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Tom
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Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 10353

Posted 2/18/2006 11:16 AM (GMT -6)

Yo everybody-

A while back we got into a lengthy discussion of God's aseity and just what it meant. We agreed that whatever it was, it was that which is necessarily true about God and so that which is unchanging about God. Mephi and I in the end agreed on Doc's trinitarian process view of God's aseity as necessarily maximized aesthetic value/beauty, or maximized inner-tritarian sociality. This basically amounted to saying God is everything loving & personal relationality could be. There is in God no lack, paucity, or absence of loving relationality.

My concern in that discussion was that this might reduce God to the same unfeeling, unblinking cosmic stare that Aquinas's "purus actus" God is.

Alan has a discussion of Aquinas here that's interesting: http://www.alanrhoda.net/blog/

I'm wondering (Mephi), how is our trinitarian process necessarily maximized loving sociality essentially different than Aquinas immutable, impassible, actus purus?

Tom

Tom
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Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 10353

Posted 2/18/2006 11:41 AM (GMT -6)

Where is that discussion we had about God's aseity? I've searched "aseity" and don't come up with anything.

Tom

Similitude
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Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 4968

Posted 2/18/2006 12:03 PM (GMT -6)

Try this one, Tom; http://www.opentheismboard.org/default.aspx?f=5&m=59035

It's the following post (there were others but I couldn't find them):

Open Theism Discussion Board > Public Forums > Theological Q&A > Theism & Ultimate Meaning and Significance

Tom
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Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 10353

Posted 2/18/2006 2:37 PM (GMT -6)

I think there's this one too: http://www.opentheismboard.org/default.aspx?f=7&p=001&m=59124

Tom

Similitude
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Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 4968

Posted 2/18/2006 3:17 PM (GMT -6)

Yes, Tom. That was one of them. If you check theological questions and raging debate threads that began at about those same times, I think you'll get 'em all. I think there were 3 or 4.

PotOnWheel
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Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 9890

Posted 3/13/2006 6:49 AM (GMT -6)

Good concern, Tom.

And of course I like the "old" answers--like acolyte has posted.

(o)

One Love
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Date Joined Jan 2003
Total Posts : 13888

Posted 3/13/2006 8:05 AM (GMT -6)

Tom:
I'm wondering (Mephi), how is our trinitarian process necessarily maximized loving sociality essentially different than Aquinas immutable, impassible, actus purus?

Briefly.

If I’m not mistaken, the actus purus idea says that there would be ABSOLUTELY NO POTENTIALITY in God with respect to love. The Trinitarian process denies this wholeheartedly. Though the INTENSITY of beautiful experience via loving sociality (let’s call this “depth”) cannot be improved upon in God…and this is what causes aesthetic satisfaction in God, the possible DIVERSITY OF EXPRESSION of God’s ad intra essential existence constitutes a contingent element of God in the Trinitarian reconstructed process view (let’s call this “breadth”) wherein there is potential for MORE beautiful experience via loving sociality.

In other words, God’s experience of beauty via loving sociality can be “added to” in God’s contingent expression of God’s ad intra life. This is how Creation is “meaningful” to God, remember?

The newest mantra:

God graciously FINDS us meaningful when God doesn't need to do it and we, in ourselves, can't do it.

"Hmm. Why not? What the hell. Let's try it."
--God

BBBCanada
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Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 2763

Posted 3/13/2006 11:03 AM (GMT -6)

Tom, you might want to post the EXACT location at Alan's blog. There is a lot there and to locate it is timely.

Brandon

It is the purpose that makes strong the vow, but vows to every purpose must not hold.--A friend.

Tom
Registered Member

Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 10353

Posted 3/22/2006 5:16 PM (GMT -6)

I think this is the page: http://www.alanrhoda.net/blog/2006_02_01_archive.html

Tom

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