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Whether God is Infinite?
God is the First Principle from which infinity is attributed to. Depending on what someone would consider the first principle as, the finite and the infinite could be improperly co-mingled, as were the case for the ancient pagan philosophers who held the view that the material principle of body and form, thus going forth into the entire universe, was that First Principle. As the Saint explains in his discourse, this is false, because where these philosophers co-mingled finite attributes with the infinite, who is God and not constrained to material body and form, their future assessments were flawed because their principal view of infinity was false. Clearly, the God of the Universe is not and cannot be received by anyone or anything and is of His own Essence and Being, to which all things that come into being are denominated from, thus He is Perfect and Infinite. Whether Anything but God Can Be Essentially Infinite? Anything outside God is from God and not infinite. Infinity belongs to God alone, who is the First Principle. Although something may have infinite potential, this is not absolute infinity. For example, a squared limestone block could be carved into an unimaginable number of shapes and figures by the sculptor. In the relative sense, the forms and shape in potentiality is infinite in matter (by way of accident or free choice the sculptor engages in). However, not in the absolute self-subsisting way that is God who is infinite in a much more perfect way matter and form can never attain to, nor can the human intellect ever fathom in fullness. Whether an Actually Infinite Magnitude Can Exist? An infinite magnitude cannot exist because everything that exists has a surface, a body, a form, and a boundary line or term. In other words, the thing that is finite has a boundary, and must form something of a body through its surface, thus filling a space determined by its likeness. Now, even if a mathematician says, “let this line be infinite,” as we often see in algebraic visual expressions, this would not mean that the line is actually infinite. The mathematics teacher simply takes what is finite, subtracting what is intended for use, and calls what he uses “infinite” for the sake of the problem or lesson to illustrate a concept that the human mind by way of its form and likeness can understand. Infinity belongs to God alone, who is His own essence, and is of a separate order from creatures who are finite and are constricted to their form, boundaries, and terms, thus filling the space they were ordained to according to His will. Whether an Infinite Multitude Can Exist? God has ordered all things in a state that can be measured by His agency. Thus, an actual infinite multitude cannot exist because God has set a number to all things according to His will as Creator so they may be measured and put into use, as stated earlier. However, in potentiality (accidents or the choices creatures can make on their own by the freewill which was given to them), the idea of an infinite multitude could exist by way of the principle of division because the decisions the free will allows is not confined by what is actual.
I am blessed to be a Third Order Lay Dominican. However, the ideas expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the endorsement of or position of the Order of Preachers as a whole.
Commentary regarding Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae derived from: ST part (I), Q. 1-26 from newadvent.org with permission. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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mr. scott lowry, op
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