Ok, It is back to words again. I swear I think I am onto something then it it back to words. Well lets start with the issue of Origin. Yes he does say that all things come back to full circle where they started, that being God. The issues raised by him are, from what I can see two separate parts:
Pt. 1 The pre-existence of souls
Pt. 2 How Free will plays into this
Pt. 3 All creation returns to God
Pt. 1 The pre-existence of souls
As for the pre-existence of souls, Origin says we “drift from the Divine” and slip to lower levels. The futher from the Divine you fall, the lower your ranking, with the lowest ranking being Satan. It follows then that our souls come to us (in our bodies) because we have fallen, or drifted away from contemplation of the Divine, and the only way to return is to return to contemplating the Divine.
If all things exist in the mind of God, and we remember that potency and efficacy are the same in God, then souls can exist prior to their physical (and I use that word “physical” lightly) creation, though only in the mind of God. They do not exist as an ephemeral event, but in their full potency as that alone is how God operates. The moment of creation and the moment of thought in God’s mind are one and the same event. We make the distinction between the two for we live in time, but God does not. It all exist in the now. So, if I exist from all eternity in the mind of God, do I not “pre-exist” in the reality of God, for nothing in God is potential (Aquinas Summa).
If permitted to read into the mind of Origin, that souls do pre-exist in God, all that we are and will be are clear to Him, even our free will choices are known unto Him prior to our entry into time, thus from the moment when God thought of us, we have lived, died and been judged. Yes, we did pre-exist as Origin says, even using scholastic philosophy, we could come to the same conclusion. Now the question arises are we then predestined to live as God has seen us. No, God never made our choices for us, we live as we live making good choices and bad, all God has done in the simplest terms is think of us as we would be, but for Him that is a reality. So, we have lived our whole lives prior to physical birth, but only in the mind of God.
Origin never stated in De Principi that we as individuals pre-existed, only the soul pre-existed, separate from the body. In that sense, we are only in the mind of God as spirit, as matter would not be necessary, for God knows in the immediate what will be in the future. There is no need for us as body/soul to be pre-existant, for it is our soul that makes us unique from other animals, and the uniqueness that makes us who we are as individuals. Choice, an action of the will/spirit would be existent in the soul, thus no need for a body prior to existence. As for the choices we make, those are already known from the moment we were in the mind of God. He chose to love us despite our failings. God’s love is an overpowering event and to limit that love would be to limit the mercy of God as well. Mercy and justice are but one act in God, for God can only act in one way. He allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. All contrary actions to the will of God will be punished, but to say that God would create to only destroy is also contrary to God’s nature.
Pt. 2 How Free will plays into this
Origin spends some time in De Principi (book 3) going over the idea of free will. His understanding of free will is different from our understanding today, but well within the range of being the same in the basics. That we, as individuals are responsible for our actions, both good and bad, and that we bear responsibility for these actions is a common thread.
He spends time on the concept of the “hardening of the heart”, that is spoken of as one without the grace or presence of God in them. The most used example in the Greek Text is that of Moses and Pharaoh. In the story we all know Pharaoh’s heart is “hardened” by God against Moses and letting the Hebrew People go. It is important to remember two things in this story from Genesis. One, that it was written many years after the fact as a faith response to an historical event of great importance to the Hebrew People. Two, the “hardened” heart of Pharaoh allowed for God to show his power and greatness to the Hebrew People through the guise of Moses. Most importantly, Pharaoh relents to the power of God (shown through Moses) and lets the Hebrew People go. No matter the fact that he regrets this and tries to get them back, he, Pharaoh, fails in that attempt and dies in one of the greatest shows of the power of God through Moses in the parting of the Red Sea. So even the “hardened heart” brings glory to God and in the end fulfills the plan of God set forth for his people, the Jews and later the Christians.
Origin also stresses on the workings of grace to help make choices, this would be the opposite of the “hardening of the heart”. I would prefer to look at it in this light, either you have the grace or not, that would be the influence on the will. Mind you Origin talks about grace as knowledge and instruction. He believes that grace is acquired though action, a sort of Letter of James idea. It is an interesting concept, but grace is also freely given. I do agree with Origin that one who learns their faith, deepens their understanding of their faith, will by that act, gain grace as well as knowledge. Knowledge does set us free, on so many levels in this life, thus making the use of free will an easier act. For informed minds can make informed choices. It has long been held by the Catholic Church that an informed conscience can make decisions that are contray to Church Law and not sin. The key being the informed conscience. The idea is that no one can make one violate their conscience, as that is wrong.
Part 3..sorry I am still working that one out. I am reading right a book on the composition of the soul in the thought of Origin....so give me some more time. I am getting there!
Pt. 3 All creation returns to God
Origin has a valid belief when he says that God will bring all back to Him, as all cannot ever leave Him. What Origin is expressing in his apokistanse is that God by His creative nature, also nurtures. A good nurturer chides and corrects but always loves and brings back.
