Autor: Stebbins, J. Michael

Buch: The Divine Initiative

Titel: The Divine Initiative

Stichwort: gratia elevans: Kindertaufe, Adam, Freiheit

Kurzinhalt:

Textausschnitt: 43/3 With Philip's theory in place, the situation of baptized infants no longer appeared as an anomaly requiring a special explanation. (82; Fs)
44/3 The concept of gratia elevans also made it a relatively simple matter to account for Adam's inability to merit eternal life without grace even in the state of innocence. Alexander of Hales gives the following explanation: (82; Fs)

Lonergan contends that the theorem of the supernatural made possible the insight that freedom pertains to human nature, that its intelligibility can be sought in the natural order; he finds evidence for this hypothesis in the fact that, within a short time after the discovery of the theorem of the supernatural, a number of theologians began to subject human freedom to philosophical scrutiny in a way that had not previously been the case. Moreover, Lonergan suspects that this development might not have gone forward so vigorously if theologians had immediately been able to integrate the elevating function of grace with the function traditionally assigned to it, namely, that of healing the effects of sin on the intellect and will. For some authors, however, the realization that grace orients human nature to a supernatural end served for a time as practically the sole reason for affirming the necessity of grace; as a consequence, the role of gratia sanans suffered 'a temporary eclipse.' Lonergan's point is that in the long run this error worked to the benefit of theological speculation because it encouraged closer attention to the task of determining what human liberty is in itself, apart from the influence of grace, and thereby paved the way for a coherent and more nuanced account of the relationship between grace and freedom (GO:45:46; GF:18). (82f; Fs)