Dr. Andrew Radde-Gallwitz
Divine simplicity is the idea that, as the ultimate principle of the universe, God must be a non-composite unity not made up of parts or diverse attributes. The idea was appropriated by early Christian theologians from non-Christian philosophy and played a pivotal role in the development of
Christian thought.
Andrew Radde-Gallwitz charts the progress of the idea of divine simplicity from the second through the fourth centuries, with particular attention to Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, two of the most subtle writers on this topic, both instrumental in the
construction of the Trinitarian doctrine proclaimed as orthodox at the Council of Constantinople in 381. He demonstrates that divine simplicity was not a philosophical appendage awkwardly attached to the early Christian doctrine of God, but a notion that enabled Christians to articulate the
consistency of God as portrayed in their scriptures.
Basil and Gregory offered a unique construal of simplicity in responding to their principal doctrinal opponent, Eunomius of Cyzicus. Challenging accepted interpretations of the Cappadocian brothers and the standard account of divine
simplicity in recent philosophical literature, Radde-Gallwitz argues that Basil and Gregory's achievement in transforming ideas inherited from the non-Christian philosophy of their time has an ongoing relevance for Christian theological epistemology today.
Introduction
1. Simplicity and the Problem of Contradiction: Ptolemy and the Legacy of Marcion
2. From Science to Silence: Clement of Alexandria and Origen
3. Agen(n)êtos and the Identity Thesis: Justin, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Athanasius, and Athanasius
4. "Truly repay the
debt": Aetius and Eunomius of Cyzicus
5. Basil of Caesarea I: On Not Knowing God's Essence (But Still Knowing God)
6. Basil of Caesarea II: Concepts, Reality, and Reading
7. "Therefore be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect": Gregory of Nyssa on Simplicity and
Goodness
Conclusion: The Transformation of Divine Simplicity
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Andrew Radde-Gallwitz is Assistant Professor of Theology at Loyola University in Chicago.
