Self-Standing Givenness

Reconciling Divine Simplicity and the Trinity: Intro to the Self-Standing Givenness Ontology

You can also see my video on the SSGO’s first principle here:

The tension between the doctrines of Divine Simplicity and the Trinity has long been a central challenge in Christian theology. Divine Simplicity asserts that God’s essence is indivisible and without parts, while the Trinity proclaims that God exists eternally as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Self-Standing Givenness Ontology (SSGO) offers a novel framework that integrates classical Catholic theology–particularly the concepts of subsistent relations and perichoresis–with a dynamic relational ontology. This essay delves deeply into the first principle of the SSGO, Self-Standing Givenness, elucidating its conceptual foundations, its alignment with theological tradition, and its unique approach to harmonizing the oneness of God’s essence with the real distinctions among the Divine Persons. In light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 250-256), this paper explores how the SSGO’s framework reaffirms the indivisibility of God’s essence while enriching our understanding of the dynamic relational life of the Trinity.

The Christian understanding of God as both absolutely simple and triune presents a profound theological paradox. On one hand, the doctrine of Divine Simplicity maintains that God’s essence is utterly indivisible, lacking any form of composition or complexity. On the other hand, the doctrine of the Trinity affirms that God exists as three co-equal, co-eternal Persons, each fully and entirely God. The challenge lies in articulating how these three distinct Persons can coexist within an undivided divine essence without compromising either the unity of God’s being or the distinctiveness of each Person.

Traditional theological approaches have grappled with this tension, often emphasizing one doctrine at the expense of the other. The Self-Standing Givenness Ontology (SSGO) seeks to address this challenge by proposing a relational ontology that preserves both the unity and the diversity within the Godhead. This essay focuses on the first principle of the SSGO, Self-Standing Givenness, exploring its conceptual clarity, its roots in classical theology, and its innovative resolution of the apparent contradiction between Divine Simplicity and the Trinity. It also integrates the insights of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 250-256) to underscore the harmony between the SSGO’s first principle and traditional Catholic teaching.

Clarifying Self-Standing Givenness

The principle of Self-Standing Givenness establishes the relational foundation of the SSGO. It posits that each Divine Person is a distinct, irreducible relational identity who fully and uniquely possesses the one indivisible divine essence through an eternal act of self-givenness. Self-Standing Givenness can be broken down into three key assertions:

1. Unique Relational Mode of the Same Essence: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not separate parts of God but distinct identities defined by their relationships of origin and self-giving. The Father is the unbegotten source, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. These distinctions are real and substantial, yet they do not introduce division into the divine essence.
2. Wholly and Fully Actualized in Each Person: The divine essence is wholly and fully actualized in each Person. There is no partitioning or dividing of God’s essence among the Persons. Instead, each Person possesses the entirety of the divine essence in a unique relational mode. This means that the Father is fully God, the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God, without any diminution or fragmentation of the divine being.
3. Dynamic Relational Realization: These relational identities are dynamically realized through eternal acts of self-givenness. The Father eternally begets the Son, the Son eternally receives from and returns to the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the mutual love of the Father and the Son. These acts are not temporal events but are eternal, timeless realities that constitute the very being of God.

The concept of Self-Standing Givenness thus establishes that each Divine Person is fully God, possessing and expressing the one indivisible essence in a unique, self-standing mode. This principle allows the SSGO to affirm both the unity and the real distinctions within the Trinity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes that “the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another” (CCC 255). This aligns with the SSGO’s assertion that the Divine Persons are distinct relational identities fully possessing the one divine essence. The Catechism further states that “because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit” (CCC 255), highlighting the mutual indwelling and unity of essence among the Persons.

The SSGO reinforces this understanding by viewing the relational acts of begetting, being begotten, and proceeding as eternal and immutable. These acts do not imply any change or temporal succession in God but are expressions of His eternal nature. By emphasizing that these relational acts are fully actualized expressions of God’s immutable essence, the SSGO preserves divine simplicity while deepening our appreciation of the relational life within the Trinity.

Rooted in the Tradition of Subsistent Relations

The concept of subsistent relations is foundational in classical Catholic theology, particularly in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas asserts that in God, “relation and essence do not differ” (Summa Theologica, I, q.28, a.2). This means that the relations within the Trinity are not accidental attributes but are identical to God’s essence. Each Person is a subsistent relation–fully God and fully relational.

The SSGO builds upon this classical framework by emphasizing the dynamic and relational nature of these subsistent relations. While Aquinas presents the relations as metaphysical realities, the SSGO introduces a dynamic aspect, viewing them as eternal acts of self-giving. This shift from a static to a dynamic understanding allows for a richer comprehension of how the Persons are distinct yet united.

Perichoresis and the Dynamics of Divine Unity

Perichoresis, or mutual indwelling, is a key concept in Trinitarian theology that describes how the Divine Persons interpenetrate one another without loss of personal identity. This concept emphasizes that the unity of God is not a static oneness but a dynamic communion of love and self-giving.

In the SSGO framework, perichoresis is understood as constitutive mutual indwelling. Each Person’s identity is fully realized only in relation to the others. As St. Gregory of Nyssa expresses, “Whatever comes to pass… has its origin from the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is perfected in the Holy Spirit” (Source: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2905.htm). The Father is the Father precisely because He eternally begets the Son and, together with the Son, breathes forth the Spirit. The Son is the Son because He is eternally begotten by the Father and participates in the procession of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit because He eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.

This dynamic relational presence means that the unity of God’s essence is expressed through the eternal, loving relationships among the Persons. Perichoresis is not a static state but an ongoing, eternal process of self-giving and receiving that actualizes the divine essence in a communion of love. As St. Gregory of Nyssa further elucidates, “The same life is wrought in us by the Father, prepared by the Son, and depends on the Holy Spirit” (Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=Fathers-EN/PLATINUM-Gregory_of_Nyssa-Ablabius.html). This reinforces the SSGO’s position that the distinctions among the Persons are not separations but expressions of a singular, divine act.

This understanding reinforces the idea that divine simplicity is not compromised by relational distinctions, as the unity of essence is dynamically expressed through these perichoretic relations.

Succinct Ordering of Truths Concerning Classical Subsistent Relations

1. The Relations Are Rooted in Divine Revelation: God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–three distinct Persons who each fully possess the divine nature while being one in essence. This is affirmed in Scripture and Tradition (cf. CCC 232-237).
2. Each Person Is the Divine Essence Itself: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not separate entities or parts of God but are real, subsistent relations identical to the one indivisible divine essence.
3. Each Person Fully and Indivisibly Possesses the Entire Essence: Each Divine Person fully and indivisibly possesses the entire divine essence, maintaining unity and simplicity without partition. The Father is wholly God, the Son is wholly God, and the Holy Spirit is wholly God (cf. CCC 253-254).
4. The Relations Are Not Divisions But Expressions of One Essence: The relational distinctions among the Divine Persons are not divisions within God’s essence but expressions of one undivided essence.

Principle #1’s Contribution in Light of the Classical Framework

The first principle of the SSGO–Self-Standing Givenness–acknowledges the insights of the classical understanding of subsistent relations while building upon it by emphasizing the active, relational nature of these distinctions. Whereas the classical view focuses on the static identity of the relations, the SSGO emphasizes that these distinctions are dynamically expressed through eternal acts of self-giving and receiving. In other words, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not just a static identity not merely a name we’re baptized in and above every name, but is also fully expressed through eternal, mutual acts of self-givenness, highlighting the dynamic, living nature of the Triune God, where unity and distinction are co-constitutive and fully realized in the divine essence. This perspective enriches the classical framework by integrating a relational ontology that highlights the living reality of God’s triune life, where unity and distinction are mutually constitutive and eternally co-realized.

Please note…There’s a lot of identity talk in SSGO but there’s a reason for such talk. The Catholic view of the divine nature is preferred and primary in reasoning about God’s identity and nature because it transcends the limitations inherent in reductionistic frameworks like the Leibnizian identity view that was common in the modern era, but non-existent in the premodern and biblical era.

Leibnizian identity, which asserts that entities are identical if they share all the same properties, is insufficient for capturing the fullness of the divine nature in Catholic theology because it confines God within a finite framework of property-dependent definitions. This approach conflicts with the doctrine of divine simplicity and the concept of God as “Being itself” (ipsum esse subsistens). By imposing a property-dependent identity on God, the Leibnizian view introduces composition and dependence within the divine nature, undermining God’s transcendence and simplicity. Catholic philosophy maintains that God’s essence and existence are identical and that He transcends all properties and limitations.

The key distinction that gives sense to the Catholic relational sense of identity is that it grounds identity in relationships of origin—God’s own self-ordering principle as revealed in Scripture and apostolic tradition—rather than in properties or attributes. In the context of the Trinity, this means that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons not because they possess different properties (which would imply composition), but because of their unique relational identities: the Father eternally begets the Son, the Son is eternally begotten by the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. These relational distinctions are internal to the divine essence and do not introduce division or dependency, thus preserving divine simplicity while allowing for real distinctions among the Divine Persons.

By emphasizing relational identities rooted in eternal relationships of origin, the Catholic view upholds the doctrine of divine simplicity while providing a coherent understanding of the Trinity. This approach avoids the pitfalls of reducing God to a set of definable characteristics, which would inherently diminish His infinite and incomprehensible reality. Instead, it affirms that God’s identity is not contingent upon properties but is found in His very being and relational self-expression. Therefore, the Catholic relational understanding of divine identity is preferred and primary in reasoning about the divine nature, as it maintains God’s transcendence, simplicity, and the real distinctions among the Divine Persons without introducing composition or dependence.

Conclusion

The Self-Standing Givenness Ontology (SSGO) offers a robust theological framework that harmonizes the doctrines of Divine Simplicity and the Trinity by grounding the distinctions among the Persons in eternal acts of self-givenness. The first principle of Self-Standing Givenness asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct relational identities who fully possess the one indivisible divine essence. This approach respects classical teachings on subsistent relations, integrating them with a focus on dynamic relationality that emphasizes the active, mutual self-expression of the divine essence.

The paper’s section on perichoresis highlights that, while classical perichoresis describes the mutual indwelling of the divine Persons, the SSGO similarly emphasizes that this relational presence is not a static unity but a living, dynamic communion of love. Perichoresis in the SSGO framework is understood as the eternal, co-equal, and co-constitutive presence of each Person fully realized through relational acts of self-givenness and reception, without implying temporal change or division.

By integrating classical insights from St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and aligning with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the SSGO maintains the oneness of God’s essence while affirming that the real distinctions within the Trinity are not external attributes but are intrinsic modes of being. Specifically, it preserves divine simplicity by grounding the distinctions among the Persons in their eternal acts of self-givenness, ensuring that these distinctions do not divide or introduce parts into the one indivisible essence. On the other hand, this approach affirms that each Person fully possesses and expresses the same simple essence, maintaining unity while allowing for real relational distinctions. This framework offers a vision of the Trinity where God’s essence is not statically held but dynamically realized in the eternal self-giving and receiving among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, enriching our understanding of divine unity and distinction in perfect harmony.

Let’s out this all together into an argument proper….

Premise 1: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct relational identities defined by their eternal relations of origin and unique modes of self-giving: the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Premise 2: Each Divine Person fully possesses and expresses the one divine essence through these distinct relational identities.

Premise 3: These relational distinctions are realized through eternal, immutable relations of origin and acts of self-givenness, which define each Person’s identity as intrinsic expressions of the essence, without any implication of change or temporal succession.

Premise 4: The divine essence is characterized by absolute unity and simplicity, meaning it is not composed of parts or distinct properties, and all that God is, He is identically and without differentiation in His being.

Premise 5: Intrinsic, internal relations of origin and acts of self-givenness are expressions of the divine essence and are inherent to the divine nature.

Conclusion: Therefore, these intrinsic, internal relations do not introduce division or composition into the divine essence. Each Divine Person fully possesses and manifests the same simple, unified essence in a distinct relational mode that is internal and intrinsic to the one divine nature, thus preserving divine simplicity while allowing for real personal distinctions.

Clarification of Self-Givenness Principle:

The Self-Givenness principle asserts that each Divine Person fully and uniquely manifests the same simple, indivisible divine essence through their specific relational mode of self-giving (e.g., the Father eternally giving, the Son eternally receiving and returning, and the Spirit eternally proceeding). These relations do not act as additional attributes or external properties but are intrinsic modes of being within the one divine essence, ensuring no division, complexity, or addition is introduced.

Implicit Conclusion:

The argument demonstrates that the distinctions among the Divine Persons do not undermine divine simplicity because these distinctions are based on intrinsic, internal relations of origin and acts of self-givenness that fully express the one essence without adding complexity. Each Person is distinguished by these eternal relations within the divine nature itself, which are neither separate parts nor composite attributes, but pure expressions of God’s indivisible, unified essence. Therefore, the relational distinctions affirm that God’s simplicity is preserved even while accommodating real and substantive personal distinctions.

Overall, the argument successfully reconciles divine simplicity and the relational distinctions within the Trinity by grounding these distinctions in the intrinsic, eternal nature of God’s internal self-giving. This avoids composition or fragmentation of essence, preserving divine simplicity while allowing for genuine personal distinctions.