Grace dispute

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The grace dispute is understood as the so-called “de auxiliis” controversy: In the early modern period, various schools of theology fought over the understanding of the coexistence of divine grace and human freedom. The prerequisites were the teaching of the Tridentine Council on justification and the emerging humanism , as well as the traditional opposition between the theological schools of the Dominican and Jesuit orders:

course

The dispute began in 1582 with internal disputes in Salamanca , which took on a new dimension with the publication of Luis de Molina's work Concordia liberi arbitrii et gratiae donis in 1588. Both sides reported each other to the Inquisition , which then acted. A disputation in Valladolid made public in 1594. Both the papal nuncio and the Spanish inquisition transferred the dispute to Rome in 1597. The nuncio's command of silence was disregarded by both sides and lifted again by the Roman Inquisition. The literature on the topic grew continuously due to statements from other theologians.

In Rome, under the pontificate of Clement VIII, a commission of cardinals, bishops and theologians was formed, which proposed to the Pope on March 13, 1598, to condemn de Molinas Concordia liberi arbitrii et gratiae donis and his commentary on the Summa theologica and a series of theses. The commission held on to its vote until the end of the year, despite requests from the Pope to review it. Thereupon King Philip III intervened . and achieved that the two order generals could present their position orally and in writing; Here the Jesuit theologians achieved the partial success that the doctrine of Báñez was also discussed. The theological commission, which has since been expanded, recommended on December 5, 1601 that de Molina be sentenced again. Pope Clement VII did not accept this recommendation, but appointed a new theological commission ( Congregatio de auxiliis ), which should find a decision under his chairmanship. The generals of the order presented their positions, each supported by a theologian. The theologian Gregory of Valencia (1549–1603) defended Molina's positions in a solemn disputation before Pope Clement VIII in 1602. The Pope's death on March 4, 1605 brought this process to a standstill; on September 14, 1605, the deliberations under Pope Paul V were resumed. Although several commissioners condemned the Dominican position, Paul V was not prepared to condemn de Molina following her recommendation, but only stated:

In 1607 he dissolved the Congregatio de auxiliis , combined with a declaration prohibiting mutual condemnations. Since then, all the popes and councils have kept this question open.

Theological and philosophical meaning

The contending parties, Molinists and Banezianists , had developed different concepts of how the infallibility of God's grace and human freedom could be brought together. Only the Molinists succeeded in preserving human freedom with the help of the relief concept of the so-called scientia media of God, while the opposing party claimed that God worked inwardly of human freedom. Molina taught that human action took three steps:

God human
I. concursus oblatus indifferens God gives man freedom of choice and freedom of action ( concursus generalis ).
II. God foresees human decision-making. Man exercises his freedom of choice.
III. concursus collatus God participates in man's actions ( speciale auxilium ). Man acts freely.

God appears like a chess master who can anticipate the moves of his counterpart and incorporate them into his strategy. He reacts to human action, but does not make himself dependent on it.

Molina's considerations lead on to the idea of ​​“ possible worlds ”, which Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed in his theodicy in 1710 .

literature

  • Leo Scheffczyk : Grace dispute . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 4 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 797-798 .
  • Jordan J. Ballor, Matthew T. Gaetano, David S. Sytsma (Eds.): Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis: the dynamics of protestant and catholic soteriology in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2019. ISBN 978-90-04-37711-0 .
  • Luis de Molina: On Divine Foreknowledge (Part IV of the Concordia). Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by Alfred J. Freddoso. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 1988.
  • Luis de Molina: Divine Plan and Human Freedom. Concordia, disputation 52 . Latin-German. Introduced, translated and commented on by Christoph Jäger , Hans Kraml and Gerhard Leibold (= Philosophical Library . Volume 695). Meiner, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7873-3023-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Leo Scheffczyk : Grace dispute . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 4 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 797-798 .
  2. ↑ Stadtmuseum Ingolstadt: Doctor Doctorum - On the 400th anniversary of the death of Gregory of Valencia (by Gerd Bäumen )
  3. ↑ a b Reinhold Bernhardt : What does “God's action” mean ?: a reconstruction of the doctrine of Providence . LIT Verlag, 2nd edition Berlin 2008, pp. 131f.
  4. ^ Emerich Coreth , Harald Schöndorf : Philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries (= basic philosophy course . Volume 8). Kohlhammer, 4th edition 2008, p. 24.