The Early Franciscan Doctrine of Divine Immensity: Towards a Middle Way Between Classical Theism and Panentheism

King’s Research Portal DOI: 10.1017/S0036930617000291 Document Version Peer reviewed version Link to publication record in King's Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Schumacher, L. (2017). The Early Franciscan Doctrine of Divine Immensity: Towards a Middle Way between Classical theism and Panentheism. SCOTTISH JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY, 70(3), 278-294. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0036930617000291 Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections. 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Sep. 2021 The Early Franciscan Doctrine of Divine Immensity: Towards a Middle Way Between Classical Theism and Panentheism This contribution is dedicated to Paul Fiddes. ABSTRACT: Since Augustine, Western medieval thinkers have largely identified ‘simplicity’ as the most fundamental feature of the divine nature. Although the Western tradition of thinking about God has often been regarded as relatively continuous, I will demonstrate in this paper that a separate line of thought developed amongst early thirteenth-century Franciscan thinkers. This new tradition stressed God’s immensity or infinity. In doing so, I will argue, it instigated a fundamental shift in the way of conceiving the nature of God that holds profound promise for reconciling factions in systematic theology today, particularly between Classical Theists and Panentheists. KEYWORDS: Classical Theism, Panentheism, Franciscan, Divine Immensity, Divine Simplicity, Divine Infinity Since Augustine, medieval thinkers in the West have largely identified ‘simplicity’ as the most fundamental feature of the divine nature. Indeed, the doctrine of divine simplicity—now frequently referred to as ‘classical theism’—has been propounded by such noteworthy scholars as Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Lombard, and Thomas Aquinas, who articulated this doctrine in its mature form. Although the Western tradition of thinking about the general nature of God has often been regarded as relatively continuous, I will demonstrate in this paper that a second and separate line of theological thought developed amongst the founders of the Franciscan intellectual tradition, who worked in the first half of the thirteenth century. Where the preceding tradition emphasized the basic simplicity of the divine, this new tradition stressed God’s immensity or infinity. In doing so, I will argue, it instigated a fundamental shift in the way of conceiving the nature of God that holds promise for reconciling factions in systematic theology today, especially between Classical Theists and so-called Panentheists. In order to substantiate this claim, I will start by offering an overview of the unique structure of the early Franciscan doctrine of God and its possible historical sources. This analysis will highlight the respects in which early Franciscan theologians appear to have departed from or developed past precedent in treating the nature of God. In a second part of the paper, I will briefly outline the traditional teaching on divine simplicity, as advocated by Augustine, by way of a foil that will throw into relief the innovativeness of the early Franciscan doctrine of divine immensity, which I will then treat in more detail. In the third part, I will defend the suggestion that the early Franciscan doctrine of God as immense holds significant promise for reconciling the concerns of contemporary Classical Theists and Panentheists. My source for this discussion is the so-called Summa Halensis, a collaborative work on the part of the founders of the Franciscan intellectual tradition—most notably Alexander of Hales, who oversaw the project, and for whom it is named. Although the Summa was mostly completed between 1236-1245, twenty years before Aquinas set his 1 hand to the task of authoring his magisterial Summa Theologiae, final sections of the text may have been written as late as 1256, possibly even by the likes of Bonaventure. Until recently, the Summa Halensis has been very little studied, for a number of possible reasons. One has to do with questions surrounding its authorship. Although the editors of the third volume of the Summa corrected the longstanding assumption that the entire work was composed by Alexander of Hales himself, and made significant progress in identifying the likely authors of different sections of the text, it is still difficult decisively to determine who wrote what in the Summa.1 This difficulty has deterred scholars from appreciating the Summa for what it was seemingly meant to be, to wit, an indicator of the collective mind of the early Franciscan school. Another reason for the Summa’s neglect has to do with the notion, espoused by generations of medievalists, including the initial editors of the Summa, that the text served primarily to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine at the beginning of a period in which Aristotle’s works were rapidly rising in popularity.2 One motive for my discussion here is to query this assumption and to show that the Summa Halensis and the early Franciscan tradition of thought more generally is highly sophisticated and multi-dimensional. In this connection, I will demonstrate further below that the Summa represents, first and foremost, an effort on the part of early Franciscans to lay down a Franciscan intellectual tradition for the very first time. In other words, it seeks to translate the spiritual and ministerial vision of Francis of Assisi into philosophical and theological principles that provided a basis at the time for Franciscan education and especially for participation in the larger University context, which was quickly becoming the touchstone of all spiritual and intellectual credibility.3 On these grounds, I submit that Franciscan doctrines—such as divine immensity—must be interpreted against the backdrop of the early writings by and about Francis, which served as the principle by which early Franciscan scholars selected and deployed authorities. This is the sort of interpretation I will offer in what follows, after treating the structure and sources of the Summa’s treatise on the one God. The Structure of the Summa’s Doctrine of God and its Sources The treatise on the One God in the Summa Halensis consists of six tractates. The first covers the necessity or essentiality, immutability, and simplicity of the divine—in a mere 13 pages; the second deals with divine immensity in nearly 60 pages; the third covers the unity, truth, and goodness of God in almost 100 pages; the fourth, fifth, and sixth sections deal with God’s power, knowledge, and will, respectively, in approximately 200 further pages. The coverage of some of these topics, such as divine immutability and simplicity as well as divine power, knowledge, and will, is relatively 1 See Victorin Doucet, ‘The History of the Problem of the Authenticity of the Summa’, Franciscan Studies, 7 (1947), 26‒41, 274‒312. 2 See the Prolegomena to Alexander of Hales, Doctoris irrefragabilis Alexandri de Hales Ordinis minorum Summa theologica, 5 vols (Florence: Quaracchi, 1924–48), section IV: Patres Latini. 3 Neslihan Senocak, The Poor and the Perfect: The Rise of Learning in the Franciscan Order 1209-1310 (Ithaca: Cornell, 2012). 2 unremarkable. These topics are dealt with in Lombard’s Sentences.4 Moreover, they are treated albeit in more disparate fashion in the works of Augustine and Anselm, not to mention Aquinas. More extraordinary is the primacy given to divine necessity and the amount of space devoted to the discussion of divine immensity and to the so-called ‘transcendentals’ of unity, truth, and goodness. While it would be very interesting to explore the early Franciscan arguments concerning divine necessity and the transcendentals—which seem to come to them through the work of the Arab scholar Avicenna—this would take me far beyond the scope of my current project.5 Thus, the focus of this paper will remain on matters directly related to divine immensity. A search through the volumes of the Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, and of the Patrologia Latina, reveals only scant and relatively unremarkable references to divine immensity prior to the twelfth century. Isidore of Seville seems to be our best source for a definition of the doctrine. On his account:6 The immensity of the divine greatness is such that we understand him to be inside everything, but not enclosed [in it]; outside everything, but not excluded [from it]. Insofar as he is inside, he contains everything; insofar as he is outside, he contains all things by the uncircumscribed immensity of his magnitude. Thus, it is shown that insofar as he is outside, he is creator. But in so far as he is inside, it is proved that he governs everything. And in order that none of the things that are created are without God, he is inside everything.

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