Whether the Knowledge of God Is Variable?
Objection 1: It seems that the knowledge of God is variable. For
knowledge is related to what is knowable. But whatever imports
relation to the creature is applied to God from time, and varies
according to the variation of creatures. Therefore the knowledge of
God is variable according to the variation of creatures.
Obj. 2: Further, whatever God can make, He can know. But God can
make more than He does. Therefore He can know more than He knows.
Thus His knowledge can vary according to increase and diminution.
Obj. 3: Further, God knew that Christ would be born. But He does
not know now that Christ will be born; because Christ is not to be
born in the future. Therefore God does not know everything He once
knew; and thus the knowledge of God is variable.
_On the contrary,_ It is said, that in God "there is no change nor
shadow of alteration" (James 1:17).
_I answer that,_ Since the knowledge of God is His substance, as is
clear from the foregoing (A. 4), just as His substance is altogether
immutable, as shown above (Q. 9, A. 1), so His knowledge likewise
must be altogether invariable.
Reply Obj. 1: "Lord", "Creator" and the like, import relations to
creatures in so far as they are in themselves. But the knowledge of
God imports relation to creatures in so far as they are in God;
because everything is actually understood according as it is in the
one who understands. Now created things are in God in an invariable
manner; while they exist variably in themselves. We may also say that
"Lord", "Creator" and the like, import the relations consequent upon
the acts which are understood as terminating in the creatures
themselves, as they are in themselves; and thus these relations are
attributed to God variously, according to the variation of creatures.
But "knowledge" and "love," and the like, import relations consequent
upon the acts which are understood to be in God; and therefore these
are predicated of God in an invariable manner.
Reply Obj. 2: God knows also what He can make, and does not make.
Hence from the fact that He can make more than He makes, it does not
follow that He can know more than He knows, unless this be referred
to the knowledge of vision, according to which He is said to know
those things which are in act in some period of time. But from the
fact that He knows some things might be which are not, or that some
things might not be which are, it does not follow that His knowledge
is variable, but rather that He knows the variability of things. If,
however, anything existed which God did not previously know, and
afterwards knew, then His knowledge would be variable. But this could
not be; for whatever is, or can be in any period of time, is known by
God in His eternity. Therefore from the fact that a thing exists in
some period of time, it follows that it is known by God from
eternity. Therefore it cannot be granted that God can know more than
He knows; because such a proposition implies that first of all He did
not know, and then afterwards knew.
Reply Obj. 3: The ancient Nominalists said that it was the same thing
to say "Christ is born" and "will be born" and "was born"; because
the same thing is signified by these three--viz. the nativity of
Christ. Therefore it follows, they said, that whatever God knew, He
knows; because now He knows that Christ is born, which means the same
thing as that Christ will be born. This opinion, however, is false;
both because the diversity in the parts of a sentence causes a
diversity of enunciations; and because it would follow that a
proposition which is true once would be always true; which is
contrary to what the Philosopher lays down (Categor. iii) when he
says that this sentence, "Socrates sits," is true when he is sitting,
and false when he rises up. Therefore, it must be conceded that this
proposition is not true, "Whatever God knew He knows," if referred to
enunciable propositions. But because of this, it does not follow that
the knowledge of God is variable. For as it is without variation in
the divine knowledge that God knows one and the same thing sometime
to be, and sometime not to be, so it is without variation in the
divine knowledge that God knows an enunciable proposition is sometime
true, and sometime false. The knowledge of God, however, would be
variable if He knew enunciable things by way of enunciation, by
composition and division, as occurs in our intellect. Hence our
knowledge varies either as regards truth and falsity, for example, if
when either as regards truth and falsity, for example, if when a
thing suffers change we retained the same opinion about it; or as
regards diverse opinions, as if we first thought that anyone was
sitting, and afterwards thought that he was not sitting; neither of
which can be in God.
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