Creation and the Sovereignty of God

This monograph presents a systematic defense of divine sovereignty and classical theism through rigorous philosophical analysis. McCann develops a comprehensive account of God as creator that addresses fundamental questions about divine action, human freedom, and the problem of evil while engaging critically with contemporary philosophical theology.

The work's central thesis maintains that God exercises complete sovereignty over all creation through continuous divine causation. McCann argues that every aspect of reality depends moment by moment on God's creative activity, rejecting both deistic conceptions of distant divine action and occasionalist denials of genuine creaturely causation. He develops a nuanced position wherein God's sovereignty coexists with authentic human freedom through what he terms "dual agency" - human actions are simultaneously fully caused by God and fully attributable to human agents.

McCann's methodology combines analytic philosophical rigor with engagement of classical theological sources, particularly drawing on Thomistic insights while addressing contemporary debates in philosophy of religion. He systematically examines divine attributes including omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect goodness, arguing these necessarily characterize any being worthy of worship. The work critically engages prominent philosophers of religion including William Alston, Alvin Plantinga, and Richard Swinburne, often challenging their modifications of classical theism.

A significant portion addresses the problem of evil, where McCann controversially argues that God's sovereignty extends even to permitting or willing evil events. He maintains this remains compatible with divine goodness when understood within the larger context of God's creative purposes. The work also explores divine hiddenness, arguing that God's apparent absence serves pedagogical purposes in human spiritual development.

The monograph's distinctive contribution lies in its unflinching defense of maximal divine sovereignty while maintaining human moral responsibility. McCann challenges both theological compatibilists who limit divine control and libertarians who restrict divine foreknowledge. His position proves particularly relevant to debates about divine action in nature, theodicy, and the metaphysics of creation.

This work matters for contemporary philosophy of religion by offering sophisticated arguments for traditional theistic commitments often abandoned in recent scholarship. McCann demonstrates how classical divine attributes remain philosophically defensible while addressing modern concerns about human freedom and natural evil. The monograph serves as essential reading for those engaging questions of divine sovereignty, causation, and the creator-creation relationship in philosophical theology.