Abstract

Our focus in this chapter is on a less recognized but nevertheless important potential inconsistency between Christian theology and physicalism. We are interested in the incongruence between the possibility of divine causation and an essential principle of physicalism known as the ‘causal closure of the physical domain.’ We begin by outlining certain core Christian doctrines which imply that God (an immaterial being) has caused and continues to cause physical or material effects in the world. After the physicalist philosophical context of the causal closure doctrine is juxtaposed with essential tenets of Christian theology, and a more modern and technical notion of being ‘physical’ has been admitted, we critically weigh the claim that causal closure under physical laws is strongly supported by empirical science, touching briefly on neurophysiology and quantum physics. We then bring E.J. Lowe’s metaphysics to bear on the topic. We explore his work on reconciling causal closure with mental causation in the philosophy of mind, and raise doubts about the extent to which it can be generalized to divine causation. We next discuss Lowe’s rationale for questioning whether causal closure could ever be empirically verified, and subsequently follow his example in suggesting there could be empirical reasons to think it is false.