LessonsThe Attribute of Takwīn: Reality, Eternity, Created Effects and RelationsQuiz

An illustration distinguishes the blackness of a stone, the creator of that blackness, and the black stone. The production of a property in a created object does not imply that the producer possesses that same property.

One who originates blackness need not be black; a stone that has blackness is not therefore the creator of its own blackness. Thus the locus of a property, its agent, and its effect must be distinguished.

This illustrates the difficulty of making a real attribute of origination subsist in a created thing while still referring the act of creating to God.

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The black-stone illustration and mistaken predication

The Attribute of Takwīn: Reality, Eternity, Created Effects and Relations

An illustration distinguishes the blackness of a stone, the creator of that blackness, and the black stone. The production of a property in a created object does not imply that the producer possesses that same property.

One who originates blackness need not be black; a stone that has blackness is not therefore the creator of its own blackness. Thus the locus of a property, its agent, and its effect must be distinguished.

This illustrates the difficulty of making a real attribute of origination subsist in a created thing while still referring the act of creating to God.