
Contents
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Introduction to NIODA Introduction to NIODA
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Terms and Assumptions Terms and Assumptions
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(1) Laws of nature (1) Laws of nature
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(2) Ontological indeterminism (2) Ontological indeterminism
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(3) Objective versus subjective acts of God (3) Objective versus subjective acts of God
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(4) ‘Direct’ or ‘indirect’ acts (4) ‘Direct’ or ‘indirect’ acts
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(5) Mediated and immediate divine action (5) Mediated and immediate divine action
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(6) ‘Top‐down’, ‘whole—part’, ‘lateral’, and ‘bottom‐up’ causality, and their combinations (6) ‘Top‐down’, ‘whole—part’, ‘lateral’, and ‘bottom‐up’ causality, and their combinations
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(7) (In)compatibilist views of God's action in relation to nature as (non)‐ intervertionist (7) (In)compatibilist views of God's action in relation to nature as (non)‐ intervertionist
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Criteria for a Successful Proposal for NIODA Criteria for a Successful Proposal for NIODA
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‘FAQs’: Responses to Six Frequently Asked Questions (Typically Misconceptions) about NIODA ‘FAQs’: Responses to Six Frequently Asked Questions (Typically Misconceptions) about NIODA
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QM‐NIODA: The Proposal and its Assessment QM‐NIODA: The Proposal and its Assessment
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General Theological Issues General Theological Issues
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(1) How QM‐NIODA responds to six key FAQs regarding NIODA proposals (1) How QM‐NIODA responds to six key FAQs regarding NIODA proposals
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(a) Is QM‐NIODA an epistemic or an ontological gaps argument? (a) Is QM‐NIODA an epistemic or an ontological gaps argument?
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(b) Is God's action at the quantum level in effect a natural cause? (b) Is God's action at the quantum level in effect a natural cause?
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(c) Is God's action at the quantum level hidden from science? (c) Is God's action at the quantum level hidden from science?
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(d) Can even God know the outcome of a quantum process given the underlying ontological indeterminism? (d) Can even God know the outcome of a quantum process given the underlying ontological indeterminism?
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(e) Does QM make divine action ‘episodic’? (e) Does QM make divine action ‘episodic’?
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(f) Why the Saunders/Wildman ‘tetralemma’ argument against QM‐NIODA fails in principle (f) Why the Saunders/Wildman ‘tetralemma’ argument against QM‐NIODA fails in principle
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(2) Divine action at the quantum level and general providence (2) Divine action at the quantum level and general providence
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(3) Divine action at the quantum level and its relation to special providence and theistic evolution (3) Divine action at the quantum level and its relation to special providence and theistic evolution
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Crucial Theological Issues Crucial Theological Issues
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(1) Does God act providentially (general and/or special) in all, or only in some, quantum events? (1) Does God act providentially (general and/or special) in all, or only in some, quantum events?
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(2) Quantum physics, divine action, and the problem of human freedom (2) Quantum physics, divine action, and the problem of human freedom
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(3) Quantum physics, divine action, and the challenge of theodicy (3) Quantum physics, divine action, and the challenge of theodicy
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References and Suggested Reading References and Suggested Reading
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34 Quantum Physics and the Theology of Non‐Interventionist Objective Divine Action
Get accessRobert Russell is the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence, the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1981. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. He has written and edited numerous works on the relationship between science and theology, the most recent of which is Cosmology, Evolution and Resurrection Hope (2006)
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Published:02 September 2009
Cite
Abstract
Since the rise of modern science in the seventeenth century, Christians have hungered for an intellectually and spiritually satisfying view of non-interventionist objective divine action (NIODA) that can support a theology of special providence located between general providence, on the one hand, and miracle, on the other. This article evaluates a specific proposal for NIODA based on an indeterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM). It provides working definitions of the terms involved and the assumptions brought to the conversation. The article then stipulates the criteria that any potential candidate for NIODA must satisfy. Finally, before specifically turning to QM-NIODA, the discussion responds briefly to six frequent misconceptions (FAQs) regarding NIODA that tend to obscure the conversation and delay progress in assessing serious candidates for NIODA.
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