Tradition
Classical theism
Overview
Classical theism is a theological and philosophical form of theism that conceives of God as the ultimate reality, characterized by attributes such as omnibenevolence, omnipotence, and omniscience. Rooted in the ancient Greek philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, classical theism presents God as a deity that is immutable, impassible, transcendent, and entirely self-sufficient. This understanding of God emphasizes divine simplicity where God's essence and existence are identical—making him fundamentally distinct from all created entities.
Throughout history, classical theism has significantly shaped the doctrines of major religious traditions, particularly within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Jewish thought, philosophers like Philo and Maimonides emphasized the unity and transcendence of God, aligning closely with classical theistic principles. The early Church Fathers, like Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Augustine incorporated classical theistic ideas into Christian theology, establishing a framework that was later to be refined by medieval thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas. Islamic philosophers such as Avicenna and Al-Farabi adopted classical theistic concepts to articulate a vision of God as utterly singular and beyond human comprehension.
Despite its profound influence, classical theism has been criticized on theological grounds. Proponents of process theology argue that the conception of God as an unchanging being fails to capture the dynamic and evolving nature of the world. Open theists interpret the classical doctrine of omnipotence as involving force and suggest a forbearance in divine power instead.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
It remains therefore, that God is called omnipotent because He can do all things that are possible absolutely; which is the second way of saying a thing is possible. For a thing is said to be possible or impossible absolutely, according to the relation in which the very terms stand to one another, possible if the predicate is not incompatible with the subject, as that Socrates…
Aquinas Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part I
States what Classical theism is; the author is tied to Classical theism in the knowledge graph.
Concerning this Plato, then, I will briefly state such things as I deem necessary to the present question, mentioning beforehand those who preceded him in time in the same department of literature. 2. _Concerning the two schools of philosophers, that is, the Italic and Ionic, and their founders._
of Hippo Augustine, The City of God, Volume I
The author is tied to Classical theism in the knowledge graph.
With what is here called faith or immediate knowledge must also be identified inspiration, the heart's revelations, the truths implanted in man by nature, and also in particular, healthy reason or Common Sense, as it is called. All these forms agree in adopting as their leading principle the immediacy, or self-evident way, in which a fact or body of truths is presented in consciousness. 84.] This immediate knowledge…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Logic of Hegel
States what Classical theism is.
Philosophers who discussed Classical theism
Related ideas
- The Guide for the Perplexed
- Dvaita Vedanta
- Vishishtadvaita
- Ramanuja
- Avicenna
- Philosophy
- The Book of Healing
- Al-Ghazali
- Ancient Greek
- Judaism
- Republic (Plato)
- Ancient Greek philosophy
- Al-Farabi
- Metaphysics
- Tawhid
- Vishnu
- Maimonides
- Monotheism
- Boethius
- The Incoherence of the Philosophers
- Augustine of Hippo
- Holism
- Philo
- Thomas Aquinas
Place in the tradition
Part of Deism.