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Question 9 - The Immutability of God

Article 1: Whether God Is Altogether Immutable?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2024

J. Budziszewski
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
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Summary

As St. Thomas is aware, God’s changelessness is rather plainly implied by His perfection, since any change would be a decline from that perfection. Nonetheless, the Objectors present various reasons for thinking that God could not be immutable – that He would have to be subject to change – and so these need solutions. In our own day too, many people are inclined to object, thinking that an unchanging God would be “static.” Since in all of our finite experience, to be a living person is to be immersed in flux and change, we suppose that an unchanging God would be frozen in time, never doing anything, no more living or personal than a statue. But this is a false picture. We should not say that the eternal God is doing nothing, but that everything He does, He is doing all the time.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • The Immutability of God
  • J. Budziszewski, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on the One God
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009536288.010
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  • The Immutability of God
  • J. Budziszewski, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on the One God
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009536288.010
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Immutability of God
  • J. Budziszewski, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on the One God
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009536288.010
Available formats
×