Program / Course 15: The Problem of Evil and Suffering / Lesson 4.2
What you will learn
- Describe the Catholic account of providence, including the disagreement between Thomists and Molinists.
- Describe the Orthodox emphasis on God’s care, human cooperation and the limits of system.
- Describe the range of Protestant views, from Reformed to Lutheran to Arminian and Wesleyan.
- Say how each tradition handles the relation of providence to suffering.
The big idea
Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians agree that God sustains and guides the world, that he is not the author of sin, and that he brings good from evil. They differ in how they explain the relation between God’s governing and human freedom, and in how they speak about suffering. Catholics have long debated this among themselves, Orthodox writers stress cooperation and mystery, and Protestants range from strong teachings of divine ordination to strong teachings of freedom. Each can be stated fairly only in its own terms.
Key terms
- Thomism
- The school of thought that follows Thomas Aquinas. On providence it teaches that God moves every creature, including free wills, to act, without destroying their freedom.
- Molinism
- A school named for the Jesuit Luis de Molina (1535 to 1600), which holds that God knows what free creatures would do in any circumstance and governs the world with that knowledge.
- Synergy
- An Orthodox term for the cooperation of God and human beings, in which grace works with free human effort.
- Predestination
- The teaching that God has determined beforehand the destiny of his people. Traditions differ greatly on what this means.
- Reformed
- Protestant traditions that follow John Calvin and the Reformed confessions, such as the Presbyterian and many Baptist churches.
- Arminian
- Following Jacobus Arminius (1560 to 1609), a view that stresses God’s foreknowledge and universal grace and the real freedom of human response.
- Hidden and revealed God
- Luther’s distinction between God as he is in himself, whom humans cannot search out, and God as he shows himself in Christ.
Background
When Christians speak of providence, they use the same words but do not always mean the same things. A Catholic and a Presbyterian who say that God governs all things agree more than they disagree, but they would answer certain questions differently. When a believer meets suffering, those differences show up in the way they pray, in the sermons they hear, and in the comfort they offer.
This lesson looks at three families of tradition. Within each, there are internal debates. No tradition is a single voice, and this lesson cannot describe every school. It aims to state, for each, the central lines as its members would recognize them.
As always in this course, the descriptions are of teaching, not of the practice of every member. Many believers do not know the theological details of their tradition, and hold their faith simply and firmly.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Catholic thought
Catholic teaching rests on Scripture, Aquinas and the Catechism. God creates, conserves and governs, using secondary causes. He permits evil without willing it and draws good from it. The Catechism says that Christians firmly believe that God is master of the world and its history, yet that the ways of his providence are often unknown to human beings. The Church teaches that God is not the cause of moral evil.
Within this agreement lies a famous dispute. Thomists, many of them Dominicans, held that God’s help moves the will itself to act, and that this does not take away its freedom. The Jesuit Luis de Molina held that God, by middle knowledge, knows what any free creature would freely do in any situation, and orders the world accordingly. In the early seventeenth century, Rome heard the arguments and decided not to condemn either side. The church allows both. Both aim to protect divine sovereignty and human freedom.
Step 2: Orthodox thought
Orthodox theologians follow the Greek Fathers. John of Damascus teaches that providence is the care God takes of existing things, that God foreknows everything but does not cause every act he foreknows, and that some things happen by his direct will and others by his permission. Human beings are free and responsible, and God works with them, a cooperation called synergy.
Orthodox writers usually give less weight to philosophical systems. They tend to say that the heart of the answer to evil is not a theory but Christ, who entered death and overcame it. They emphasize that death and sickness are enemies and not instruments, though God can use even them. In the liturgy the church prays for the sick and the dead, which shows that these are not treated as simply willed by God.
Step 3: Reformed and Lutheran thought
The Reformed tradition, following Calvin and the Westminster Confession, teaches a strong doctrine of providence. God ordains whatever comes to pass, yet is not the author of sin, and creatures act freely in ways consistent with his plan. Calvin wrote that believers should see in all events the hand of God, whether to comfort or to correct, and should not be ruled by fear of chance.
Luther taught that God works all in all, and wrote against the freedom of the will in The Bondage of the Will (1525). He also separated the hidden God from the revealed God. Where God is hidden, in his majesty, humans cannot search his purposes. They should look to the God shown in Christ on the cross. This gives Lutheran teaching a pastoral turn: do not speculate about why, but look at Christ. Critics of both traditions ask how such sovereignty leaves room for the real responsibility of sinners. Their defenders answer that Scripture teaches both and that the two are held together in faith.
Step 4: Arminian and Wesleyan thought
Arminius and his followers, and later John Wesley, taught that God foreknows all things but does not determine human choices. Grace is available to all, and human beings can accept or resist it. God governs the world in a way that respects this freedom. They hold that this protects God’s goodness, since he is not responsible for sin, and takes human responsibility seriously.
Wesleyans believe that God can use even evil for good and that he suffers with his people. They insist on the real possibility of falling away and of loss. Reformed critics argue that this view makes salvation depend on human decisions and reduces divine sovereignty. Arminians respond that Scripture’s calls to choose are real.
Step 5: What the traditions share
Despite the differences, there is a wide common ground. All teach that God made the world good, that he is not the author of sin, and that he works for good in all things for those who love him (Romans 8:28). All teach that Christ’s cross is the center of God’s answer to evil. All warn against using providence to belittle the pain of the sufferer, and the pastors of each tradition teach that it is the duty of Christians to relieve suffering. The differences concern the mechanism of God’s governing, and these are real, but they are not what the grieving person most needs to hear.
- How do Thomists and Molinists differ, and what do they agree on?
- Why do Orthodox writers emphasize cooperation between God and human beings?
- What is the difference between the hidden and the revealed God in Luther?
- How do Reformed and Arminian traditions each defend God’s goodness?
- Where do the traditions agree about how to comfort the suffering?
- Which tradition’s account of providence do you find most coherent, and what is its weakest point?
Examples
At a graveside
A Reformed pastor may say that God’s hand is in all things and that he will bring good from this loss. An Orthodox priest may chant prayers that name death as an enemy and ask for the repose of the departed. A Catholic priest may speak of mercy and the hope of resurrection. The words differ, yet each places the mourner within God’s care. (A constructed comparison.)
A prayer for rain
A congregation in a drought prays for rain. Each tradition can do so, because each holds that God governs nature. They differ in how they would describe the relation between the prayer, the weather and God’s will.
Luther’s counsel
Luther advised those troubled by the question of God’s hidden purposes to turn from speculation and look at the wounds of Christ. The advice has been valued by many Lutherans, and criticized by some who think it leaves the question untouched.
Different perspectives
Catholic
God is the first cause who moves all things, respects human freedom, and is no cause of sin. Catholics may hold Thomist, Molinist or other views of how this works. The Catechism calls the dark side of the world a mystery whose full answer is known in faith, and teaches that God brings good from evil.
Orthodox
God cares for all, foreknows all, causes what is good and permits what is evil. Human beings cooperate with grace. The question of evil is answered in Christ’s victory over death more than by theory. Orthodox thinkers are cautious about systems that appear to explain God’s purposes.
Reformed and Lutheran
God ordains all events without being the author of sin, and works all things for the good of those who love him. Lutherans stress the hidden and revealed God, and Reformed churches stress the glory of God in all events. Both appeal to Job and Romans 9 to say that human beings cannot call God to account.
Arminian and Wesleyan
God governs with foreknowledge and genuine respect for human freedom, offering grace to all. Evil arises from the misuse of freedom and God works to overcome it. This view stresses divine love and human responsibility and is held by Methodists and many other evangelicals.
Why it matters
Behind every comforting or troubling sentence about suffering is a view of how God governs the world. Knowing the main views, and treating them fairly, helps a student to understand other Christians, to speak with respect, and to see which differences matter.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Catholics and Protestants have the same view of providence, or entirely different views.
Correction: They share the main outline, that God sustains, governs and is not the author of sin. They differ on how divine and human action relate, and also differ among themselves.
Misunderstanding: The Reformed teach that people are puppets.
Correction: The Reformed confessions explicitly deny that violence is offered to the will of creatures and affirm human responsibility. Critics argue that their view nevertheless leaves little room for freedom, but that is a criticism and not what the tradition teaches.
Misunderstanding: The Orthodox have no doctrine of providence.
Correction: They have one, set out by John of Damascus and others. It stresses care, permission and cooperation more than the technical systems of the West.
Knowledge check
What is the Thomist-Molinist dispute?
Both are Catholic schools that agree God governs the world and respects human freedom. Thomists hold that God moves the will to act without destroying freedom. Molinists hold that God knows by middle knowledge what free creatures would do in any circumstances and orders the world accordingly. The Church has permitted both views.
How does Orthodox teaching describe the relation of God’s foreknowledge and human acts?
John of Damascus teaches that God foreknows everything but does not cause every act he foreknows. Some things are by his will and others by his permission. Human beings act freely, and God and humans cooperate in a relation called synergy. Orthodox writers often put the stress on Christ’s victory over evil and not on a theory.
What is distinctive about Luther’s approach?
Luther distinguished the hidden God, whose purposes humans cannot search, from the God revealed in Christ. He advised that sufferers look to Christ on the cross and not speculate about why. He also taught a strong doctrine that God works all in all. Critics ask if the advice avoids the question, and defenders say it is a pastoral answer.
Where do Arminian and Reformed views differ?
Reformed teaching holds that God ordains all events, including human acts, yet is not the author of sin. Arminian and Wesleyan teaching holds that God foreknows but does not determine human choices, and that grace is open to all who can accept or resist. Each charges the other with a problem, the first with limiting freedom and the second with limiting sovereignty.
Think it through
- Which of these ways of speaking about God’s governing sounds most like the church or community you know best?
- Does the difference in doctrine change how you would comfort a grieving person?
- What do you think all these traditions would say is wrong with claiming to know why a particular disaster happened?
Independent assignment
A table of three traditions
In your own notebook, write about 450 words. Make a table with one row for each of the Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed and Lutheran, and Arminian views. For each, write what they say about how God governs, how human freedom is preserved, and what they say to the sufferer. Add a final row for what they hold in common. Mark one point on which you wish to read more. Keep the work private.
Further study
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the section on divine providence.
- John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith Read the chapters on providence and on foreknowledge and predestination.
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Read selectively in Book 1 on providence.
- Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will Read selectively for Luther’s argument on the will and the hidden God.
- James Arminius, The Works of James Arminius Read selectively for Arminius on providence and grace.
- John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions Read a sermon on divine providence or on free grace.