Wednesday 11 August 2010

Whether if Man Had Not Sinned, God Would Have Become Incarnate?

From Part III, Question 1, Article 3:

Since I have returned from the Faith Conference, I have given this topic some degree of thought, but I wish to present the thought of the Angelic Doctor first of all, to lay some foundations. I am sure that many of you will wonder the suitability of such questions which may seem purely speculative as we live in a fallen world and the Logos truly did descend. However, I believe that this is an important question as it relates to my previous thoughts on predestination and deification.

Let's begin with the Summa Theologica.
First of all we must define what the essential mission of the Incarnation of the Word was. Saint Augustine writes that 'Many other things are to be considered in the Incarnation of Christ besides absolution from sin.' Do we envisage the sending of the Son to be as a teacher, an example, a Messiah (of some variety) or a Saviour?
As written in the Holy Gospel according to Luke, 'the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost' (19:10). No if man had remained in the state of original innocence, unpolluted by the taint of sin, it follows that the Word would not have assumed human nature. The Divine Apostle, Paul appears to confirm this assertion as he wrote, 'Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners' (1 Tim. 1:15). Since there is no disease, does a need remain for the calling of the Physician?
Yet, we still have much to consider. It is evident that the Fall did occur and therefore what Christ came for involves principally redemption from sin. On the other hand, what currently is the prime motive may be otherwise. The Good Lord is not constrained by the actions of His creations which He has brought into being from nothing. The Angelic Doctor acknowledges that there are differing opinions on this matter but believes that greater weight should be placed upon the view that the Son of God would not have taken on flesh. Although, 'the power of God is not limited to this (the sin of Adam being committed); -even had sinned not existed, God could have become incarnate'.
Saint Thomas states that the will of God is made known to us through Sacred Writ (which also includes its interpretation in the life of the Church), and as the disaster of sin is linked to the coming of the Word, it 'is in accordance with this to say that the work of the Incarnation was ordained by God as a remedy for sin.'
However, to further complicate the issue, it is necessary to note that Sacred Scripture does not relate the other possibility that the earth were not created. It records actions according to truth, and does not deal with mere hypotheticals. God created the earth and sustains it. Man truly sinned and fell short of the glory of God, and floundered helpless without a Mediator.
In dealing with Saint Augustine's quotation that there are more things to be considering apart from liberation from sin, these 'additionals' concern the state of fallen man. Since if our First Parents had remained in the state of order and justice, they would have continued with the divine light of wisdom, and equipped to complete our whatever needed to be done.
Yet, we can all agree that as a result of the Descent, mankind has been raised to a lofty height. What is mortal man that God was so concerned about him, that He suffered humiliation on the Cross for His salvation? Without this dwelling of God with man as a friend, could this have occurred? Would we have been able to become 'gods' without His assumption of human nature?
All of this needs to be carefully thought out. But here is a start to the debate...

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