Overview of Human Nature: Sovereignty, Creation, and Providence

It is difficult to summarize briefly two complementary doctrines of human nature, let alone three doctrines in the full trilogical view. It is easier to describe the problems that occur when one or more of these doctrines are diminished. That will be done in the outline below.

Sub-Christian Views of Human Nature

If one or more of the three terms in the relationship is denied or diminished, a simpler, more impoverished structure results. Sub-Christian views or heresies arise from these reduced relationships. There are seven possible forms of these views, depending on which of the terms are diminished.

The first three sub-Christian views affirm two of the terms, and therefore retain some theistic beliefs. They are historically the most important source of heresies in the Christian doctrine of human nature.

1. Creation + Providence affirmed, Sovereignty rejected: Autonomy, self-sufficiency or absolute freedom of the (human) creature to determine his/her own destiny; can choose or lose salvation irrespective of God's will; results in loss of eternal security. Taught by Arminius, John Wesley. Also (understandably) common in modern Judaism.

2. Creation + Sovereignty affirmed, Providence rejected: Fatalism, in which the will of God in every event overrides human choice completely; humans are merely pawns in an insignificant game, puppets, etc. Prevalent view in Islam.

3. Sovereignty and Providence affirmed, Creation rejected: Panenthism, humans are all gods, a loss of the distinction between creature and Creator. Whitehead's process theology tends in this direction.

4. Creation affirmed, Sovereignty and Providence rejected: Naturalism, in which "Creation" is exaggerated to make a world with autonomous, self-governing status, a complete and closed system. In this world view, humans find themselves increasingly alienated from the natural world: "Apollonian Man". This leads inevitably to a dualism -- not between Creator and creature, but between Nature and "cosmic orphans" (See details here).

5. Providence affirmed, Creation and Sovereignty rejected: Secular existentialism. Exaggeration of "Providence": humans are autonomous and free, not determined by nature. But it doesn't matter much because there is no meaning to be found in a universe in which human aspirations have no possibility of fulfilment. "Dionysian Man".

6. Sovereignty affirmed, Creation and Providence rejected: Pantheism (or, more properly, Pan-everything-ism, since there is no implication of a personal God as in theism). All is divine; there are no distinctions between Creator and creature, or between Being and Becoming. There is no question of resisting God's will; such a notion is an illusion. The true world is a timeless, unified whole; which means that most of what we observe and experience is an illusion. Common view in Eastern religions. Note that since God is everything, God is nothing, no category. So Buddhism may fit in this category even though it is usually described as atheistic.

7. Creation, Providence, and Sovereignty all rejected: Nihilism. Rejection of all rational attempts to describe human nature and our place in the universe; an attraction to nothingness. Get suicide counseling before you seriously pursue this view!



See additional comments in the three dilogic overviews and "more details" links.



Return to trilogic diagram.