Possible Universes & Divine Simplicity

Question #4: If, according to Catholic tradition, God is free to bring about a universe different from ours (cf. CCC 295), does this possibility suggest God possesses unactualized potential, challenging the Church’s affirmation of divine simplicity?

A central tenet of Catholic tradition is that God, in His omnipotence, can create any universe He freely wills–or none at all (CCC 295). At first glance, this openness to alternative “possible universes” seems to imply unrealized potential in God, as though He were standing at a crossroads of equally real possibilities. The worry is that such latent potential contradicts the Church’s teaching that God is utterly simple, with no admixture of actual and potential states.

A proper Catholic response focuses on distinguishing between God’s internal being and the contingent nature of creation. Divine simplicity (which insists God is actus purus, containing no unactualized potency) does not deny that He freely wills different possible outcomes–rather, it denies any intrinsic fluctuation in God’s essence. From God’s eternal vantage point, there is no temporal sequence where He “ponders” different worlds and “actualizes” one. Instead, He possesses an eternal will that either includes or does not include each possible creation, without undergoing any process of change.

Moreover, the notion of multiple possible worlds is primarily an assessment from the creature’s side. We see that God did not have to create this particular world–He might have chosen another configuration of events and beings. But Catholic teaching holds that this contingency rests in creation itself, not in God’s essence. The fact that created reality could have been different says more about creation’s contingency than about God’s having unrealized potentials. It reflects that God, who is fully self-sufficient, chooses freely and without necessity.

In scholastic terms, “unrealized potential” would require God to transition from “could-be” to “is.” Yet Catholic doctrine insists there is no shifting about in God’s being: He is immutable and timeless. When the Church speaks of God’s freedom regarding diverse possible creations, it underscores His sovereignty and refusal to be constrained by external factors–not that He somehow “contains” unlived alternative states within Himself.

Thus, the possibility of multiple universes points to God’s creative freedom and the non-necessity of this world, rather than a latent capacity within God waiting to be activated. Creation remains entirely gratuitous and contingent, while God’s being remains simple and complete in itself. In this sense, there is no contradiction: God’s absolute simplicity and His freedom to envision diverse universes stand in perfect harmony within Catholic theology.

(see #2, #5 for more)