Divine Agency and Divine Action, Volume II: Soundings in the Christian Tradition

This volume represents William J. Abraham's systematic exploration of divine agency and action as understood within the Christian theological tradition. Building on theoretical foundations established in Volume I, Abraham examines how major Christian thinkers across history have conceptualized God's activity in the world, offering both historical analysis and constructive theological proposals for contemporary debates about divine action.

Abraham structures his investigation through careful engagement with pivotal figures in Christian thought, from patristic sources through medieval scholastics to modern theologians. He demonstrates how conceptions of divine agency have evolved in response to shifting philosophical frameworks and scientific understandings of causation. The work pays particular attention to how different theological traditions navigate the relationship between divine sovereignty and creaturely freedom, examining solutions proposed by Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Wesley, and others.

Central to Abraham's analysis is the problem of special divine action—how God acts in particular events without violating natural regularities or compromising human agency. He critiques both interventionist models that portray God as occasionally disrupting natural processes and non-interventionist accounts that restrict divine action to sustaining general laws. Instead, Abraham develops a nuanced position drawing on the Christian tradition's resources for understanding God's action as both transcendent and immanent, working through rather than against created causes.

The monograph engages critically with contemporary philosophical challenges to robust conceptions of divine action, including those raised by scientific naturalism and the causal closure principle. Abraham argues that the Christian tradition offers sophisticated resources for addressing these challenges without retreating to deism or embracing occasionalism. He particularly emphasizes how sacramental and pneumatological dimensions of Christian theology provide frameworks for understanding divine action that transcend typical philosophical dichotomies.

Abraham's methodological approach combines historical theology with analytic philosophy, demonstrating how retrieval of traditional Christian insights can inform current debates. His work contributes to the broader conversation about divine action by showing how specifically Christian commitments regarding incarnation, providence, and grace generate distinctive perspectives on God's relationship to creation. The volume serves both as a comprehensive survey of Christian thinking on divine agency and as a constructive proposal for how these traditional resources might address contemporary questions about God's action in a scientifically understood universe.