo is often associated with the doctrine of divine providence in the Latin West. Augustine held that the universe is under the continuous control and unifying governance of a single Supreme Being, since God's governance takes place over a vast multitude of relatively independent individuals differing in nature, function, and end.[7]
Christian teaching on Providence in the High Middle Ages was most fully developed by Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica. The concept of providence as care exercised by God over the universe, His foresight and care for its future is extensively developed and explained both by Aquinas himself and modern Thomists. One of the foremost modern Thomists, Dominican father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, wrote a study of providence entitled "Providence: God's loving care for men and the need for confidence in Almighty God." In it, He presents and solves, according to Catholic doctrine, the most difficult issues as related to Providence. However, Jean Pierre de Caussade (7 March 1675 – 8 December 1751) was a French Jesuit priest and writer. He is especially known for the work ascribed to him known as Abandonment to Divine Providence, and also his work with the Nuns of the Visitation in Nancy, France.
St. John Damascene describes it thus: "Providence is Divine will which maintains everything and wisely rules over everything".... It was not by chance that the iniquitous Israeli King Ahab was struck by an arrow that flew in between the seams of his armor. Truly that arrow was directed by the hand of God, just as was the one which struck Julian the Apostate; only for the soldier who let fly the arrow was it accidental. It was not by chance that swallows flew into the home of Tobit and blinded the righteous man. This happened at God’s command, in order to hold Tobit up as an example to succeeding generations, as we learn from the Angel who accompanied his son Tobias. Nothing happens by chance. It was not by chance that Caesar Augustus ordered the census to be taken in the year of Christ’s Nativity. It was not by chance that Christ met with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar and spoke with her. All this was foreseen and written down in the books of Divine Providence before the beginning of time.
In Lutheran theology, divine providence refers to God's preservation of creation, his cooperation with everything that happens, and his guiding of the universe.[9][10][11][12] While God cooperates with both good and evil deeds, with the evil deeds he does so only in as much as they are deeds, not with the evil in them. God concurs with an act's effect, but he does not cooperate in the corruption of an act or the evil of its effect.[13] Lutherans believe everything exists for the sake of the Christian Church, and that God guides everything for its welfare and growth.[14][15][16]
According to Martin Luther, divine providence began when God created the world with everything needed for human life, including both physical things and natural laws.[17] In Luther's Small Catechism, the explanation of the first article of the Apostles' Creed declares that everything people have that is good is given and preserved by God, either directly or through other people or things.[18] Of the services others provide us through family, government, and work, he writes, "we receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God."[19] Since God uses everyone's useful tasks for good, people should look not down upon some useful vocations as being less worthy than others. Instead people should honor others, no matter how lowly, as being the means God uses to work in the world.[19]
The concept of divine providence is an integral part of Reformed theology, which emphasizes the total depravity of man and the complete sovereignty of God. Article 13 of the Belgic Confession, a Reformed confession of faith, first outlines the doctrine, then explains why it does not entail that God is the author of evil, finally exhorting its readers to humility for this doctrine, which is said to afford great consolation to Christians.[20]
We believe that the same God, after he had created all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules and governs them according to his holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without his appointment: nevertheless, God neither is the author of, nor can be charged with the sins which are committed. For his power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible, that he orders and executes his work in the most excellent and just manner, even then, when devils and wicked men act unjustly.
The Confession draws from many biblical proof-texts, including Acts 4:27–28 ("For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done"). This text in particular is taken as illustrative of the concept of concursus dei ('divine concurrence'), which Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof defines as "the cooperation of the divine power with all subordinate powers, according to the pre-established laws of their operation, causing them to act and to act precisely as they do".[21] In the case of Acts 4, this means that the sinful doings of Herod, Pilate and others were permitted by God according to what his "counsel" had "determined before to be done". Divine providence and human free will are thus not regarded as contradictory; rather the former is said to be the very ordering principle of the latter (and furthermore, evil cannot be attributed to God, as his permitting of evil to occur was only in view of a greater end, which is the redemption of the elect in Acts 4). This has two implications: Firstly, that: "the powers of nature do not work by themselves, that is, simply by their own inherent power, but that God is immediately operative in every act of the creature." Secondly, that secondary causes "are real, and not to be regarded simply as the operative power of God. It is only on condition that second causes are real, that we can properly speak of a concurrence or co-operation of the First Cause with secondary causes."[21] The first implication, that God is 'immediately operative in every act of the creature', and steers the course of creation according to his will, distinguishes the Reformed faith from deism which states that God created the world but leaves it as if it were a mere mechanism, without intervening. The second implication, that secondary or contingent causes exist, refutes the opposite extreme of deism, which is occasionalism or pantheism; the idea that God is the only agent or cause that exists.[This quote needs a citation]
And, as to what he doth surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously inquire into, farther than our capacity will admit of; but with the greatest humility and reverence adore the righteous judgments of God, which are hid from us, contenting ourselves that we are disciples of Christ, to learn only those things which he has revealed to us in his word, without transgressing these limits. This doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation, since we are taught thereby, that nothing can befall us by chance, but by the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father; who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all creatures so under His power that not a hair of our head (for they are all numbered) nor a sparrow can fall to the ground, without the will of our Father, in whom we do entirely trust, being persuaded that he so restrains the devil and all our enemies, that without his will and permission, they cannot hurt us. And therefore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God regards nothing, but leaves all things to chance.
The Confession then takes a turn towards humility regarding this doctrine, 'And as to what He doth surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously inquire into it further than our capacity will admit of;' while also proclaiming the 'unspeakable consolation' that it affords for believers, who may be assured that nothing befalls them by chance but by the will of their Father. This is proved by the words of Christ in Matthew 10:29–31: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Finally, the article rejects Epicureanism, an ancient philosophy which taught that the world is ultimately chaotic, and that there is no underlying order or predestination, rather that everything is subject to luck or random chance. The doctrine of providence, and its implications regarding the immanence of God in all secondary causes, and the fact that nothing can come to pass without his divine foreordination, stands in direct contradiction to Epicureanism, as it asserts that nothing is chaotic or random, but rather that everything is absolutely dependent upon the necessary will of God. Calvin gives the metaphor in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, that Creation is a great theatre, in which the epic drama of human history and redemption is played out, all according to the direction of the divine will.[22]
"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me" (Daniel 6:22)
Arminian
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius formulated Arminianism and disagreed with Calvin in particular on election and predestination.[23] Arminianism is defined by God's limited mode of providence.[24] This mode of providence affirms the compatibility between human free will and divine foreknowledge, but its incompatibility with theological determinism.[25] Thus predestination in Arminianism is based on divine foreknowledge, unlike in Calvinism.[26] It is therefore a predestination by foreknowledge.[27] From this perspective, comes the notion of a conditional election on the one who wills to have faith in God for salvation.[28]
Divine Providence is a book published by Emanuel Swedenborg in 1764 which describes his systematic theology regarding providence, free will, theodicy, and other related topics. Both meanings of providence are applicable in Swedenborg's theology, in that providence encompasses understanding, intent and action. Divine providence relative to man is 'foresight', and relative to the Lord is 'providence'.[29] Swedenborg proposes that one law of divine providence is that man should act from freedom according to reason, and that man is regenerated according to the faculties of rationality and liberty.[30]
Latter Day Saint (LDS)
There is little theological literature on the term providence in LDS studies. As stated above, Reformed theology relates these terms to predestination, which does have more prominence in LDS theology, if only as a polemical term.
One particular text that could be interpreted as being related to such terms is in the Book of Abraham. As Abraham is shown the heavens, he is also shown the pre-mortal spirits of mankind:[31]
And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
The "making of rulers" above is explained as foreordination (in the chapter summary) as opposed to "predestination".[32]
This differentiation balances free will (or free agency in LDS theology) against divine intervention. LDS scholar Richard Draper has described the church's position thus:[33]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rejects the belief in predestination – that God predetermines the salvation or the damnation of every individual.... The LDS position is based in part on the teachings of Paul that God "will render to every man according to his deeds" and that "there is no respect of persons with God" (Rom. 2:6, 11). These two principles provide a basis for understanding Paul's use of the term "predestination". The term apparently connoted "to be ordained beforehand for godly labor". In the sense that one's potential or calling has been recognized and declared, this interpretation conforms with the Greek term Paul used, proorizo, and does not denote an irreversible or irresistible predetermination.
However, this does not imply a passive God. LDS theology favours a more active, interventionist God. In a General Conference, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles articulates this: "Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another".[34] Rasband continues by citing a well-known text from in the Book of Mormon[35] in which Nephi finds his nemesis unconscious from inebriation in front of him, he concludes, "Was he fortunate to just happen upon Laban? Or was it by 'divine design'?"[34] Although the text itself limits the interaction of the divine to the "Spirit" to commanding Nephi to "Slay him."[35]
God also limits his involvement. Rasband interprets one particular passage from the Book of Mormon[36] as saying that God (through his Spirit) will only intervene based on righteousness.[34] Rasband concludes that, "When we are righteous, willing, and able, when we are striving to be worthy and qualified, we progress to places we never imagined and become part of Heavenly Father's 'divine design'."[34]
Islam
When Moses (Musa) and Aaron (Harun) arrive in the court of Pharaoh, the Pharaoh begins questioning Musa about the God he follows. The Quran narrates Musa, answering the Pharaoh:[37]
[38]He answered, our Lord is he who giveth all things: He hath created them, and directed them by his providence
Text of Scripture
Those who believe in the inerrancy of the original biblical manuscripts often accompany this belief with a statement about how the biblical text has been preserved so that what we have today is at least substantially similar to what was written. That is, just as God "divinely inspired the text", so he has also "divinely preserved it throughout the centuries".[39] The Westminster Confession of Faith states that the Scriptures, "being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical."[40]
In the United States Declaration of Independence, it is cited, "with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor".
↑ Reformed Protestant Dutch Church (U.S.), 1840, p. 45
1 2 Berkhof, Louis (1974). Systematic Theology (4thed.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: W. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company. pp.171–172. ISBN080283020X.
↑ Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society. 1855. p.73.
↑ Hindson, Ed; Mitchell, Dan (2013). The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers. p.46. ISBN9780736948067. OCLC796760525.
↑ Olson 2018: "What is Arminianism? A) Belief that God limits himself to give human beings free will to go against his perfect will so that God did not design or ordain sin and evil (or their consequences such as innocent suffering); B) Belief that, although sinners cannot achieve salvation on their own, without 'prevenient grace' (enabling grace), God makes salvation possible for all through Jesus Christ and offers free salvation to all through the gospel. 'A' is called 'limited providence,' 'B' is called 'predestination by foreknowledge.'"
↑ Elwell, Walter A. (2001). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (2nded.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic. p.98. ISBN9780801020759. OCLC46998739.
↑ S. Warren, Compendium of Swedenborg's Theological Writings, page 480
Olson, Roger E. (2018). "Calvinism and Arminianism Compared". Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings. Patheos. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
Wiley, H. Orton (1940). Christian theology. Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press. 3 vols.
Pinczower, Kenneth Ephraim (2019). Divine Providence אין עוד מלבדו השגחה פרטית: Hashem’s Intimate Involvement in our Daily Lives as Discussed by Chazal. Feldheim.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Providence.
Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.
Justificatio sola fide, meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian and Anabaptist churches. The doctrine asserts that it is on the basis of faith alone that believers are made right of sin ; and not on the basis of what Paul the Apostle calls "works of the law", which sola fide proponents interpret as including not only moral, legal or ceremonial requirements but any good works or "works of charity."
Total depravity is a Protestant theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin. It teaches that, as a consequence of the Fall, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin as a result of their fallen nature and, apart from the efficacious (irresistible) or prevenient (enabling) grace of God, is completely unable to choose by themselves to follow God, refrain from evil, or accept the gift of salvation as it is offered.
Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time to faith by God, all others are reprobated.
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.
In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God.
In Christian theology, synergism refers to the cooperative effort between God and humanity in the process of salvation. Before Augustine of Hippo (354–430), synergism was almost universally endorsed. It characterized the so-called Semi-Pelagian position. It also characterized the position of the Second Council of Orange (529), often referred to as Semi-Augustinian. Synergism is affirmed by both the Catholic Church, and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is also present in various Protestant denominations, such as Anabaptist Churches, and is particularly prominent in those influenced by Arminian theology, such as the Methodist Churches.
Molinism, named after 16th-century Spanish Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina, is the thesis that God has middle knowledge : the knowledge of counterfactuals, particularly counterfactuals regarding human action. It seeks to reconcile the apparent tension of divine providence and human free will. Prominent contemporary Molinists include William Lane Craig, Alfred Freddoso, Alvin Plantinga, Michael Bergmann, Thomas Flint, Kenneth Keathley, Dave Armstrong, John D. Laing, Timothy A. Stratton, Kirk R. MacGregor, and J.P. Moreland.
Unconditional election is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.
Limited atonement is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism. The doctrine states that though the death of Jesus Christ is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, it was the intention of God the Father that the atonement of Christ's death would work itself out in only the elect, thereby leading them without fail to salvation. According to Limited Atonement, Christ died for the sins of the elect alone, and no atonement was provided for the reprobate. This is in contrast to a belief that God's prevenient grace enables all to respond to the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ Acts 2:21 so that it is each person's decision and response to God's grace that determines whether Christ's atonement will be effective to that individual. A modified form of the doctrine also exists in Molinism.
Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Wesleyan-Arminian theology according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.
The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in the early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, or the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.
The New Church can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to be a part of Restorationist Christianity.
Free will in theology is an important part of the debate on free will in general. Religions vary greatly in their response to the standard argument against free will and thus might appeal to any number of responses to the paradox of free will, the claim that omniscience and free will are incompatible.
The theology of Martin Luther was instrumental in influencing the Protestant Reformation, specifically topics dealing with justification by faith, the relationship between the Law and Gospel, and various other theological ideas. Although Luther never wrote a systematic theology or a "summa" in the style of St. Thomas Aquinas, many of his ideas were systematized in the Lutheran Confessions.
Roger Eugene Olson is an American Baptist theologian and Professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at Baylor University.
Repentance, in Christianity, refers to being sorrowful for having committed sin and then turning away from sin toward a life of holiness.
Sovereignty of God in Christianity can be defined as the right of God to exercise his ruling power over his creation. Sovereignty can include also the way God exercises his ruling power. However this aspect is subject to divergences notably related to the concept of God's self-imposed limitations. The correlation between God's sovereignty and human free will is a crucial theme in discussions about the meaningful nature of human choice.
The Confession or Declaration of the Pastors which are called Remonstrants, or Remonstrant Confession, was the confession of faith of the Remonstrant brotherhood, published in 1621.
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