Continuous creation in the probabilistic world of the theology of Chance

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present and analyze the doctrine of continuous creation typical for theism. Continuous creation is conceived of as divine causal action consisting in God’s bringing about the existence of any being at every moment of its existence. Such a definition of divine action, as N. Malebranche argued, leads to occasionalism – that is, to the view that God is the only cause in the world. In the first part of the paper, an attempt is made to demonstrate that Malebranche’s conclusion is valid and that two alternative views, weak and strong concurrentism, are not tenable. In the second part of the article, the idea of continuous creation is discussed, which can be formulated from the point of view of probabilistic theism.

Keywords

• God, continuous creation, substance, concurrentism, occasionalism
• ciągłe stwarzanie, Bóg, konkurentyzm, okazjonalizm, substancja