Theological Theses · §1997 · Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu

Most Roman doctors hold that God knows not only what will be, but what would freely happen under any condition

Most of the teachers of the Roman school hold that God foreknows not only what will happen freely and contingently, yet simply and absolutely. He also foreknows what will never actually happen but would happen freely if this or that condition were in place.

For example, God knows not only what each of us will do right up to the end of life in the various states in which his sure providence is to place us. He also knows what we would do if the future state of things were entirely different and other opportunities for action kept presenting themselves to us.

Latin

II. Igitur maxima pars Doctorum Scholae Romanae in ea est sententia, Deum non solum praescire ea quae libere & contingenter quidem, sed tamen simpliciter & absolute futura sunt; verum etiam illa quae, licet nunquam futura sint, libere tamen eventura essent, posita hac, aut illa conditione. Exempli causa, Deum non tantum cognoscere quid singuli facturi sumus ad finem usque vitae, in variis illis statibus in quibus, ex certa Dei Providentia sumus collocandi; sed praeterea quid facturi essemus, si plane diversus esset futurus rerum status, & aliae atque aliae agendi occasiones sese nobis offerrent.

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