Philosophy

The main challenge in creating a methodology for Christian metaphysics is to create a system of universality an order where everything from the highest stars to the smallest pebbles can be shown to be bound together as a general whole. To make all creation appear as a single continuous whole, emerging from God and finally culminating into Him, is the chief objective of Christian metaphysics. This cannot be done by taking all elements of the sensual world separately, as they are too obviously different. Our physics fail us there. Yet, traditional metaphysics asserts that all things can be sewn into a harmonious whole, provided we go deeper than the sensual world to the world of the eternal and unchangeable, or in other words, the world of the being. To quote Parmenides, all things coalesce in being. Thus Christian metaphysics must be involved with the study of being (Owens, 1985).

The first step towards a scientific study of being, or metaphysics, is to isolate the being from the thing. Unless we establish the being as a kind of entity separate from the thing, and denote the exact nature of this difference, it will impossible for us to establish any concrete or theoretical basis of our theology. Theology should follow a system of scientific investigation and a rigorous methodology, and should not exclusively depend on faith and belief as its basis. The idea is to create a composite science of beings that will include both sensual as well as super-sensual beings. It is with this object, that the identification and isolation of being is to be carried out.

At the outset, we can immediately identify two different kinds of things, and their corresponding beings. The first set of things are those that have a concrete and sensual existence in the real order. These are called real things. The corresponding being or real being is that which constitute these things. The chief characteristic of this kind of being is that it has existence whether anybody is thinking about it or not. For example, the house at the corner of the street exists even if no one is thinking about it. It has a being that we can call a real being.

However, the house did have an existence in the mind of architect even before it was constructed, and if at some time in future, it ceases to exist, it may still have existence in somebodys memory. This kind of being is what we call cognitional being, a being that exists purely in ones thought, imagination or sensation. Similarly things that do not exist outside these realms of human thought are called cognitional things. Parmenides, in his early discussion about being considered all real beings to have a cognitive basis, that is, there is no real order other than that which exists in the mind.

An early reaction to it was through an example of insane men, who could not distinguish between the real and cognitional. However, this opposition was short-lived because the mind of the madman or someone under the influence of hallucinatory drugs can hardly be the foundation for scientific investigation. The difference between the real and the cognitional are only too easy to understand to any sane mind, and can be used as a convenient starting point in separating the being from the things. There have been two different approaches towards analyzing the relation between the real and the cognitional order, or the relationship of beings to things. The first group stated that the thing itself is extrinsic to knowledge about it. Naming or cataloging or signifying an object in any other form does not change the signified itself. However, this naming is not wholly extrinsic. Once named, the name itself helps to recall to cognition the real object. So, the thing, though different is not wholly outside the realm of the cognition related to it.

However, this needs qualification. The thing itself is different, is complete in itself, and knowledge about it is something different. For example a house recently planned has a cognitive being, once constructed it will have a real being, and when demolished it will again have a cognitive being. Thus the thing will remain as it is, as its being will keep changing form. The existence of the being, moreover, is not dependent on the existence of the thing. Thus, the being is different from the thing in some way.

The second understanding, often generalized as the idealist point of view with Aristotle as its fountainhead, concludes that nothing outside thought. Anything that is outside thought is unthinkable, and therefore does not exist. Usually, this approach follows a system propounded by the Cartesian cogito. However, a reaction to this idea is that knowledge needs something as an object of knowledge. Once grasped, it can pass to the realm of cognition, but the cognitive needs some kind of a real order to precede it.

Once, we understand that things and beings are different, we have to understand the nature of this distinction. Three different points have been suggested Real difference, conceptual difference and verbal difference. Real difference states that the difference between the thing and the being is objective and exists irrespective of human cognition. Conceptual difference states that basically they are different concepts of the same thing. The verbal difference theory states that being and thing are essentially the same, distinguished by name only.

Definitions
Fideism Reliance on faith alone rather scientific reasoning or philosophy in questions of religion. It can also refer to the theological doctrine that religious truth is a matter of fait hand cannot be established by reason.

Rationalism Reliance on reason as the best guide for belief and action. In philosophy, it refers to the theory that the exercise of reason, rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the primary basis for knowledge.

Christian metaphysics This is an attempt to use the Biblical conception of God and creation ex-nihilo to give an explanation of the origin of the universe, as well as matters of being, reality, faith and finally to prove the existence and to investigate the true nature of God. It is a meeting point of theology and traditional Aristotelian metaphysics.

Practical knowledge Knowledge gathered through experience and common sense, and through an empirical method of observation and conclusion.

Speculative knowledge Knowledge that is perceived from circumstances and knowledge of a particular incident, as different from the knowledge of that incident in itself.

Wonder Wonder can be defined as the feeling excited by something strange, like a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and sometimes awe as well as that something that causes such a feeling, such as a miracle.

Knowledge is one of the chief objects of metaphysics, and knowledge seen from the utilitarian point of view was something quite unknown at the time of its creation. To agree with modern materialists that all metaphysical knowledge is immaterial, would be to agree to the fact that such a dictum is little more that the materialists own interpretation of the world which does not agree to the existence of cognitional knowledge or the power it exercises on human life in general. We all know that most of our lives are determined by objects of faith, belief, doubts and resolutions that do not often have real corresponding existences. It is only through metaphysics that a deeper understanding of the world is to be achieved, thus putting us in a better position to understand phenomenon as it is. As such, it would be erroneous to conclude that metaphysics has no use. On the other hand, I would say that a knowledge of the being of the beings put us in a better place for understanding world and each of its activities and phenomena.

Christian metaphysics is no doubt a problematic term, and has been right from its inception. Although Christianity itself did depend on faith to a great degree, and still continues to do so it is not out of place to put the Biblical knowledge and revelations on a kind of logical and philosophical grounding. It was from this urge that Christian metaphysics had its inception. It is at the same time important to remember that the term is a composite one rather than a comprehensive one. It denotes a kind of commerce between traditionally revealed Christian faith and metaphysical enquiry. Christianity found in metaphysics a jargon, a language and terminology ready to refer to the kind of supersensual experiences and objects they were referring to, and Metaphysical terms found in Christianity, along with its shaky definitions and premises, a chance to be put on a steady ground. Thus, Christian Metaphysics is very much possible and has been practices for many centuries now, developing into a proper science of enquiry.

However, Christian Metaphysics is different from Christianity itself. By placing itself in the domain of technical philosophy, it immediately delineates itself from the Fideism related belief system of the faith itself. It does not remain absolutely necessary anymore to be a devout to understand and master metaphysics. It bases its enquiry on scientific investigation on the basis of well established philosophical methodologies.


The previous discussion makes it clear that the first challenge for metaphysics to establish itself on solid ground is to make a sound distinction between thing and being. If that is not rationally possible, then it will not be possible  to come to any general understanding of the nature or the genus of objects, to base our apprehension or judgment on. Once that is not done, there can be two different possibilities

Metaphysics remains well truly within the purview of the purely idealist school and its brand of absolute subjectivity, and thus thoroughly shunned by empiricist and scientific philosophers. 

Metaphysics becomes an issue of faith, following the fideism school where no tool of rational judgment can be used to judge its authenticity.

That is why, it is of extreme importance to first isolate the being from the thing, and understand the nature of this difference. Then we can proceed to understand the composition of being, and this composition, based on time and general nature, we can then extend to include both sensual as well as super-sensual being. From that point we can move towards establishing a Christian metaphysics.
Real things These are things that have their existence in themselves, irrespective of whether anybody is thinking about them or not. It exists irrespective of human cognition.
Real beings beings that exist in the real world, whether anybody is thinking about them or not. Its difference from thing is that, though it constitutes it as a general quality, it is separated and abstracted from it.

Cognitional things Things that do not exist outside human thought, imagination, memory or sensation.

Cognitional beings The being that does not exist outside human thought, imagination or sensation as against existence in the real order. The Egyptian civilization no longer exists as a real being, but exists in human memory and intellect. It therefore, has a being, but that being is separate form the real being, in that it is a cognitive being. It is often also referred to as intentional being in having existence purely as an idea.

Real Distinction This is first way to distinguish between being and things. It states that the distinction was already there even before any human intellect thought about it in the form of a distinction.
Conceptual Distinction These are differences in different concepts of the same thing, thus does not exist outside the plane of human cognition.

Verbal Distinction This is the third kind of distinction. When both the concept and the reality remain the same, we can still make a distinction by naming it differently. This kind of distinction is called verbal distinction.

The word being is thus full of ambiguity. It cannot always be differentiated from the thing at the real order, although conceptually a separate identity for it can be established and is well understood. However, even if it exists the nature of this difference is a contentious matter, and there are even suggestions that there is no real difference, with the only difference existing in name and nothing else.