Polkinghorn's New Model For God's Relationship with the World based on Criticism of Thomistic Traditional Conception of God

Document Type : Original Research

Author
Nima Narimani
Ph.D. student of the philosophy of religion, Faculty of theology and Islamic teachings, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.30497/prr.2020.75446
Abstract
The necessity of consideration and usage of the modern sciences is the core of John Polkinginghorn's approach to theological problems. Although he is generally committed to a personal, sublime, and distinct conception of God, which can be ascertained in Thomistic well-known conception of God, he criticizes this Thomistic conception. The main focus of his critiques is God's active relationship with the world and creatures, especially human beings. In this article, after citing Pokinghorn's critique of the Thomistic model, his new model has been introduced. Being stemmed from the capacities of modern physics, especially information causality, this model stays far from the problems of the Thomistic model. His model, in addition to allowing the role of God's eternal creation, leaves room for the Lordship and the influence of God's Will in the universe. In the end, we will evaluate Palkinghorne's view, which has three aspects: scientific, religious, and philosophical.
Keywords
Divine Action
Deism
Thomas Aquinas
John Polkinghorne
Modern Physics
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