LessonsCreation of Human Acts: Divine Causation, Acquisition and ChoiceQuiz

Creating an act or property does not imply possessing that property. God creates colors and bodily states, but this does not make the divine essence a colored body. The same distinction applies to human actions.

A servant stands, sits, and eats. God creates the existence of these acts, yet this does not make God one who stands, sits, or eats. Producing an act and being described by that act are different relations.

Without this distinction, one might argue that if God creates a human act, all predicates belonging to that act must be attributed to God. The answer differentiates origination from characterization and preserves divine transcendence.

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Creating an attribute versus possessing it

Creation of Human Acts: Divine Causation, Acquisition and Choice

Creating an act or property does not imply possessing that property. God creates colors and bodily states, but this does not make the divine essence a colored body. The same distinction applies to human actions.

A servant stands, sits, and eats. God creates the existence of these acts, yet this does not make God one who stands, sits, or eats. Producing an act and being described by that act are different relations.

Without this distinction, one might argue that if God creates a human act, all predicates belonging to that act must be attributed to God. The answer differentiates origination from characterization and preserves divine transcendence.