Divine action

Second, the notion of process dominates the work of three philosophers of the last century Henri-Louis Bergson (1859-1941), Samuel Alexander (1859-1938), and Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) (see Ayer, 1982, pp. 208-9). In passing, it is perhaps worth noting that process theology is based on the metaphysics of Whitehead, who rejected Divine Action in terms of causality, proposing that God acts persuasively in all events, but not necessarily in determining their character. Specifically, Whitehead pointed out the incoherence of belief in a lifeless universe. 

Chela-Flores, J. (1998). The phenomenon of the eukaryotic cell. In Evolutionary and Molecular Biology Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action, ed. R. J. Russell, W. R. Stoeger and F. J.Ayala. Vatican City State/Berkeley, CA Vatican Observatory and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), pp. 79-99. 

Russell, R. J. (1996). Introduction. In Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action, 2nd edn., ed. R. J. Russell, N. C. Murphy and C. J.Isham. Vatican City State Vatican Observatory, pp. 1-31. 

Hope is a virtue which sees that our will, through divine action, coming under our control, is inclined towards Eternal Truths those which Faith reveals to us, as those which can and should one day be our total illumination. 

The physical body cannot penetrate the other bodies, as yet, but is itself penetrated by the other bodies. Thus it becomes the natural stage for all spiritual actions and decisions and the starting point for all spiritual unfoldment. Qabalistically, it is in Malkuth that the divine presence—Shekinah—is revealed for the healing of nations. This is the esoteric meaning of the coming of the Messiah, when That which lies dormant in every heart becomes fully manifested. 

The major issue is the desire-nature. To clear the decks, let us first declare, with the Sages, that desire itself is not a spiritual impediment. Desire arises in Kether, as the Divine impulse to manifest. Kether is will or consciousness-in-action (in Hebrew, will and delight have the same meaning). Consciousness itself is ineffable, indefinable, and hidden within Ain, the Absolute. To will something, however, is for the light... 

So the manifestations, the human-built channels of thought and action, are often evil, even though the originating impulse and energy is divine in origin. This is a consequence of human free will. This is why the Qabalah holds the difficult, and easily misunderstood and abused, teaching that, within the heart of every evil there is concealed a spark of the Divine. How could it be otherwise, since there is only One Reality, one Life-Power ... 

He is robed in the sacerdotal robes of glory the pure white of Divinity, the blue surcoat of Spirit, the violet and scarlet of Form and Action. Upon his breast glitters the koshen, the breastplate of twelve jewels which indicates that, in him, the twelve spiritual types, the twelve sieges, have been integrated and fulfilled the Earth has no more to teach him. He is crowned with a white mitre, upon which letters of fire shine, declaring Holy unto the Lord. ... 

Sometimes I even perform abstract divination where, in my mind, I scatter dust and dirt into the wind and visualize the resultant color. The beauty of the resultant colors gives me ideas as to the favorableness of a certain action. For example, a pretty violet symmetrical pattern is favorable, but a muddy, dark, congealed mess is unfavorable. I know this sounds quite weird, but again, it probably works because I subconsciously access information that doesn t quite break through into my conscious mind. 

Aristotle of Stageiros (384-322 BCE) did not agree with his teacher s geometric bodies for the different elements. He rejected the Democritian atoms in which matter was considered a principle but form was a secondary characteristic. Nor did he accept the existence of a void. According to the Aristotelian view, the four elements arose from the action on primordial matter by pairs of qualities (warm + dry, fire, warm + moist, air, cold + dry, earth, cold + moist, water). He introduced another element, ether, as a divine substance of which the heavens and stars are made (23). 

His notion of the cause of chemical action is quite mystical. He supposes a ferment, a formless and unsubstantial something implanted by the divine will in all substances, to be the thing which determines what the action and the products shall be. The various functions of the body, for instance, take place under the initiative of the ferment, and under the guidance or direction of the Areh-aeus, a sort of resident spirit, the concept of the Archaeus being derived, somewhat modified, from the Archaeus of Paracelsus.8... 

The fifth day of the Baro Thodol confronts the deceased with the Bhagavan Buddha Amoghasiddhi, Almighty Conqueror, from the green Norther realm of Successful Performance of Best Actions, attended by a Divine Mother, and two Bodhisattvas representing the mental functions of "equilibrium, immutability, and almighty power" and "clearer of obscurations."]... 

This is the Divine Spark hidden in all things, the reflection of Celestial Fire. Called the Quintessence, it is the "most purified and fixed part of a matter," formed by the perfect balance of the Four Elements. This harmony between opposing forces of the Elements, brings forth a whole new and exalted state, the Fifth Element or Quintessence. Its action is digestive and maturing. It drives the transpiration and subtilization of the elements upward to regenerate fire. 

Boerhaave s fire, likewise, fills the spaces in between particles and is the cause of motion. Moreover, it directly refers to God as Boerhaave called fire that wonderful cause, which the Creator has lodged in the universe. However, we must not say that in Boerhaave s view God is fire, although he saw fire as a very concrete divine means of action, since when God sends down his fire from heaven, something happens on earth people will be consumed or a sacrifice will be kindled. Pure fire, in Boerhaave s view, is a secondary cause through which God operates in the world. Newton s forces on the other hand... 

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