The Thomistic Institute Understanding Divine Providence | Fr. James Brent, OP
Nov 17, 2018
Fr. James Brent, OP, discusses divine providence, comparing God to a foreman overseeing a construction site. He also highlights the role of insects in ecosystem harmony and how divine providence directs the world towards glorifying God.
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Episode notes
God Knows By Knowing Himself
- Divine providence is like an artist's pre-understanding: God knows Himself and thus knows the world by knowing what He will produce.
- God's knowledge is eternal and does not depend on the world's existence or changes.
Foreman And Subcontractors Analogy
- Aquinas frames providence with a foreman and subcontractors analogy: God directs secondary agents toward an ultimate end.
- The pre-understanding includes both the final product and the ordered process of means toward it.
Providence As Eternal Design
- Divine providence is God's eternal pre-understanding and plan by which He directs all created secondary agents to their ultimate end.
- Every particular act and agent figures into that single, overarching design.