The notion that death can be life-giving doesn’t appear to make philosophical sense, Thomas notes ( ST III, 50, 6). Death is a privation of life, and a privation doesn’t have power to act. Therefore, no death, including Christ’s, has power to give life.
Thomas admits that Christ’s death (as opposed to His Passion, His sufferings) does not bring life by way of merit. But it does have life-giving power by virtue of “causality.” This is true only because the Son is not separated from His human flesh even at death, which means that “whatever befell Christ’s flesh, even when the soul was departed, was conducive to salvation in virtue of the Godhead united.”
There’s a necessary symmetry here. Effects resemble causes. Since Christ’s death causes as a kind of privation, the effect of that death must also be privative rather than positive. Christ’s death thus effects “the removal of the obstacles to our salvation,” namely, “the death of the soul and of the body.” By removing those obstacles, Christ’s death becomes life-giving, and death is swallowed in victory. Directly, the privative cause (death) produces a privative effect (removal of obstacles); indirectly and at a second remove, Christ’s death gives life. Privation of death removes privation.
Once again, it’s apparent how important it is to Thomas that the Godhead remains united to the flesh even in death. Without that union, Christ’s death would not overcome death, would not be life-giving.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
