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THEOLOGY
LEIBNIZ: THERE IS ONLY A SINGLE GOD
[A VI 4, p2211]
It is certain that there is only a single God. That is why those who say that there are three divine persons do not understand or must not understand the word 'person' in the same way as it is generally understood, otherwise there would be three Gods. That is why they compare the three persons of one and the same divine substance with the three faculties that are located in one and the same soul, as are the power of acting, knowledge and the will.
It is also true that Jesus Christ is a real man; this is against those who believed that the divinity took the place of his soul, and who confused divine nature with human nature, attributing to one what appertains to the other. Moreover, it must be agreed that it is only eternal and omnipotent God who deserves a religious adoration. That is why one must only adore this plenitude of the divinity that Holy Scripture says lives in Jesus Christ.
There is a very close union between the divine nature and the humanity of Jesus Christ. This union does not merely consist in the agreement or conformity of sentiments, but also in a real influence, presence and intimate operation. And it appears that this union is as perfect as can be had between creator and creature.
Everything that is said about the trinity and the incarnation must be explained in such a way that it does not clash with the divine perfections or the honour due to the sovereign being. For as we do not sufficiently understand what [A VI 4, p2212] the terms 'person', 'nature' and 'union' mean with regard to God, it is acceptable to give them a sense that is reasonable and worthy of God.
Nevertheless the safest thing to do is to keep to the formulas that God himself has revealed. And for that reason it would be good for theologians to abstain from all expressions that are not authorized by the writing and the perpetual tradition of the Catholic Church.
And as for practice, it is important to recommend to men that our supreme love must only attach itself to what is divine and eternal; instead it is often the human nature of Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that we have of him according to the flesh, that holds our affection.