Глава I. Общее учение о Боге – Промыслителе мира

§ 32. The concept of God's Providence, its actions and types. Natural and supernatural images of industry “The providence of God is the constant action of the omnipotence, wisdom and goodness of God, by which God preserves the existence and strength of creatures, directs them to good goals, helps every good, and the evil that arises through removal from good stops, or corrects and turns to good consequences” (Spans. Catich. about 1 part.). 234 The concept of God's Providence indicates that God's providence is revealed primarily in two actions: preservation and management. The preservation of the world is the action of God's Providence, by which both the whole world and all the beings in it, as well as the forces of all beings with their activities, are maintained in existence. The government of God consists in the fact that God directs all actions and events, both in the material world and in the moral world, towards the purpose of creation proposed by Him. Such a distinction between the actions of God's Providence is consistent both with the properties of created being, which require unequal actions of God on the world, and with the differences in the manifestations of Providence in limited and varied created things. The world, as non-original, requires preservation and is really preserved by God, and as imperfect, it requires management and is really controlled by God. By distinguishing the indicated actions of Providence, the general concept of the Providence of God is therefore significantly replenished and clarified. It must, however, be borne in mind that this distinction has meaning only for our limited mind - and at that a conditional one. In itself, God's providence for the world is, without a doubt, a single, indivisible action. Preserving the existence of the world and its powers, God, with a single perfect action, together with preservation, directs the course of world life towards the intended goal, as well as directing the course of world life to achieve higher goals, for the sake of achieving these goals, preserves the existence and forces of creatures to the extent pleasing to Him. Since, further, the state of the world at a given time with its beings, forces and laws is not its first and last purpose, but, on the contrary, it is appointed for the implementation in time of God’s eternal intentions, then the preservation of peace is not the last goal of the thought of peace, but is only the means by which the goal intended for the world is realized. That is why the world is preserved by God in an unchanged state (in statu quo) and the phenomena of destruction and death are allowed into it by God’s providence. Conservation and management, distinguished in the simple and single providential action of God, as different actions, therefore do not, in a strict and proper sense, be different and independent actions of the Providence of God. The actions of the all-preserving and all-governing Providence of God embrace not only the great objects of the world, not only the genera and species of creatures, as well as the general forces and laws of nature, but extend to small things, to all indivisible and particular phenomena of nature. God “knows everything exactly from the smallest to the greatest, and provides especially for every creation” (Prov. Rev. 1 part 29 question). Hence, God's providence is divided into two types: general and private. The general providence is the one that embraces the entire world in general, as the totality of all kinds of beings with the forces and laws operating in them, the private one is the one that extends to private objects and phenomena, to private beings and to each of the indivisible, no matter how small they may seem. Finally, according to the image of God’s providential action in the world, a distinction is made between God’s natural and supernatural providence. The first happens where God’s destinies come to fruition according to the natural course of things, once established by God, only under the guidance and providential supervision of God. A supernatural image of industry occurs where, in the words of a church song, “the rules of nature are overcome,” and God reveals in it His special activity, exceeding the forces and laws of nature, for some higher moral purposes. The actions of the supernatural providence for the world are miracles, to which Scripture and the history of the church testify. When presenting the doctrine of God the Provider in general, we will reveal in more detail the explained general concepts about the Providence of God in connection with false views and existing objections to the doctrine of the Providence of God. 236 § 33. The reality of Divine Providence in general God is not only the Creator, but also the Provider of the world or the Almighty. Conviction in the real existence of God's Providence is a conviction as universal in the human race as conviction in the existence of God, like religion itself. Without faith in providence, no religion is possible. This faith underlies all human relationships with God, which are called religious. Visual evidence of the universality of faith in God the Provider is prayer, through which a person strives to enter into living communication with the Divine; prayer could not arise without confidence in God's immediate proximity to the world and His providential care for the world. However, the very concepts of God’s Providence are not infallible in all religions and are not always worthy of the holiness and greatness of God’s being. Only revelation offers us the most solid, true and complete teaching about God the Provider. I. In revelation the truth about God's unceasing providential activity is clearly expressed. It testifies that God rested on the seventh day from all His works that He did (Gen. 2:2), i.e., from the works of creation, but did not remain an inactive and indifferent spectator of the world He created, and did not cease communication with His creation. I. Christ, answering the Jews who accused Him (based on a misunderstanding of Genesis 2:2; Exodus 20:10) of violating the Sabbath rest, said: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17). Here two actions of God on the world are clearly distinguished: one that is completed is, obviously, the creation of the world, the other that continues is the providence of the world. Ap. Paul says of the Son of God that He upholds all things (φέρων τά πάντα) by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3), that by Him all things were created..., and by Him all things stand (τά πάντα ἓν Αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν – Col. 1:16, 17 ). World life in these sayings seems to have the basis and purpose of its existence in God: God stands towards it in such a relationship that it seems to hold it, carries it in Himself and, by His invisible co-presence with the world, keeps everything from destruction and destruction, however, not merging with the world, but being above everyone (ἐπὶ πάντων - Eph. 4:6), i.e. in a special area existence, not involved in world life. The same apostle teaches about the relationship of God to the world and especially to man, that God, who created the world and everything in it..., Himself gives life and breath to everything and everything, that He is not far from each of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:24, 25, 28). It is also clearly indicated here that God is the source of being and life in the world, is constantly present in the world and acts in it, that is, He reveals Himself as God the Provider of the world. But not just individual sayings, but all of Scripture in general testifies to the providential action of God in the world. It tells us to everyone and everywhere – with examples and instructions – about the omniscient, omnipresent and omni-active God and about the diverse ways of Divine Providence about the world and especially about man. It in itself serves as evidence of God’s Providence for the world and man. For it is nothing more than an extraordinary means of good Providence that arranges the salvation of man. The actions that have always accompanied revelation - miracles and prophecies - serve as especially tangible evidence of God's providence for the world. II. Nor can a sound mind, which has the correct concept of God and the world - of God the Creator of the world, as a personal and all-perfect Being, and of the world, as a collection of beings, although originating from God, but limited and imperfect, cannot but recognize the actual existence of God's Providence for the world. In close connection with these concepts is the doctrine of God the Provider in the Christian worldview. A. God is a personal, all-perfect Being, as evidenced by both revelation and the innate idea of ​​God. The concept of God as a personal Being presupposes a living, active discovery of His properties. A complete and living personality cannot only be aware of what is outside of itself, but has a need to love or not love what exists outside of itself and to act in one way or another on what is outside of it; in a word, it cannot be in an indifferent and indifferent relationship to the world in contact with it. And therefore, if it is impossible for a person to have an indifferent and indifferent attitude towards the world around him, then it is even more impossible for God to have such an attitude towards the world as His creation. The concept of God as the most perfect Being presupposes that God’s activity is an unceasing, eternal activity, for the most perfect Being, by virtue of the infinite fullness of His life, cannot help but be eternally active in everything that is included in the circle of real existence, which owes its origin to Him as the Creator. Thus, on the basis of the very concept of God, it is impossible to imagine that God, having demonstrated the highest perfections: omnipotence, wisdom, goodness and others in the creation of the world, after that became disconnected from the world and ceased to be found in it. This would be possible to admit if God fully and without reserve expressed the fullness of his perfections, so to speak, exhausted them in the work of creation, and the world would be the true image and likeness of God; but not only the imperfection of the world, but also its limitations clearly speaks against this. Thus, the concept of God the Creator of the world, as a personal and all-perfect Being, leads to conviction in the existence of God’s Providence, as the constant action of His wisdom, omnipotence, goodness in the world He created. The idea of ​​the all-perfection of the Creator of the world lies at the basis of the biblical teaching about the Providence of God. According to the images of God's Providence in Scripture, it is therefore impossible to imagine anything that would exist without God and happen without His participation, because God, the Creator of the world, is an infinite, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, all-wise, all-good Being, and therefore cannot but take care of His creation. Therefore, the denial of God's Providence naturally leads to the denial of the very existence of God. Note. Opponents of God’s Providence about the world (such as deists) point out that, after the creation of the world, God’s activity could acquire the character of inner-secret activity and life, which it had before the beginning of the world, and therefore God, without diminishing His perfections, could leave the world to himself, otherwise, he could remain eternally active and without extending His providential action to the world. Of course, God possesses the fullness of inner, hidden life in His Trinitarian Being, regardless of the life of the world; however, if God wanted to create the world, then, with the infinity of His Being. Its comprehensiveness, it is impossible to imagine that the created world existed independently of God and that the power and activity of God would not extend to it. To assume, as the deists admit, the possibility of free self-restraint of the Deity in His activity in creating the world, or His deliberate withholding, so to speak, of His perfections from external manifestations would mean admitting that strange idea that the world, left to itself, could exist in a more perfect way than one preserved and governed by God. b. The world, with its properties, also leads to the recognition of the need for God's providence. The essential properties of the world are its limitations and imperfection. The limitation of the world consists, firstly, in the fact that it is not original in its origin, has a reason for its existence independent of it, that is, it was created by God. As such, the world, in the continuation of its existence, is completely dependent on the Supreme Cause of its existence, for an action cannot exist separately and independently of the cause that produces it, just as, for example. a flame cannot exist separately from the combustible materials that produce it; a plant cannot exist without the soil, air, and light that condition its life. Hence, if the world exists, it means because it is preserved by such an omnipotent force that gave it existence. Secondly, the limitation of the world lies in the fact that, as a non-original being, the world is not a necessary being - that is, both the whole world and each particular object - may or may not exist. The world is not a necessary manifestation of the divine nature. But, if this is the nature of the world and it continues to exist despite all the upheavals and changes, then this shows the providential preservation of it by the power of the Creator. With the limitations of the world is connected its imperfection. Imperfection is expressed in its constant changeability: just as it was not in the past, so in the present world there is not any completely completed, perfect and therefore unchangeable being for the better. In addition, there are other shortcomings in it that represent a distortion and violation of its very laws in the field of both sensory and spiritual existence. This includes all types of moral evil and disorders in the visible world caused by the influence of the evil will of free beings. And if, despite such imperfections, the world in the whole course of its existence reveals harmony and order, then doesn’t this clearly indicate that the life of the world is controlled by that action of the divine will, which is called providence? – It is impossible to think that the aspirations and forces invested in the creatures of the world could control the life of the world and lead it to the intended goal, without the assistance of the Creator. This would be possible if each individual being and object in the world not only independently, without connection with other beings and objects, developed in the area of ​​its existence, which is not the case in reality, but also strived to achieve the common goal of the world. But this latter is impossible without knowledge of this goal, and such knowledge is unthinkable given the complete unconsciousness of some creatures and the limited knowledge of others, and hence the recognition of a common supreme Power is necessary, directing everything to one goal - the Providence of God. Thus, the correct concept of God, as revelation portrays Him, and the concept of the world leads to the recognition of the constant influence of the Creator on the world He created, i.e., the Providence of God. § 34. Objects of Divine Providence The providence of God, according to the teachings of revelation and the church, extends to everything that exists in the world, to the great and the small, to the invisible and visible world, to general world events and to particular insignificant manifestations of being and life, to the entire human race and to each person in particular, as well as to every living creature, otherwise there is not only general, but also private providence. It is not easy for human thought to imagine God’s providence as so comprehensive and to agree with the greatness of God’s being about the smallest and even seemingly unclean creatures (for example, many insects). Natural reason in the pagan religions of antiquity and in philosophy, imbued with the pagan spirit, really rose only to the recognition of the general Providence of God - that kind of it that relates to generic existence and to general and world events - but did not extend its actions to individual beings and to small objects and phenomena. Thinking about small things, even about each person in particular, seemed unnecessary and offensive to the greatness of God. 237 Similar opinions were and are repeated in the Christian world. It is impossible to admit that God, with the vast vast universe and the innumerable multitude of heavenly worlds, in comparison with which the whole earth with all its inhabitants (even the entire solar system) is a barely noticeable point in boundless space, that He could stoop to provide for all individual beings (and a microscope reveals thousands of them in a drop of water) and objects of the visible world; the idea that God humbles himself to take care of every human person is nothing more than the fruit of man’s self-delusion. Only the general structure of the world and the history of mankind can serve as a subject of industry worthy of God. But at the basis of all such opinions, which recognize only the general and deny the particular providence of God, lies a false, humanoid idea of ​​God. It is impossible to consider anything in created existence unworthy of God's providence due to the seeming smallness of creatures and objects to us. The concepts of great and small are relative; so we measure things by the limited measure of our mind, but before the infinite greatness of God nothing is great in the world - the whole world is before Him as a drop of morning dew descending to the earth (Wis. 11:23) and all nations are like nothing before Him (Isa. 40:17) - and before His infinite goodness nothing is small, which He was pleased to give into being. If the creation of small and insignificant creatures was not unworthy of God’s greatness, then His providence for them cannot be unworthy of His greatness. 238 The world in all its parts was created by God, and therefore in no part of it can it exist without the same divine power. On the other hand, it is impossible for strict thinking to separate and imagine the existence of one general type of Providence. In the entire composition of the universe, the great and the small are interconnected. The greatest objects of the world consist of small parts, the general and law-like structure of the world is composed of the law-like action of particular forces, the most extensive genera and types of creatures are in reality only a collection of individual beings (individuals), the greatest events in the world often occur from the most unimportant, apparently, reasons, for example: from a spark - a devastating fire, from the disagreement of a few individuals - long-term destructive wars of peoples. In view of this, it would obviously be incongruous to recognize the general providence and reject the existence of the particular. Revelation assimilates God's providence not only about the great parts of the universe (Ps. 93:1; 96:9–10; Job 34:13–15), not only about kingdoms and nations (Job 12:23–25; Ps. 33:10–12; Dan. 2:21; 4:11, 22, 29 and many others), but about all of His creatures, not excluding the smallest. All the numerous and varied phenomena of visible nature, although they occur according to the laws once established for them, are nevertheless in each individual case directed by the power of the Divine and serve His intention (Job.30-38; Ps.103 and 148; 134; 7; Isa.50:2; Jer.10:13, 14, 22; Wis.5:20-24; Sir.39:36; Acts 14:17; James 5:17–18 and many others). Not one of the foolish animals is deprived of God's care. But with His goodness He turns His concern both to the fate of the sparrow and to the grass of the field (Matthew 10:29, 30; 6:16: Luke 12:25–29). He gives food to the raven's chicks that fly up to Him (Ps. 147:8-9; Job 38:39-41). All of them (animals) expect You to give them their food in due time... if you hide Your face, they are troubled (Ps. 103:27, 29). Not one of the smallest creatures can fall to the ground without the will of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 10:29). The actions of God's providence in relation to the animal world are also evidenced by those laws with which the Lord protects the life and well-being of animals, always demanding from man a merciful and condescending attitude towards them (Ex. 23:4–5, 12; Deut. 22:4; 25:4; 1 Cor. 9:9), as well as mention of animals when God entered into a covenant with man (Gen. 9: 9–10; Hos. 2:18). If every creature of an irrational nature is not deprived of God’s care, then all the more does every person serve as an object of Divine Providence. Only a weak-minded and unreasonable person, according to the words of the wise, can say: I will hide from the Lord; Can anyone from above remember me? In the multitude of nature I will not be noticed; for what is my soul in the immeasurable creation (Sir.16:16–17, 23)? We are His race, notes the words of the pagan poets. Paul, and from here - we live and move and exist by him. He gives to every man life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25, 28). He created the small and the great and provides for everyone equally (Wis. 6:7). The many-caring love of God for every person (as well as for every even insignificant creation of God) is depicted with especially expressive features in the Savior’s conversation on the mount: Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren't you much better than them? And which of you, by caring, can add even one cubit to his height? And why do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any of them; But if God clothes the grass of the field, which exists today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, God clothes it so much more than you, O you of little faith! So do not worry and say, “What shall we eat?” or what to drink? or what to wear? because the pagans are looking for all this, and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this (Matthew 6:26-32). Are not two small birds sold for an assarium? And not one of them will fall to the ground without the will of your Father; Even the hairs on your head are all numbered; Do not be afraid: you are better than many small birds (Matthew 10:29-31). He gave instructions to the apostles: See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven (Matthew 18:10). In accordance with this, the apostle teaches: Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). And God’s providential love extends not only to the pious, but also to those in whom moral life has become impoverished. God commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). The Savior's parables about the lost sheep, about the lost coin and about the prodigal son (Luke 15) show that the conversion of the erring is a subject of special care on the part of the Heavenly Father. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost (Matthew 18:11). In accordance with the evidence of revelation, the ancient church fathers also taught about the objects of Divine Providence. “The teaching that is in agreement with Christ, says Clement of Alexandria, is that just as this world produces from God, so does providence extend to every part.” 239 “As in heaven, so on earth, according to Athenagoras, nothing is excluded from the management and providence of God and the care of the Creator extends to everything, both invisible and visible, both great and small, because all creations need the Creator’s providence, and each one separately, according to its nature and according to its purpose.” 240 “The omnipotent and most holy Word of (God) the Father,” teaches St. Athanasius the Great, flowing around everything and everywhere manifesting His powers, and illuminating everything visible and invisible, contains and embraces everything in Himself, so that nothing leaves His powers untouched, but everything and in everything, each being separately and all beings together revives and preserves.” 241 So, there is not only a general, but also a private providence of God. Man in particular is not only a means in the hands of Providence to achieve universal human goals unknown to him, but each human person and his good and happiness serve as the subject of Divine care. It is obvious that only with such an understanding of God’s Providence can the very dogma of God the Provider have a morally beneficial meaning for a person. With the thought that the Creator does not pay any attention to us, that He has left us and our private life to chance, that His gaze is not directed at us, but at the general conformity of the world and history - with this thought, man’s concerns about virtue, about self-improvement, about the fight against vice and in general manifestations of evil are deprived of the necessary point of support. It should, however, be noted that although God's providence does not deprive His care of a single creature, it proportions His attention to creatures with their relative importance, or, what is the same thing, with their ability to correspond to the highest purpose of the world. Just as in creation God did not endow all creatures with the same perfections, but some received them more, others less, in proportion to the purpose of each kind and species of creatures in the great purpose of their universe; so in being, not all creatures have the same God’s care, but each genus and species of them - according to the extent of their acceptability of the gifts of God’s providential love and according to their significance as a whole. Therefore, beings who are rationally free, of course, see God’s special providence over them, in comparison with the world, devoid of consciousness and freedom, but not all of them are equally worthy of God’s care, but in accordance with their moral state. Scripture, e.g. directly teaches (Is. 43:1–3; John 11:21, 23; 1 Tim. 4:10, etc.) about God’s special care for pious people, confirming this with examples of God’s special protection to His chosen ones. § 35. Actions of Divine Providence The providence of God is revealed primarily in two actions: the preservation of creatures and the management of them. God's preservation of the world. – The world and all the creatures in it, with their laws, powers and activities, are preserved in existence by the action of God the Provider. The world is undergoing constant changes, the destructive actions of elemental forces of nature and various upheavals and upheavals are not uncommon; powerful and diverse to the point of opposite, but unconscious forces operate in it, the collision of which could be accompanied by the most destructive consequences for the world and life in it (for example, in the collision of an immeasurable number of celestial worlds moving above us, with their enormous sizes). However, the world in its essence remains whole, its law-like structure and life in the world are invariably preserved, the actions of the elemental forces of nature do not exhaust or weaken and in their action are in accordance with the flow of life and the nature of the activity of living beings, and the mutual relations of the forces of organic and inorganic nature remain unchanged. Such integrity of the world and the improvement in it are inexplicable from the world itself. The world is unoriginal and accidental, both as a whole and in its parts, and as such can only exist through the action and will of the Creator. In the world itself it is impossible to indicate a single force that could preserve its existence; the forces of nature, existing in mutual connection, exist, conditionally; none exists on its own, without the help of others. Therefore, they all exist and act not on their own, but are supported by an external force - one that is original, and in power and wisdom is equal to the force that gave the very existence and structure of the world. The laws by which the forces of nature operate are dead to themselves, therefore the constancy of their action cannot depend on them. Just as laws are only in God, so their constancy is the action of the living will of God. Without the action of the all-preserving power of God, the world could not exist for even one moment - everything would immediately collapse. Revelation teaches with all clarity that the world is preserved in existence by the power and will of the Almighty. God upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3), - all things stand by Him (Col. 1:17); – in general, according to God’s definitions, everything stands to this day (Ps. 119:91). In particular, God preserves both the life and the general existence of all creatures, and by the power of God all the forces of nature are supported with their laws and activities. God preserves the existence and life of all creatures, both higher and lower. In His hand is the soul of all living things and the spirit of all human flesh (Job 12:10). He Himself gives life and breath and everything to all (Acts 17:25). It is said about God's keeping of man in particular: for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). His book defines all the days of his life on earth (Ps. 139:16; Job 14:5; Sir. 17:1–2; Luke 12:20). He brings a man out of his mother's womb (Ps. 21:10), and during the continuation of his life the Lord strengthens the feet of man... when he falls, he will not fall, for the Lord supports him by the hand (Ps. 37:23, 24). Without the will of God, not one hair of our head perishes (Matthew 10:30; Luke 21:18). Other living beings are also preserved in existence by God. He cares for the most insignificant birds, so that not one of them falls to the ground without His will (Matthew 10:29). He gives in due time food for all flesh and, in general, everything necessary for the life of creatures (Ps. 136:25; 115:15–16; 140:8–9, etc.). He even clothes the lilies of the field, which today bloom, but tomorrow will be thrown into the oven (Matthew 6:20, 30). Without the containing power of God, all creations are close to destruction and destruction. All of them (animals) expect You to give them their food in due time, says the Psalmist; if you give it to them, they accept it; if you open Your hand, they are satisfied with the good; if you hide your face, they are troubled; if you take away their spirit, they die and return to their dust; If you send forth Your spirit, they will be created, and You will renew the face of the earth (Ps. 104:27-30). God preserves the universe and the earth with all its powers and laws, the entire structure and order of world life. The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the tops of the mountains are His (Ps. 94:4; sn. 103:5). Seeing the future, the transformation of heaven and earth, the Psalmist confesses: In the beginning You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You will remain; and they will all wear out like a robe, and like a garment You will change them, and they will be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not end. ( Ps. 102:26–28 ). The evidence of God's preservation of the world is clear: everything in the world, as unoriginal, is capable of destruction, but if the world still remains as it was created, it is because it is preserved and will be preserved by the power of its Creator as long as He pleases - until the appointed day when the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Matthew 24:29; fn. 2Pet.3:4-11). Preserving the existence of the universe in general. God preserves in being and action the powers given to nature. At the beginning, He Himself established the statutes of heaven and earth (Jer. 33:20–25; 31:35; Job 38:9–11; Ps. 149:6; 119:89–91), according to which elemental forces operate (matter itself, being inanimate and unreasonable, can neither give itself laws nor determine the mutual relationship of forces and natural phenomena), and according to which since then everything flows unchanged, so that henceforth, throughout all the days of the earth, sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease (Gen. 8:22), and in general the integrity and order of the world will be preserved. All the phenomena they produce depend on His almighty power, which is why sacred writers, when they want to indicate the final cause of known phenomena in the material world, express themselves: God raises clouds from the ends of the earth, creates lightning in the rain, brings out the wind from His storehouses (Ps. 135:7), sends springs into the valleys..., waters the mountains from His heights (Ps. 103:10, 13), brings forth grass, and greenery... The trees of the Lord are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon (Ps. 103:14, 16) and so on. Hence, if He (God), as the wisest of Job’s friends (Elihu) confesses, turned His heart to Himself, and took to Himself its spirit and the breath of it (the universe), suddenly all flesh would perish and man would return to dust (Job.31:14-15; fn. Pres.11:25-27). In accordance with revelation, the ancient church fathers taught that if the world exists, it is because it is preserved by God. “Every created nature,” said St. Basil the Great, “both what is visible and what is imagined by the mind, in order to maintain itself, needs God’s care.” 242 “He gives life to everything,” says St. Kirill Alex., because He is life and the builder of everything, and in an inexplicable way extends His power to everything. Otherwise, that which came from the carrier could not hold on and preserve its being. Everything would immediately return to its state, to insignificance.” 243 According to Blessed. Augustine, “the power of the Creator and the power of the Almighty and Almighty serve as the reason for the existence of all creation; if this power ever ceased to control, at the same time its species would cease to exist, and all nature would perish. When an architect, having completed a building, leaves it, the building he has created continues to exist without him; It’s not the same with the world: it couldn’t have stayed even for the blink of an eye if God had deprived it of His providence.” 244 One should not see any contradiction to the truth about God’s preservation of the world in the phenomena of destruction and death observed in the world, in examples of the disappearance of entire breeds of plants and animals and the destruction of planets and luminaries in the firmament. Preserving the world in an unchanged state (in statu quo) is not the goal of God’s providential action in the world: preserving it in existence in general is only a means by which the goal intended for the world is realized. Therefore, the preservation of the world should not be understood in such a way that everything, once created and given existence, continues to exist forever and constantly, but in such a way that a certain being or a series of beings continues to exist as long as the general law-conforming structure of the world requires it, and as long as it is necessary as a means to achieve the general goal of the world. The indicated phenomena, therefore, can contradict the truth of the preservation of the world just as little as the death of individual beings of the organic kingdom, or the death of a person. God's world government. – God the Almighty not only preserves the existence of the whole world, but also directs all the actions of the forces of creation and beings contained in the world, and all the events occurring in it to achieve the goals intended for the world. To think otherwise would be contrary to the concept of divine perfections. The all-wise Creator, bringing the world into existence, assigned each creature its own goals and one main goal for everything, so that everything would serve as a manifestation of His divine glory (Proverbs 16:4; Exodus 43:7). And therefore, it is impossible to imagine that, at the end of creation, He would not direct actions and events to achieve predetermined goals. The creature itself, without the guidance and assistance of providential power - by its own forces alone, given the inclination of the creatures of the sensory world, and especially the moral one, to deviate from order - cannot maintain order and improvement in the world, and is powerless in achieving its intended goals. Through Him everything successfully reaches its destination (Sir.43:28). Revelation affirms the truth of God's world government when it teaches about God that He, as the Creator of heaven and earth, is the supreme King and Ruler of the universe (Ps. 94:3; Zech. 14:9; Matt. 11:25), is the Lord of lords and the King of kings (Rev. 17:14; 1 Tim. 6:15), and the earth and what fills it, the universe and everything that lives in it is the essence of His kingdom (Ps. 23:1; cf. 88:12). Therefore, everything in the universe takes place according to the determinations of the will of God, as the will of its supreme King and Lord. He rules the entire world, visible and invisible. Yours, O Lord, is your greatness and power..., King David confesses, and everything in heaven and on earth is Yours... You rule over all things, and in Your hand is strength and power, and in Your power to magnify and strengthen everything (1 Chronicles 29:11-12). He does whatever He wants in heaven and on earth, on the seas and in all the deeps (Ps. 134:6; cf. 113:11–12). The actions of God's world government extend both to the material world and to the world of rationally free beings. In the material world, unconscious forces of nature operate according to constant and unchanging laws. The Creator himself placed the forces operating in the world under these laws. Therefore, these laws are essentially nothing more than an expression of the reasonable will of the Creator, a method of divine world rule. Hence, the phenomena occurring in the world and, in general, the entire expedient structure of world life are not a necessary and inevitable consequence of the self-acting elemental forces of nature, but the action of their ruler through the established laws of God’s Providence. God, according to the testimony of Scripture, commands His sun to rise... and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), clothes the grass of the field that is today... (6:30), giving us rain from heaven and fruitful times (Acts 14:17), showing the way for thunderous lightning (Job 28:26; 38:25, 35 ), removes the wind from His storehouses (Ps. 135:7), etc. More specifically, all phenomena and changes in the material world are consistent with the ways of Providence for man - they serve the purposes of God’s moral world rule. The smartest of Job's friends (Elihu) expresses the conviction that all aerial phenomena - hail, storms, clouds rush and turn according to God's order, in order to fulfill what God commands them on the face of the inhabited earth - either for punishment, or for favor, or for mercy (Job. 37: 12-13; Wis. 16: 15-29). Therefore, it is no coincidence that certain natural disasters occur in the world. Fire and hail, snow and fog, a stormy wind that fulfills His word (Ps. 149:8; fn. Sir.39:36). He creates His angels as spirits (winds), His servants as blazing fire (Ps. 103:4). The Lord threw large stones from heaven at the army of five pagan kings, who were defeated by Joshua (Joshua 10:11). The Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord from heaven, with which these cities were destroyed (Gen. 19:24–25). Depending on the goals of the moral world government of God, Scripture contains not only private and local changes, but also changes in the state of the entire material world, both those that have occurred (the curse of the earth for the sin of man and the global flood - Gen. 3 and 7 ch.), and those that are about to happen (at the opening of the kingdom of glory - Rom. 8:19-22). Miracles performed according to the will of God for the great goals of the World Ruler serve as tangible proof of God’s moral rule of the world. The ancient fathers of the church also affirmed the truth of God’s world rule in agreement with the revelation. “If anyone sees the sea,” says St. Theophilus of Antioch, having equipped a ship and going to the shore, he will certainly conclude that there is a helmsman on it, controlling its movement. So one must definitely think that there is God, the Ruler of the universe, although He is invisible with carnal eyes due to His infinity.” 245 “I see a building,” St. also repeats. Ephraim the Syrian, and I conclude about the creator; I see the world and know the providence; I see that a ship is sinking without a helmsman... I see the city and the various structures of civil societies, and I know that everything is held together by God’s order. From the shepherd the flock grows, and from God everything that grows on earth... It is in the will of the king to arrange regiments of warriors; in the will of God there is a definite charter for the day of everything. There is nothing on earth that is not headed, because God is the beginning of everything.” 246 According to St. Gregory the Theologian “and the face of the singers will be upset if no one rules them. It is unusual for the universe to have any other ruler than the One who created it.” 247 Just as “as some virtuoso, tuning the lyre and skillfully combining high, middle and low sounds, produces one harmonious song, argues St. Athanasius, so God, containing the universe with His wisdom, like a lyre, and combining the airy with the earthly, the heavenly with the airy, and governing everything by His will and wave, wonderfully and beautifully maintains one world and one order.” 248 The reality of God's world rule is also confirmed by the testimony of experience. The material world is both as a whole and in its smallest parts a miracle of harmony and beauty, a wise system of goals and means. One can observe striking facts of expediency, for example. in the structure and life of organic beings, and in the history of the gradual development of nature, in the extraordinary adaptation of the entire order of the present state of our planet for the habitation of living beings and especially man, who finds in it both material conditions, stimulation, and aids for his development. This shows that the life of the world is directed in accordance with the rational plan underlying it. On the other hand, in the physical world there are deviations from the general unchanging order, which, however, do not spread further and further, but stop and are corrected again (for example, aberrations in the orbits of the movements of celestial bodies). In particular, eg. on our planet there are random unforeseen directions of the elements, winds, underground fire, rivers overflowing their banks, crop failures, destruction of indivisibles during a thunderstorm, etc.; but all these deviations do not go beyond certain limits and do not lead to greater and greater disorders. If, with all such phenomena, the harmonious order of the universe is not destroyed, on the contrary, a reasonable plan is invariably carried out in the life of the world, then this is an obvious sign that a single thought and will of a rational Being reigns over all forces, beings and phenomena in the world, that the hand of Providence rules the world. It is impossible to explain rationality and expediency in the development of nature in any other way, by the action of one unconscious and unreasonable nature or its individual creatures. God also governs the world of rationally free beings, helping them achieve their intended goals, assisting all good, and stopping, limiting or directing evil that arises through removal from good. The many different ways of Divine Providence for the world of rational and moral beings - angels and people, as having God’s special care for themselves - will be outlined when revealing the private teaching about God the Provider. § 36. Natural and supernatural images of industry about the world According to the image of God's providential action in the world, a distinction is made between natural and supernatural providence. The natural image of God’s worldview is manifested in natural phenomena and events, when the existence and powers of creatures are supported by God through the forces and natural laws given to the world, and God’s destinies come to fulfillment according to the natural course of things, established by God, only under the guidance and providential supervision of God. Scripture points to this image of God’s world government when it says: You set the earth, and it stands. According to Your decrees, everything stands to this day (Ps. 119:90-91), - He set them (the sun, the moon and the stars) forever and ever; gave a statute that will not pass away (Ps. 149:6; cf. 119:89–91; Jer. 33:20, 25), or: He causes His sun to rise... and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45), giving us rain from heaven and fruitful times (Acts 14:17), etc.... In the moral world, to phenomena of natural Providence refers to when, for example. a depraved life is followed by disorder of health and loss of tranquility, according to the immutable law of God’s truth, indicated by the Wise One: by what one sins, he is punished (Wisdom 11:17). Obviously, in the actions of God’s natural Providence, the natural forces of nature, acting according to the laws established for them, are instruments of God’s will, executors of His world-providential intentions. But, fulfilling the plans of the Divine world government, natural forces are not constrained by the Divine power in their actions according to the laws given to them, and the world does not lose its relative independence. To completely exclude the independence and spontaneous activity of the world and to attribute every phenomenon in world life to God as an immediate cause would mean to identify and confuse the power of God with created forces (i.e., to fall into pantheism). In the phenomena of natural Providence, God’s co-presence in the world and His activity in it are hidden by the constancy and immutability of the world order, and therefore are not perceptible to everyone. The providence of God is revealed with particular clarity in supernatural events or miracles, to which both the word of God and the history of the church testify. 249 In the word of God, these visible manifestations of the omnipotence of God in the universe are called: powers (δυνάμεις; – Matt. 11:20–23; 13, 58; Mark 6:5–14; Acts 4:33; 19, 11, etc.) – to signify the power of God, as the active cause of miracles, also signs (σημεῖα - Matthew 12:38, 39; John 2:11, 18; 6:30 and many others) - that is, visible signs, obvious evidence of what speaks and acts in miracles directly, or in the person of His messengers. God Himself. The miracles spoken of by revelation strongly testify that the infinite power of God operates in the world not only through created forces and laws, but also in addition to and beyond the finite, created forces and laws that He has placed in nature. Even in those miraculous events in which, together with the action of Divine omnipotence, the action of natural forces of nature can be allowed (such as, for example, the miraculous passage of the Jews through the Red Sea, described in Exodus 14:21, the Egyptian plagues, an earthquake and darkness throughout the entire earth at the hour of the death of the Savior - Luke 23:44-40, a miraculous catch of fish - Luke 5:4, 9; John 21:6, 11, finding a statir in the mouth of a fish - Matt. 17:27), one cannot help but see the special providential action of God, in accordance with the special goals of the moral world government, subordinating and setting the time for this or that action of the natural forces of nature. But this is especially obvious in miracles that exceed all known forces and laws of nature, explainable only by the action of the direct power of God, such as, for example. resurrection of the dead, healing with a single word, sometimes in absentia, of the sick, even such as lepers (Num. 12:13-15; Matt. 8:3; Luke 17:14), blind from birth (John 9), - taming with a single word a storm on the sea (Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35, 41); Luke 8:22–25), feeding thousands of people with several loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:15, 21; 15:32–39) and many others. etc. As for the possibility of miracles, as special manifestations of the world-ruling power of God then and there, when and where it is required by the highest goals of the World Ruler, then recognition of it requires a sound concept of God and the world. God, as the omnipotent and all-free Creator and Ruler of creation with all its powers and laws, can act in the world both through and without the mediation of natural causes, and has equal power to change laws, as well as to perform actions that exceed the forces of nature, if this were necessary for some higher purpose. The world, with its own powers and laws, being non-original, cannot set boundaries or limits to the manifestations of God’s omnipotence. That is why the conviction in the possibility of miracles is a universal conviction in humanity, most clearly expressed in prayer. According to revealed teaching, miracles are not only possible, but also necessary. There are creatures in the world that are not only unreasonable, but also freely rational, with whose destinies the destinies of nature, destined to serve them, are closely connected. By misusing their freedom, they can disrupt the order of nature, and the fall of the first parents actually caused a disorder in nature and all creation was subject to vanity (Rom. 8:20). If destruction and disorder have occurred and are occurring in nature, then it is necessary to restore what was destroyed, for which purpose special supernatural actions of God are needed, so that the world achieves the good goal envisioned by Him, despite the obstacles imposed by the perverse activities of free beings. Miracles, which are not necessary in a law-conforming state of the world, serve to restore the original perfection of the world, which was violated by the fall: the unnatural violation of this perfection by evil also requires a supernatural restoration of the world to its primitive state. Not illness and death, but health and life constitute the normal state of God-created man. 250 In addition to miracles, the actions of the supernatural providence of God include the whole series of supernatural actions of the divine economy that the Lord performed and is performing, in fact, as the Redeemer and Sanctifier of the human race, such as: the incarnation of God the Word, the actions of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments (for example, transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Eucharist), spiritually grace-filled rebirth and sanctification of man by the grace of God and others. § 37. False teachings about Providence. Analysis of the main objections to the reality of Providence The true and possibly complete teaching about the Providence of God is contained and proclaimed only in the Christian religion. The natural human mind, not illuminated by the light of revelation, encounters difficulties insoluble for itself in the teaching about Providence and either falls into false ideas about it, or completely rejects the reality of Providence. Thus, the ancient pagan world neither in religion nor in philosophy rose to the true concept of Providence. In the pagan world, however, there could not be a correct teaching about Providence, for it depends on the teaching about God as a personal Being separate from the world and the Creator of the world. 251 But even in the Christian world, the deviation of reason from subordination to sound faith led to a perversion of the dogma of Providence - its entire content (for example. in dualistic Gnosticism and - its branch - Manichaeism) or its particular aspects (denial of the private Providence of God, the doctrine of the incompatibility of God's Providence and free will in man and therefore the denial of the latter in connection with the thought of unconditional predestination), - and to the complete denial of the reality of Providence. However, in the Christian world they openly raised objections to the Providence of God in later times, in the 18th century. English and French philosophers, known under the name of deists, and in the near future - pantheists and materialists. All these teachings deny the reality of God's Providence for the world. According to deists, the world, as the work of the all-perfect Creator, is so beautifully structured that it cannot have the need for God to take care of itself, just as a well-built machine does not require constant intervention in its operation on the part of the master who designed it. Providence for the world would be God's amendments to Himself, making up for the oversights made during creation. Therefore, the world by creation exists independently and independent of God, just as the machine he built exists independently of the master. In pantheism and materialism, the rejection of Providence is combined with the denial of the Divine itself, as a personal Being and separate from the world, in whose place is the immutability and constancy of the world order, which does not require and does not supposedly allow the intervention of supernatural power in world life. It is obvious that in all these teachings the denial of the reality of Providence is determined by the falsity of their basic principles, in deism in particular - by incorrect concepts about God and the world. Deism, on the one hand, limits the Divinity both in being and in perfections through the recognition of the complete independence and independence of the world from Him and dooming Him to an indifferent attitude towards His creation (and a limited God is not God), on the other hand, it assimilates to the world such perfections that it, as a created being, cannot have; it is perfect relatively, and not completely (an all-perfect world itself would be equal to God). The world is not a machine, for in it there are rationally free beings who can both evade the laws given to them and subordinate others to their influence. Opponents of the doctrine of Providence have raised at different times various objections to its reality. Let us present the most important of them. 1) One of the oldest objections to Providence is based on the shortcomings and various manifestations of physical and moral evil observed in the world. They say that if God, an all-perfect being, really provides for the world, then how can God’s providence for the world be reconciled with the existence of these phenomena? This objection was especially raised by the deists of the last century (obviously, “strong minds” contradicted their own concept of the world as God’s most perfect creation), and it is also presented by deistically minded thought in general. The existence of evil in the material world (earthquakes, storms, floods, pestilences, etc.) and disorder in the moral world (extermination wars, political coups, crimes, vices, etc.), of course, cannot be denied. But all these phenomena, having their main source in man’s abuse of his freedom, point only to the imperfection of the world. But the imperfection of the world should naturally lead not to the denial of Providence, but to the recognition of God’s providential influence on the world in order to correct these imperfections and direct everything to the good. Without such care, the world would inevitably move towards destruction. Of course, God has the power, by the power of His omnipotence, to destroy evil in the world, but such destruction would contradict the concept of the relative independence of the visible world, and in relation to the moral world it would be a violation of the freedom of rational-moral beings, which would not be consistent with Divine wisdom. The phenomenon of physical evil and moral disorder would contradict God's providence for the world if they completely distorted the entire order of the world and made it completely impossible to realize the idea of ​​the world and its purpose that the Creator suggested. But this is actually not the case. The harmony of the world is preserved, despite some private violations of it, just as in the moral world one can observe the gradual movement of humanity towards perfection, despite all the private deviations away from the path of truth and goodness. This shows that despite the shortcomings and evils noticed in the world, the wisdom of Divine Providence is able to lead the world to achieve its goal. That's not enough. All the manifestations of apparent disorder in nature, as well as the manifestations of moral evil, are directed by the wisdom of God to good consequences. Science shows that many of the shocks in the material world are important and necessary in the general economy of nature and capture the balance and order in the relationships of its creatures. In relation to a person in particular, physical disasters, as well as the moral upheavals that occur in the world (for example, wars of extermination, political revolutions, etc.) represent a powerful means of moral education of people, serving either as a punishment for vices or as a test of virtue. 2) At present, against the Providence of God, they mainly point out the imaginary impossibility of agreeing with the idea of ​​​​the real participation of God in the life of the world, the natural conformity of the world. They say that the world is governed by constant and unchanging laws. The entire course and harmony of world life are explained from the action of these laws. The industry of peace is therefore completely superfluous and unnecessary. It would be an inappropriate intervention of God in the law-governed course of world life. In the name of this same conformity with the law, they completely reject the existence of miracles in the world. But strict conformity with the law in the world cannot serve as an objection to Providence. Unconscious nature cannot be conceived otherwise and cannot be conceived as acting according to necessary, constant and unchangeable laws, and God, who established the very laws of the world, cannot be characterized, as a being of the highest intelligence, by constant changes and violations of these laws. On the contrary, the conformity of the world with laws serves as one of the proofs of the reality of God’s Providence for the world. This conformity with the law is not original, and as such it constantly needs support and direction from the force that communicated it to the world. The laws of the world are not any rational beings who could know why they exist and direct their actions towards one specific goal; they act blindly and unconsciously, and if, despite all this, they act expediently, then this means that they are ruled by that higher power that established them, that they serve as an expression of the rational will of the Creator who rules the world. This must be recognized especially since there are many laws operating in the world, and yet they act in accordance and direct the world towards one common goal, which they themselves do not know. Such recognition is also forced by the fact that the world is not a being ossified in one state, is not a machine, but a living, constantly developing and renewed organism and, therefore, requires constant monitoring of its development. It is equally unfounded to deny the reality of miracles in the name of the conformity of the world with laws. They say that miracles would violate the laws of nature, upset its order and order, that in miracles God would appear correcting the oversights He made in the world and in general a changeable being. – But miracles are real, historically verified events. They do not stand in any contradiction with the law-governed course of world life. When a miracle happened somewhere, for example. the healing of a man born blind, a leper, the resurrection of the dead, the feeding of thousands of people with several loaves of bread, the taming of a storm, etc., then the natural course of not only world life in general, but also other phenomena in the very place where the miracle was performed did not change. Miracles do not change or violate the laws of nature, but only overcome them, and then only for the time and place of the miracle. In miracles, by the power of God, the ordinary laws of nature are overcome because in the world in general, higher powers and laws can limit, constrain, and delay the action of lower powers and laws (for example. Mechanical laws are limited to dynamic ones, chemical laws are limited to vital ones, physical laws are limited to moral ones). The more a person improves in knowledge, the stronger he becomes in relation to external nature, finding means to limit forces in it by forces, or to elevate some forces and constrain others and thus modify their actions in accordance with his goals. Just as all such human actions on nature do not in the least upset the natural course of its life, so the supernatural actions of the Divine in the world do not in the least contradict the natural conformity of the world. – Miracles do not stand in any contradiction with the properties of God. God does not correct Himself when He produces something directly by His own power in the world He created, but only corrects the deviations of rationally free beings from the order established by Him. Not illness and death, but health and life constitute the normal state of God-created man. In the same way, no change occurs in God when he acts directly in the world, because the Eternal from eternity thinks of the world as it is, with all its events and changes. From eternity, He has known and predetermined the entire series of acts of His providential influence on the world order. The objections that exist against Providence, therefore, cannot shake faith in the reality of God’s providence for the world and deprive a person of the soothing and gratifying hope for his heart in the all-good and wise Provider of the world. § 38. Participation of all Persons of the Holy Trinity in the work of Providence The truth about God the Provider of the world is generally accessible to a certain extent to natural knowledge of God. But revelation presents this truth in a special light and height when it teaches that in the work of providing for peace, all the persons of the Holy Trinity show love for the world - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The dogma about the participation of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity in the matter of industry follows from the dogma about the consubstantiality of the persons of the Holy Trinity, according to which they equally belong to the highest perfections - omniscience, omnipresence, wisdom, omnipotence, goodness - the action of which is the industry of the world. On the other hand, if the work of creation is the work of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity, then the preservation of the created in being and the direction towards the intended goals is also the work of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The teaching about the participation of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity in the work of industry, like the mystery of the Holy Trinity itself, is revealed primarily in the revelation of the New Testament. Although there is evidence of this in the Old Testament, it becomes clear only in the light of the New Testament revelation. God the Father provides for peace. Jesus Christ Himself testified to this before the Jews, who accused Him of violating the Sabbath rest by healing the paralytic: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17), i.e., that the Father on the seventh day did not completely cease to act, but only ceased to create new types of beings. On other occasions, Christ testified about the Father that He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), feeds all the birds of the air (7:26), clothes the flowers of the field in a way that Solomon was not dressed in all his glory (6:88). As a special care of God the Father for the moral world, revelation points to the mystery of redemption. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16–17; cf. 15:16; 16:23, etc.). The Comforter Spirit, the accomplisher of our sanctification, is also given to believers from God the Father. I will ask the Father, says the Savior, and will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; Rom. 1:7; 2 Cor. 1:4). God the Son Himself assimilated to Himself a providence for peace when He testified: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17). The Apostle teaches about the Son of God: everything consists of Him (Col. 1:17), that is, everything in the world, as it received existence from Him, continues to exist by His power. It is said of Him, holding all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). In relation to the moral world, as the manifestation of the love of the Son of God, revelation points to His accomplishment of redemption, portrays Him as our God Savior, the author of our sanctification (John 14:16, 27; 1 Cor1:4: Gal.4:6; Heb.2:11, etc.), the head of the Church (Eph.1:22; 2:20; Col.2:19), says about Him that He will remain with the faithful until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and listen to their prayers. (John 14:13; 16:23; 2 Tim. 2:19), that He brings those who are being saved to God the Father, so that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6, sn. 10:14 - 16), that the Son will deliver the Kingdom to God and the Father... that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:24, 28). The Holy Spirit, as during the creation of peace, hovered over unsettled matter (Gen. 1:2) and imparted strength and life to created beings according to their appearance, and now, according to the teaching of Scripture, He continues to act in the world, supporting its existence and well-being (Ps. 103:30). In relation to the restoration of the human race, the Holy Spirit, according to the teaching of Scripture, works out our salvation in Christ and with Christ. He builds the church of Christ, abiding in it (John 14:16), attracts people to Christ, assimilates to those who believe everything necessary for salvation prepared by the Redeemer, grafts them to Him like wild olive trees, pouring out on those who believe in Jesus Christ the many different gifts needed for salvation in the sacraments (John 3:5–6; Acts 8:17; 2 Cor.1:21–22, etc.) and through a direct effect on the human soul (Isa.11:2, 3; John 7:37, 39; Acts 2; 1 Cor.12:3–11; Rom.14:17; 8:26; Gal.5:20–23, etc.). The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets and apostles, which is why all Holy Scripture is the verb of the Holy Spirit (Luke 21:15; John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Pet. 1:20–21; 2 Tim. 3:15–17). The church expressed its belief in this dogma in its statements of faith when it called God the Father “Almighty” (Nicene-royal symbols), God the Son “Wisdom, which contains the composition of everything” (symbols of Gregory the Miracle), the Holy Spirit “Lord life-giving” (Nicene-royal symbols) and “Life in which the cause of all living” (in the same symbol). The word “providence” (Greek πρόνοια, Latin providentia) as applied to Divine actions is found in the Bible only in the book. Wisdom 14:3; 17:2. The ancient fathers and teachers of the church called God’s providence God’s care: “providence is God’s care (ἐπιμελεία) for creatures,” says St. I. Damascene (Ed. v. 11, 29; sn. Basil. Vel. About the Holy Spirit, 18 ch.). From these two actions of Providence (conservation et gubernatio) a third was distinguished (see, for example, Metropolitan Macarius, Dogma of God. § 96), namely: assistance (concursus Dei) to the forces of beings and their actions. But the action expressed by this concept in relation to the material world lies in the concept of the preservation of beings with their powers and activities. Where there is preservation of an existing thing or being, there is already assistance to forces in their action. In relation to the moral world, if by assistance we mean assistance to the free will of beings in the implementation of their good goals, then this will be one of the private types of management. Therefore, assistance is not a separate type of Providence, different from conservation and management. Literature about the Providence of God in general. – Nikolsky V. Faith in God’s providence and its foundations. Kaz. 1896 – Kudryavtseva V.D. about Fishery (II volume 1 issue op.). - Alexia Archimandrite. about the Providence of God (Appendix to the creative father. ts. in Russian translation 1843. I part.) - Malevansky Gr. Faith in God as the all-good Provider of the World and the Supreme Ruler of the World (Tr. Kyiv. Ak. 1874 No. 2, 4, 7 and 9). – Golubinsky F.A. Thinks. God. 169–204 and Prem. and blessings God in the destinies of the world and man. - John Bishop about the Providence of God (Bog. Academic Reading. St. Petersburg, 1897). – Petropavlovsky I.D. prot. about the Providence of God. (In defense of the Christian faith. Issue II). – Uspensky P. priest. Bible uch. about private fishing (Rad. archive 1895, VI book). Nature and fishing (Chronicle Thu. 1892 Mar.-Apr.). “Magna dii currant, parva negligunt,” that is, the gods take care of the great, neglect the small - Cicero repeated more than once (De nat. deor. II, 36 ets). All the Stoics held this opinion. Aristotle limited the action of Providence only to the sky, and on earth he did not find anything great and worthy of the attention of the gods. (Diog. Laertii. Vita Arist. and Eusevii. Praepar. evangel.) Pliny said: “it is ridiculous to imagine that the Supreme Being should care about human affairs and be humiliated by such a boring and petty occupation.” In pagan religions, the gods were revered not as universal providences, but as patrons of individual nations, who did not extend their providence to all of humanity and to every member of the human race. The Wise One expresses this thought in this way in his address to God: You love everything that exists, and you do not disdain anything that you have created, for you would not have created it if you hated it. And how could anything remain if You did not will? Or how would that which was not called by You be preserved? But You spare everything, because everything is Yours, O loving Lord (Wis. 11:25–27). Klim. Al. Strom. Book I Chapter 11; n. IV book. Chapter 12 Athenag. Oh sunday dead. 18. Afanas. Sl. prot. pagan (1 part 25 pages in Russian translation). And this is the general teaching of the ancient church fathers. See eg. Minuts. Fel. Octavius ​​17. Just. Razg. with Trif. 1. Irin. Against heresy. 2 books XXVI, 3. August. About tr. God Book V Chapter 11 Theodore. about Providence, 2 words. Nemesia De nat. hom. c. 44. Vasily V. About St. Spirit, to Amphil. Chapter 8 Kiril. Al. John Johan. lib. IX, p. 783; n. Gr. B. Sl. 14 (II part 39 pages) Blazh. Augustine. About the book Life letters IV book. Chapter 12 These thoughts of the blessed one are revealed with particular detail and explained with examples. Theodoret in creation: “Ten words about the Providence of God” (V part of his work in Russian translation). Ephraim. Sire. Oblich. to yourself and confess. (in the Works of the Holy Fathers XII, 216). Sn. Theodore. about Fishery Sl. 2. Grieg. B. Sacraments. song sl. 5. Afan. al. Sl. against language (1 volume in Russian translation); n. Klim. Rome. Last 1 Corinth. 20 ch. The name miracles in their own sense mean external amazing actions or events that have a true cause outside the natural forces and laws of nature - in the supernatural action of divine omnipotence - and performed by God to achieve important religious goals. For more details about miracles, their possibility and reality, as well as an analysis of the objections against them, see the courses of Christ. apologetics, as well as: Trench. Miracles of Our Lord I. Christ. Transl. A. Zinoviev 1883 - Row. Obvious. the truths of Christianity. Per. M. Fiveysky. 1892 Thu. 2nd. – Favorova N. prot. Thurs. about faith in I. Christ as the true Son of God (Trans. Kyiv. Ak. 1865, I volume) - Predtechensky A.I. The place and significance of miracles in systems. Christianity (Chronicle 1863 III.). - Troitsky I.E. Miracles are not only possible, but also necessary (ibid. 1886, II volume) - Petropavlovsky I. In defense of the Christian faith. Vol. I and II. – Glagoleva S.S. prof. Miracle and Science (God. V. 1896 No. 3). – Ostroumova S. About miracles as a sign of the true church (Vera and Raz. 1896, No. 9.). – About miracles in our time (Stran. 1864 No. 12). - E. L. Belief in miracles (ibid., 1898 Apr.). - Pavlovich A. Attempts at a natural explanation of miracles in our time (ibid. 1898 Oct.-Dec.; 1890 July-Aug.) - Solsky. Supernatural element in new vehicle revelation. Kyiv. 1877 – Orfanitsky I. priest. What is a miracle (Faith and Church. 1901, Book I). In the Greek religion, the most perfect in comparison with other pagan religions, the world-ruling power was not recognized as an all-perfect Being, but as a blind and unconscious force - an inexorable fate, fate (ἀνάγκη, fatum), to which all world life, all people and even the gods themselves are subordinated. Of the ancient pagan philosophers, some completely rejected the existence of Providence, such as, for example, the Epicureans, who thought that it was burdensome for God to take care of measure; others limited the actions of Providence only to great objects and kinds of beings; others assumed eternal matter, which is not completely subordinate to God, or two supreme principles - good and evil and under. You might be interested in: