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Traducianism

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on-going causation of human existence. This causation is through the human soul because, as Saint Thomas Aquinas argues, the human Soul has activities beyond the capacity of matter and the existence of these activities shows that the human soul is both immaterial and immortal---but not independent of God's causality. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that "every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents, and also that it is immortal..." Humans have, however, free will and thus control over their own existence, as much as they are responsible for the act of procreation.
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their own volition or by the command and action of God. Still others declared that the soul in the moment of its creation is infused into the body. Although for a time, the several views were upheld, and it was doubtful which came nearest the truth, the Church subsequently condemned the first two and approved the third.
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There was a diversity of opinions among the remaining scholastics. Some held that the soul of a child is produced by the soul of the parents just as the body is generated by the parent body. Others maintained that all souls are created apart and are then united with their respective bodies, either by
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Reasons for opposing the traducianism of human beings include the metaphysical argument that since humans cannot control their own existence, their existence cannot be caused by themselves; it must rather be caused by a necessary being otherwise known as God. Creation, in other words, includes God's
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drew a distinction between the creation of Eve's body from Adam's rib and the creation of her soul by citing Genesis 2:22: "the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." He noted that it did not say "soul of my soul", but that can only mean that the souls of the first
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That the soul sinned in its pre-existent state and on that account was incarcerated in the body is regarded by the Catholic Church as a fiction that has been repeatedly condemned. Divested of that fiction, the theory that the soul exists prior to its infusion into the organism, while not explicitly
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aspect is transmitted through natural generation along with the body, the material aspect of human beings. That is, human propagation is of the whole being, both material and immaterial aspects: an individual's soul is derived from the soul of one or both parents. This implies that only the soul of
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Traducianism contradicts the concept of the indivisibility of the soul. If the souls are incapable of division, then it is impossible for the soul of the child to be derived from the souls of the parents. But this is a merging and creation by two souls, and God would also have to divide himself in
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Since God is indivisible in both quality and nature, the creation of human souls cannot therefore be from some division beyond himself and not of his own substance and quality. It follows then that the creation of the human soul is the product of a merging and reconfiguration within God himself so
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argues for a modified hylomorphic theory that combines the merits of both Traducianism and Creationism. According to this view, a unique soul is generated when the gametes of parents that carry soulish potentialities meet (Traducian account), but it is God who gives a unique shape to the soul
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Traducianists find support in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned..." and 1 Corinthians "For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to
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reprobated, is obviously opposed to the doctrine of the Catholic Church according to which souls are multiplied correspondingly with the multiplication of human organisms. However, whether the rational soul is infused into the organism at
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the human soul is not received by parental propagation (traducianism), but by immediate divine creation (Creationism). It is also generally held that the Soul's creation coincides with its infusion into the human
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characterized creationism as the more probable opinion. All the other scholastics held creationism as certain and differed only in regard to the censure that should be attached to the opposite error. Accordingly,
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was directly created by God; they disagreed about whether humans thereafter were each given souls as a special act of creation, or whether souls were passed on to them the same way their bodies were.
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therefore humanity, being made themselves in God's image and similarly constrained, would likewise generate and issue forth souls but not actually creating anything beyond divine providence.
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spoke of "Generationism" as "certainly erroneous." Although there are no explicit definitions authoritatively put forth by the Catholic Church that would warrant calling Creationism to be
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According to Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God rested from creating on the 7th day. Creating new souls at each human conception could be seen as working against his finishing of creation.
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The weakness of traducianism, to many theologians, is that it makes the generation of the soul dependent of the transmission of matter. Presbyterian theologian
239:, some theologians hesitated between traducianism and creationism, believing the former to offer a better, if not the only, explanation of the transmission of 243:. For Augustine, traducianism suggested a simple explanation for original sin, but he could not decide between it and creationism. In his writing to Saint 457:
says that the soul of any given individual is a part of the original soul given to Adam, and therefore is not originated in the act of procreation.
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Traducianism proceeds on the unproven assumption that God only works in a managerial manner after completing the creation of the world.
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points out that God continues to work immediately both in the performance of miracles and in some parts of the work of redemption.
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The contingency of existence is one of the basic arguments for God's existence; for instance, see Saint Thomas Aquinas'
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Also, in the Nicene Creed, the Son was generated, not created, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son.
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Creationism always prevailed in the East and became the general opinion of medieval theologians. Amongst the
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held that since the nature of the soul is immaterial it could not be transmitted by natural generation.
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asserted, "The Catholic Church teaches that souls are created at their infusion into the body." Saint
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Hennings, Ralph. "Disputatio de origine animae -or the victory of creationism in the fifth century",
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stated: "That the souls are created by God, it is the Catholic Faith that obliges us to accept."
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doctrine, there can be no doubt as to which view has been favored by ecclesiastical authority.
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An American Augustinian: Sin and Salvation in the Dogmatic Theology of William G. T. Shedd
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actively advocated traducianism, the parental generation of souls. After the rise of
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postulates that the souls are created immediately at the moment of the conception.
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Studia Patristica: Historica, Theologica et Philosophica, Critica et Philologica
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Foundational to the traducian position is the statement in Hebrews 7:10: "When
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to say that the intellectual soul is transmitted by process of generation."
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Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth
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man and the first woman were both created separately and independently.
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Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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order to create a new one through his own substance. Also, in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 7 February 2019
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Dubray, Charles. "Traducianism." The Catholic Encyclopedia
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alone among the Greek Fathers leaned toward traducianism.
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Supporters of traducianism present arguments from the
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Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, p. 166 723: 1007:, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007, p. 18 925: 923: 703:Learn how and when to remove this message 567:Learn how and when to remove this message 211:Learn how and when to remove this message 109:Learn how and when to remove this message 1070: 1068: 978: 833: 831: 399:Traducianism was developed initially by 603:was still in the body of his ancestor." 472: 1251: 1209: 1179:, Christian Liberty Press, 2007, p. 46 920: 864: 132:is a doctrine about the origin of the 1123:Catechism of the Catholic Church §366 1065: 828: 1023: 947: 641:adding citations to reliable sources 612: 505:adding citations to reliable sources 476: 363: 193:adding citations to reliable sources 164: 47:adding citations to reliable sources 18: 815:According to the ruling opinion of 13: 935:, T. & T. Clark, 1891, p. 157" 14: 1280: 1077:Theology for the Community of God 340:, like Augustine, was undecided. 1197: 958:. Longmans, Green, and Company. 841: 761: 617: 481: 367: 169: 23: 1168: 1146: 1126: 1117: 1105: 1090: 1054: 1043: 1032: 1028:. Oxon: Routledge. p. 158. 1017: 997: 628:needs additional citations for 492:needs additional citations for 180:needs additional citations for 34:needs additional citations for 1026:Evil, Sin and Christian Theism 972: 941: 898: 887: 870: 799: 462:Evil, Sin and Christian Theism 1: 1102:, first volume, question two. 948:Hall, Francis Joseph (1910). 813:, Dis seminary, August 2005, 792: 359: 344:favoured creationism, as did 1215:Creatianism and Traducianism 1177:Manual of Christine Doctrine 1114:, first volume, question 76. 787:Dualism (philosophy of mind) 7: 754: 10: 1285: 1232: 979:Erickson, Millard (2013). 312:was against traducianism. 296:was more emphatic: "It is 160: 1157:, Moody Publishers, 1999 413:Saint Anastasius Sinaita 267:also favored that view. 227:agreed that the soul of 145:was created directly by 1224:Encyclopædia Britannica 724:Arguments in opposition 155:creationism of the soul 1259:Christian anthropology 953:Evolution and the Fall 951:Hall, Francis Joseph. 777:Christian anthropology 409:Saint Gregory of Nyssa 1024:Loke, Andrew (2022). 269:Clement of Alexandria 933:The Expository Times 637:improve this article 501:improve this article 473:Arguments in support 310:Anselm of Canterbury 302:Hugh of Saint Victor 189:improve this article 43:improve this article 1153:Ryrie, Charles C., 1075:Grenz, Stanley J., 884:, vol. 44, 233-234) 878:De Hominis Opificio 782:Christian mortalism 769:Christianity portal 437:Lewis Sperry Chafer 318:Gregory of Valencia 308:were creationists. 253:Theodore Abu Qurrah 1132:Webb, Stephen H., 1003:Crisp, Oliver D., 981:Christian Theology 876:Gregory of Nyssa. 421:Augustus H. Strong 379:. You can help by 306:Hilary of Poitiers 285:Alexander of Hales 136:holding that this 1211:Nairne, Alexander 990:978-0-8010-3643-9 965:978-1-02-238799-7 882:Patrologia Graeca 713: 712: 705: 687: 577: 576: 569: 551: 449:Robert L. Reymond 445:Norman L. 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Shedd 405:Church Fathers 395: 394: 374: 372: 361: 358: 294:Thomas Aquinas 225:Church Fathers 219: 218: 177: 175: 168: 162: 159: 117: 116: 58:"Traducianism" 31: 29: 22: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1281: 1270: 1267: 1265: 1262: 1260: 1257: 1256: 1254: 1244: 1240: 1237: 1236: 1226: 1225: 1220: 1216: 1212: 1207: 1206:public domain 1195: 1194: 1188: 1187:9781930367906 1184: 1180: 1178: 1171: 1165: 1164:9781575674988 1161: 1158: 1156: 1149: 1143: 1142:9780199827954 1139: 1135: 1129: 1120: 1113: 1108: 1101: 1100: 1093: 1087: 1086:9780802847553 1083: 1080: 1078: 1071: 1069: 1062: 1057: 1051: 1046: 1040: 1035: 1027: 1020: 1014: 1013:9781556356582 1010: 1006: 1000: 992: 986: 982: 975: 967: 961: 957: 956: 952: 944: 936: 934: 926: 924: 917: 916:9789068318364 913: 910: 908: 901: 895: 890: 883: 880:, 29 (Migne, 879: 873: 866: 861: 859: 857: 849: 848:public domain 839: 834: 832: 824: 821: 818: 812: 808: 802: 798: 788: 785: 783: 780: 778: 775: 774: 770: 764: 759: 752: 750: 749:Louis Berkhof 745: 743: 742:Charles Hodge 738: 736: 730: 718: 715: 714: 707: 704: 696: 685: 682: 678: 675: 671: 668: 664: 661: 657: 654: –  653: 649: 648:Find sources: 642: 638: 632: 631: 626:This section 624: 620: 615: 614: 607: 606: 602: 598: 594: 590: 586: 585: 584: 582: 571: 568: 560: 557:February 2019 549: 546: 542: 539: 535: 532: 528: 525: 521: 518: –  517: 513: 512:Find sources: 506: 502: 496: 495: 490:This section 488: 484: 479: 478: 470: 467: 463: 458: 456: 452: 450: 446: 442: 438: 434: 430: 426: 422: 418: 414: 410: 406: 402: 391: 388:November 2018 382: 378: 375:This section 373: 370: 366: 365: 357: 355: 354:Pope Pius XII 351: 347: 343: 339: 338:Martin Luther 335: 333: 327: 325: 324: 319: 313: 311: 307: 303: 299: 295: 291: 290:Peter Lombard 286: 282: 277: 274: 270: 266: 262: 258: 254: 250: 246: 242: 238: 234: 230: 226: 215: 212: 204: 201:February 2019 194: 190: 184: 183: 178:This section 176: 172: 167: 166: 158: 156: 152: 148: 144: 139: 135: 131: 127: 124: 113: 110: 102: 99:November 2015 91: 88: 84: 81: 77: 74: 70: 67: 63: 60: –  59: 55: 54:Find sources: 48: 44: 38: 37: 32:This article 30: 26: 21: 20: 1269:Adam and Eve 1243:Gordon Clark 1239:Traducianism 1222: 1176: 1170: 1154: 1148: 1133: 1128: 1119: 1111: 1107: 1097: 1092: 1076: 1056: 1045: 1034: 1025: 1019: 1004: 999: 980: 974: 954: 950: 943: 932: 906: 900: 889: 881: 877: 872: 814: 810: 801: 746: 739: 735:Nicene Creed 731: 727: 699: 693:January 2023 690: 680: 673: 666: 659: 647: 635:Please help 630:verification 627: 578: 563: 554: 544: 537: 530: 523: 511: 499:Please help 494:verification 491: 461: 459: 453: 433:Presbyterian 429:Gordon Clark 398: 385: 381:adding to it 376: 346:Robert Baron 336: 328: 321: 314: 278: 241:original sin 222: 207: 198: 187:Please help 182:verification 179: 130:traducianism 129: 120: 105: 96: 86: 79: 72: 65: 53: 41:Please help 36:verification 33: 1050:1 Cor 15:22 865:Nairne 1911 820:Theologians 593:Melchizedek 466:Andrew Loke 342:John Calvin 281:Scholastics 237:Pelagianism 1253:Categories 793:References 663:newspapers 583:such as: 527:newspapers 401:Tertullian 360:Supporters 332:conception 233:Tertullian 138:immaterial 69:newspapers 1213:(1911). 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"Traducianism"
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