Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 397

Chap.

II]

AND THE NATURAL PRINCIPIUM

378

God, and therefore the heart of the matter, to its twin This furnished natural theology the occasion to to expand itself and unfold its wings ever more broadly lessen the importance of special theology; until finally it has of

sister.

;

succeeded in stepping forth as a monarch and in contesting And this could all right of utterance to special theology. itself again and again, so and will repeat not be otherwise,

committed of representing special theitself, and of making natural theology Martha by the side of Mary. It is, therefore, of

long as the error

is

ology as sufficient in

do service as

the greatest importance, to see clearly, that special theology

may

not be considered a

moment without

natural theology,

and that on the other hand natural theology unable to supply any pure knowledge of God. That special revelation (revelatio specialis)

of

is

itself

is

not con-

without the hypothesis of natural theology, is simply because grace never creates one single new reality. This does not even take place in miracles. In no miracle ceivable

does anything originate which

ment is

is

to the existing cosmos.

to be

added

The very

as a

new

ele-

possibility of this

inconceivable and would destroy the organic character of

new component

part, which added to man. And even in the incarnation it is no new " Divine-human nature," Avhich as something new (novum quid) is added to what exists, but our own human nature that becomes the revelation of that same God, who stood over against Adam in the creation. That in heaven no new reality has originated, needs no assertion. But since neither in heaven nor on earth any new reality is created by grace, how can special revelation stand on a root of its own ? If you go outside of reality, then, it is a fiction with which you cannot deal. If, on the other hand, as the Church confesses, it lays hold upon the reality of heaven and earth, then it can be no other than the existing reality, and in order to be true, it cannot borrow its strength from any but that existing reality. All that the Scriptures teach, therefore, concerning " the making of all things new," the " new creature " and the works

the cosmos.

In regeneration no

in creation lay outside of our being,

is

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen