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Whether God is Perfect?
God must be perfect because He alone is the first principle and first efficient cause which is before any material principle that consists of matter which is imperfect. Superseding all causes and principles, God is of His own order, unlike anything else that is set forth as potential, and is perfect in every way. If God was not of this order, then it would not be God, but a mere potentiality and not actuality to which all things come forth from. Secular and pagan society holds the material principle, which is imperfect, higher than the efficient cause of all things, which is the first principle, to which we know as God. It is why they do not recognize God or His perfection in creation, because they have chosen to worship the material principle (potentiality/imperfection) over what is the first principle (actuality), which is God and is perfect, thus becoming deluded in their thinking and corrupt in their souls, settling for idols of wood, stone, and vain human honor. Just as the Holy Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:19-25, informing the gentiles and first believers to avoid idol worship and to be aware of the truth of their surroundings as evidenced through the lens of their newfound hope and faith. Whether the Perfections of All Things are in God? Everything that is perfection or perfect within a genus or effect is set forth from the first efficient cause, which is God and who is the very essence of perfection to which comes forth in created things, matter, forms, elements, and the like. Since God is the prerequisite to a genus or a thing that does something, it is logical to infer that through His agency, perfection comes – whether in the form of heat to fire, cold to ice, or acts and expressions of love and goodness in humans. The perfection of love, which is selfless and perfect in every way, and demonstrable in humans from God, is misaligned or distorted in pagan society. Those who reject the existence of God and the many perfections He alone bestows upon mankind and created things, have turned love into a corporeal action, a way of providing material needs, or a self-serving arrangement consisting of many parasitic emotional exchanges that are not found in love, but are found in servitude, slavery, and bondage. They view love as a type of ownership, and do not know what it is like to love, which is perfect and comes from God. Some value the beast and pet over their fellow brother and sister who are made in the likeness of God and declare on many occasions that they love their subjects more than their neighbors, relatives, and co-workers. But this is not love, but ownership. Thus, like the demons, they take by force, and misuse and distort the perfections of the Living God to make what He made perfect, and which comes from Him alone, into something lesser and void of perfection, all while denying His existence and the very gift which came forth from Him in the example of love. Whether Any Creature Can Be Like God? God is the first universal principle of all things set forth. As much as something is like its being, it is like God, but not exactly like God in the fullness as God, for God transcends all genus and being. We may see an effect to the likeness of God from a creature or thing within a set genus, but God is not like the creature, for this would be impossible as the Creator does not mimic or come forth from the created. For example, we could claim, “my friend runs like a cheetah.” A human is not a cheetah, nor can it ever become a cheetah. In the same way, a human being cannot run as fast as a cheetah, although we may say that someone can “run like a cheetah.” In this way, the likeness of the fast athlete mentioned can be associated with a cheetah, although it is clear the person will never mimic the complete likeness of a cheetah. So also in this way, a person can be like God in that this person loves much and brings comfort to the one who is in need, ultimately being like God to that person in the sense of comforting a sorrow. However, such an example is subject to distortion and confusion because society attempts to misalign the values and being of God to make Him like them who are created, sinful, and imperfect. They do this in vain, for He is not like us in as much as He should conform and change to us, who are lesser and only a being by participation, in comparison to God, who is an Essential Being. Therefore, God’s love for us does not equal approval of our actions, for even though we may be like Him in ways that belong to our existence by participation, He is not like us, no matter how much we try to make Him like us. If that were the case, then He wouldn’t be God, and there would be no need for a messiah, for man himself would become his own light and salvation, to which we know is impossible. Why? Because if the angels, who were made stronger and smarter than us thought they could become their own light, but instead, descend into depravity, ugliness, imperfection, sin, and the likeness of fiery hell, us as humans all the more who think we can become our own “light” shall fall into this same error - for we are weaker and less intelligent than the fallen angels who became demons and are self-condemned because of their disobedience and pride - for pride alone is the hallmark of the demon and is the one thing it cannot disguise well. The demon can mimic virtue so as to trick others to its ways and doctrines, but they cannot resist their own pride and vanity. For if they were to do that, they would no longer be demons!
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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