Athanasius repeatedly says that created things, having come from nothing, have an inherent tedency to move toward nothing again. They have to be sustained by God to remain in existence.
No problem with the conclusion that God keeps things in existence. But the notion that things tend toward nothing seems to imply that they have some principle or telos, some “nature,” that is not given by God, something that pulls against God unless he pulls back. But how could that be? Athanasius’ point seems to assume a degree of autonomy in the creation, albeit an autonomy that can only lead to non-existence.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Rome and the Church in the United States
Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore, who confirmed my father, was a pugnacious Irishman with a taste…
Undercover in Canada’s Lawless Abortion Industry
On November 27, 2023, thirty-six-year-old Alissa Golob walked through the doors of the Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic in…
The Return of Blasphemy Laws?
Over my many years in the U.S., I have resisted the temptation to buy into the catastrophism…
