PAGE PROOFS Developing Aquinas Missing Metaphysical Concept of Christ. John Cheng Wai-leung, Fu Jen University, Faculty of Theology, Taipei

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1 3.13 Developing Aquinas Missing Metaphysical Concept of Christ John Cheng Wai-leung, Fu Jen University, Faculty of Theology, Taipei INTRODUCTION St. Thomas Aquinas ( ) states in Summa Theologiae clearly that God is Ipsum Esse Subsistens (abbreviated hence as IES): Deus sit ipsum esse subsistens (S. Th., Pt. 1, q.4, a.2; p. 22). Translated into English, it means that God is the Subsistent Being Itself. To be more exact, as the Latin term esse necessarily means existence or act of existence (Aquinas, Being 9, 11), God as IES means that God is the Uncreated Existence Itself, able to exist or continue to exist eternally all by Himself. W. Norris Clarke, S.J. ( ) summarily states: The crown of the entire Thomistic vision of the universe is the notion of God as infinitely perfect pure Plenitude of Existence, ultimate Source and Goal of all other being (Clarke 24). He further elaborates: This notion of God receives its philosophical meaning as the keystone of a universal participation structure, in which all finite beings participate in the basic common perfection of the universe, existence as intensive act, in diverse limited degrees, according to the modes of their respective essences, all deriving from a single ultimate infinite Source, which possesses the perfection of existence in pure unlimited, unparticipated plenitude (24) In other words, Aquinas theocentric philosophical theology indicates transparently to us that God the infinite Plenitude of Existence is the infinite all-present Alpha (Source), Sustenance, and Omega (Goal) of all participating created existents. At the same time, Christian theology affirms that the only God in Christianity is the Triune God, i.e., the Most Holy Trinity, in whom the Father is fully God, the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Indeed, there is only one God, i.e., the one Triune God. In the four Gospels, the name Father for God is found on Christ s lips no less than 170 times (Kasper, Jesus 140). However, St. Thomas did not further describe that the Father is IES and the Son is IES (and the Holy Spirit is IES), even though Christ the Son solemnly acknowledges: The Father and I are one (Jn 10:30) and the Father is in me and I am in the Father (Jn 10:38b). In particular, Christ states: Truly, truly, I say to you, before URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

2 Abraham was, I am (Jn 8:58). This verse has been traditionally connected with Exo 3:14 in which God said to Moses, I am WHO I AM or I am THE BEING (Brenton 173; Benedict XVI 347). Differently expressed, Christ in the Gospels has identified Himself as Yahweh or Someone equal to YHWH, the God of the Jews. More precisely, Christ in this self-identification (Jn 8:58) is acknowledging that he is not only human but also God the everlasting Uncreated Existence Itself, the infinitely perfect pure Plenitude of Existence, ultimate omnipresent Source (Alpha), Goal (Omega), and Sustenance of all created beings (Clarke 24). Given this truth, one may ask: what could Christ have meant in this serious self-identification of His divine pre-existence, i.e., being the infinite, perfect, eternal Uncreated Existence Itself which St. Thomas has missed investigating? Is there any significant ultimate reality and meaning (or URAM) for this development of the missing metaphysical concept of Christ the God-Man for postmodernity? The current exploratory paper, therefore, is systematically divided into four sections. After the present introduction in the first section, the second section delves into the innovative development of Christ in terms of scholastic philosophy of Thomism. As a result, Christ the God-Man is developed into Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence Itself. Afterwards, in the third section, Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence is further developed in terms of postmodern pan-energism. Consequently, Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence is developed into Christ the energistic All-in-all. Finally, the fourth section consists of concluding comments as regards the URAM of Christ the energistic All-in-all for postmodernity. In this brief theological undertaking, it must be stated openly that the development of the metaphysical concept of Christ as both the Uncreated-Created Existence and the energistic All-in-all presupposes without further amplification that both the Uncreated and the created realms are unmistakably real. Despite the use of metaphysical terms, the reality of Christ s authentic existence is not grounded upon traditional metaphysics, but rather on the Christian faith based squarely on the divine revelation of the Sacred Scriptures and reaffirmed accordingly by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. DEVELOPING AQUINAS S MISSING SCHOLASTIC CONCEPT OF CHRIST AS THE UNCREATED-CREATED EXISTENCE Beginning with the hermeneutic explanation of Jn 8:58, the present section consists of the following subdivisions. The Self-Identification of Christ as the Divine-human Being The Scriptural verse of Jn 8:58 is not easy to interpret, in which Christ as a human being solemnly reveals His divine identity as God the Divine Being, saying: Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Manifestly, being God and man at the same time, Christ as a man was not afraid to acknowledge his 68 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

3 other side as he is in se such that before Abraham ever existed as Abraham, he Himself already existed. Even more staggering, Christ pronounced that He was I AM or εγω ειμι in Greek (Marshall 401), being equal to or the same as YHWH (the Tetragrammaton), the unutterable God and Lord of traditional Judaism. According to the Judaic religious tradition up to His time, it had been regarded that only God the Most High Himself could possess the very right and majesty to identify Himself as I AM or YHWH. Biblically, the only time when the name I AM was used for the self-identification of Yahweh before Christ occurred in Exo 3:13 15, which reads: Moses said to God, If I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your ancestors has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to them? God said to Moses. I AM WHO I AM. He said further, I AM has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the Israelites, The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations. Clearly, for many generations up to the time of Christ, the name, self-identity or title I AM had been solely allowed to be used for God the Most High i.e., the Lord, the God of the ancestors Abraham, Issac, and Jacob in the whole of Judaic religious mentality (Perkins 967). In fact, this is the name and title of the Israelite God for all generations (Ex 3:15). Whereas the Jewish Massoretic text records the name of the Most High as Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I am who I am), the traditional Latin text says Ego sum qui sum, qui est (I am who I am, who is), and the Greek Septuagint text reads Ego eimi ho on (I am the Being). Without surprise, as soon as Christ said that he was also IAM, the Jewish people around him who were familiar only to his human side picked up stones to throw at him (Jn 8:59). It was simply too much for these traditional religious faithful to immediately accept that Christ was also their traditional unsurpassed YHWH, God the Most High. Obviously, the main issue which Christ wanted to convey is His double identity, that, as a man, he is also very much God. As the Son of God, Christ on His divine side has always been the Divine Being, even before Abraham was born. Nonetheless, mysterious as Christ the God-Man is, this visible image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation (Col 1:15) is always there for all, yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Heb 13:8; Benedict XVI 347). In any case, as elaborated below, the Uncreated-Created Christ may be called the Uncreated- Created Being or the Uncreated-Created Existence Itself in traditional Thomistic metaphysical terms. Being as a Thomistic metaphysical Term It is vital to know that both Latin terms esse and ens are oftentimes translated as being at the same time. However, strictly speaking, esse means to exist or URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

4 existence, whereas ens (plural: entia) means existent, something which exists, something having esse (Deferrari 342). As one gradually grows in awareness as regards the pluralism or diversity of beings (entia), one may begin to discover the existence of a real hierarchy of beings (entia). St. Thomas, indeed, believes that some are fuller beings (entia) than others (S. Th., Pt. I, q. 44, a. 1). Apparently, between the two poles, i.e., God the Uncreated Existence (Esse) and non-esse (i.e., nothingness), there exists a hierarchy of beings (entia), each possessing, enjoying, or being deprived of a certain degree of fullness of being (esse). In the metaphysics of St. Thomas, the most reliable, perfect, and time-tested paradigm with respect to the fullness of being (esse) is that which is ultimately measured according to God s infinite, omnipresent, and everlasting Being or Existence (Esse), i.e., the infinite fullness of being (esse or existence). Employing what any person may observe in daily life, St. Thomas adroitly applies the relation between potency and its act or actualization to his conception of God. As a result, God is the Uncreated Ens (or Ens a se) who has fulfilled all His potency or potentialities, so much so that He can be depicted as Esse Itself (IES) or the Uncreated Existence in se. As it is, in God, there is no potency (Aquinas, Gentes 103). In all finite creatures, there is composition between act (i.e., actualization) and potency, but in God who has perfectly and infinitely fulfilled all His potency, there is only act or actualization. In fact, we can call God Actus Purus, i.e., the Pure Act or Perfect Actualization (S. Th., Pt. I, q. 75, a. 5). Hence, when God said to Moses, I amwhoiam or I am THE BEING (Exo 3:14; Brenton 73), God wanted the listeners to know that He is the Pure Act. As the Uncreated Existence per se, God is the infinite fullness of esse and of infinite perfection Himself, to the extent that God is the infinitely fulfilled Esse Itself or the perfectly fulfilled Uncreated Existence per se. How does the pure existence of God relate to the mixed potency-and-act of creatures? Existence (esse) is what God is and what all creatures share in (cf. Summa theologiae ), and causal participation is how Thomas understands the analogical relationship between divine existence and creaturely existence (Caponi 377). The genius of St. Thomas consists in that he can integrate at the same time the antecedent concept of participation originating from Plato and the notion of causality derived from Aristotle (Gilson, Unity 74, 86, 148, 157). Ultimately caused by IES, the esse of all creatures participate without exception in IES. Subsequently, creatures are seen as forming a hierarchy of beings (entia) from the highest created being (ens) to the least of all creation participating in various levels of Esse Itself, illustratable in terms of divine transcendentals such as unity, truth, beauty and goodness, etc. In the final analysis, the God described and approached without being by Jean-Luc Marion (Marion 1ff ) is still the Uncreated Being or Existence per se. Christ as the Uncreated Existence, therefore, essentially means that as God, He has infinitely fulfilled all His potency. Subsequently, this Uncreated Existence per se can share with all creatures in the entire hierarchy of beings (entia) the very infinite fullness of His very esse or essence. 70 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

5 Fundamental Relations among Ens, Esse, and Essence In a way, the fundamental relation among ens, esse, and essence may sum up the whole of Thomistic metaphysics of IES. Let us elaborate it in two steps. First, on the metaphysical-natural plane, St. Thomas s God-centered metaphysics, as we know, is dominated by his notion of reality and being [ens] (Gilson, Thomism 153). But above all, such a Thomistic metaphysics is a doctrine primarily of esse (171). In St. Thomas s ontology of esse, ens is defined in terms of esse in the sense that the esse of every ens necessarily participates in the IES or the Esse of Ens a se, at least at an absolute minimum level. Otherwise, no such esse and therefore no such an ens also is truly possible. As mentioned, esse is at the ultimate root or principle of the principles of all reality (159). Absolutely speaking, an ens is an ens only if it first possesses esse, the act of existing. In all created reality, ens is the existing thing which possesses both esse and essence separately. Every created ens is, therefore, complex or composite, in which esse and essence are distinct from each other (Aquinas, Being 26, n. 1). Based on the above metaphysical-natural plane, St. Thomas then builds up his metaphysical-theological concept of God as a simple, non-composite Being (Ens), in whom God s Esse (Act of Existing) and Essence are indistinct from one another. On this ontological-theological plane, one may say that the whole Thomistic metaphysics is about (a) God as the Pure Act (Actus Purus) in whom His Essence and Esse are one, and (b) God s self-communication or sharing of Himself with created beings (entia). In fact, act (perfection) and potency (possibility) are two basic modalities of being, because all being undergoes change, passing from one state to another. Pure Act signifies absolute, eternal, unlimited perfection, thus excluding all potency. (Rahner and Vorgrimler 12). Differently expressed, to St. Thomas, IES is the Absolute, Infinite Being (Ens) possessing and enjoying the infinite fullness of Esse or Act of Existing. Accordingly, IES has all the possible positive possibilities (potencies, potentials, or potentialities) as regards His Essence which is infinitely realized, perfectly fulfilled or actuated, so much so that the extent that His Esse is necessarily one with His Essence, and vice versa. Thus, the whole history of creation, and later salvation, is simply the history of God s self-communicating or self-sharing with all created beings (entia) the infinite fullness of His Esse/Essence. In other words, God the IES has been enjoying the infinite, perfect, highest possible level of existence in all eternity and, subsequently (but not necessarily so), desires to share His very Esse or Essence with all created beings, i.e., as a gift of participation in His perfections (Balás 142). Thus, the question one may ask is: how did God, theologically speaking, proceed to share with created beings (entia) His very perfections? As the New Testament reveals, it is through Jesus Christ described below as the Uncreated-Created Existence in se that God the Father proceeded to do so. What follows will attempt to elaborate this critical conception of Christ as the Uncreated-Created Existence Itself. URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

6 Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence Itself This succinct depiction of Christ as the Uncreated-Created Existence is inspired by the so-called highest division of all beings (entia) laid out by St. Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 after 394). Accordingly, he divides all beings (entia) in existence into two large departments, i.e., the Uncreated and the created (Balás 176). However, we proceed to allocate all beings (entia) into three categories of existence as follows: (1) The Uncreated Existence Clearly, only God the Uncreated En a se is the only existent which necessarily belongs to this category of existence. In fact, as aforementioned, God is the absolute, eternal Uncreated Existence Itself; (2) The created existence Obviously, all created beings (entia) or existents belong to this category of existence, partaking necessarily in the everlasting existence of the Uncreated Existence Itself; (3) The Uncreated-Created Existence Uniquely, only Christ the Word who became flesh (Jn 1:14; etc.) is simultaneously the Uncreated Existence per se and a created human being. Totally, the God-Man belongs to both the Uncreated and the created realms. No other existent, not even the Son of God in His eternal divine pre-existence, belongs to this category of existence. In other words, Christ the God-Man alone belongs to this category of existence. Therefore, the Uncreated-Created Existence becomes the one and only one Mediator par excellence between the Uncreated Existence and the created existence, as well as all the existents existing in these two different realms. What follows is an elaboration on these three distinct categories of existence, conducted in terms of salvation history. Underlined in three simple stages, the history of salvation may be broadly described in terms of the Uncreated Existence, the created existence, and the Uncreated-Created Existence. The first stage of salvation history consists of the eternal existence of the Triadic Uncreated Existence ad intra, in whom God the Father is IES, God the Son is IES, and God the Holy Spirit is IES. However, due to the mystery of Perichoresis or Interpenetration among the Three Uncreated Persons, there is only One God, One IES or One Actus Purus enjoying the infinite fulfillment of His Esse. Then again, as the Bible tells us, God Himself is love (1Jn 4:8) and love, as many understand, is substantially generous selfgiving or sharing of oneself. Hence, the second stage of salvation history begins when the Triadic Uncreated Existence or Actus Purus emerged from eternity ad extra to create the created existence of all beings (entia), in particular human beings, and share Himself with them as the Uncreated Ipsum Esse Subsistence, i.e., the fullness of esse. As mentioned, the existence of all creatures participate without exception in IES. At the same time, all created existents can be seen as forming a hierarchy of beings (entia) from the highest created being (ens) to the least of created existence participating in various levels of this Esse. Still, the appearance of the 72 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

7 created existence designated by the Uncreated Esse is possible only because of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence through whom God created the worlds (Heb 1:2; Jn 1:3), for in Him all the fullness (pleroma) of God was pleased to dwell. (Col 1:19). Being the only Mediator mediating between the Uncreated Being and all created beings, this Uncreated-Created God-Man is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in Heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers all things have been created through Him and for Him (Col 1:15-16). Not only so, this Uncreated-Created Esse is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Col 1:18). Filled with all the fullness of God, the Uncreated-Created Christ, too, is the reflection of God s glory and the exact imprint of God s very being, and He sustains all things by His powerful word (Heb 1:3). However, as history moved on, all humans have sinned. But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us ; Therefore just as one man s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all (Rom 5:8,18). Manifestly, it is through this God-Man that God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross (Col 1:20). This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that He has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in Him (Eph 3:11 12). Overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this Uncreated-Created Mediator, St. Paul wrote: I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:18 19). Apparently, the third stage of salvation history starts when all creatures, according to their created capacities, begin to be filled with all the eternal infinite fullness of God. Again, this has been made feasible due to Christ the Uncreated- Created Esse Itself mediating between all created esse and the Uncreated Esse. As St. Paul wrote, For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ (1Cor 15:21 22). Finally, as his mediatorship between all created beings and the Uncreated Being is completed before the eschaton, there comes the end, when He hands the kingdom to God the Father (1Cor 15:24). Eschatologically, when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under Him, so that God may be all in all (1Cor 15:28). In other words, all created existence is subjected to Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence who, in turn, subjected himself to God the Uncreated Existence, so that the Uncreated Existence may be all (or All) in all created existence. URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

8 In this light, salvation history, as explained below, should be described as the Process of All in all in which Christ should perhaps be portrayed as the All-in-all, i.e., the Uncreated Existence (the All) who permeates all created existence (the all). Additionally, as a notable point to be further elaborated below, it is particularly fitting that the All is seen by some post-modern thinkers in terms of God s Uncreated Energy and the all in terms of created energy. In this way, we may, from a different angle and to a further extent, see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things (Eph 3:9). As a whole, in a sort of a two-way traffic, it is through Christ the mediating Uncreated-Created Existence that God the Uncreated Existence reaches ad extra to the creation and salvation of all creatures. Once more, it is through this Created-Uncreated Existence that ultimately in the process of salvation the whole of created energy returns to the whole of Uncreated Energy in everlasting union or reunion. Thus, all created existence belongs to Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence who belongs to God the Uncreated Existence (1Cor 3:21 23) DEVELOPING CHRIST THE UNCREATED-CREATED EXISTENCE ENERGISTICALLY AS CHRIST THE ALL-IN-ALL This section argues that, in light of the present crisis of traditional metaphysics, we should take on, among others, (1) the postmodern metaphysical macroparadigm shift from being (ens) to energy-being, as well as (2) the metaphysical infrastructure of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence seriously. As a consequence, for the sake of postmodernity, Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence should be energistically developed into Christ the All-in-all in salvation history described as the process of All in all. Hence, the present section first deals with the crisis in traditional metaphysics. Afterwards, it will describes postmodern pan-energism, in which one witnesses the macroparadigmatic shift of the traditional concept of being (ens) into the postmodern concept of energy-being. Then, it will argue about the preeminent vitality of the metaphysical infrastructure of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence and delve into the development of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence which becomes Christ the energistic All-in-all. Finally, the traditional salvation history is pictured as the process of All in all in which Christ the All-in-all would become immensely significant for postmodernity. Crisis in Traditional Metaphysics Among others, postmodernism is characteristic of the crisis in traditional metaphysics (John-Paul II no. 55). Succinctly, one of the best definitions of metaphysics is that it is the study of the existence (esse) of beings (entia, Latin plural of ens) as well as the primary characteristics and principles of beings (Shen 13). In other words, metaphysics seeks to know what really exists in the whole of reality or existence (esse) in terms of the categories of beings (entia), such as the Uncreated 74 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

9 Being (Ens) and the created being (ens), culminating in the knowledge of the First and Final Cause, etc., of every being (ens). However, at least in two senses such a study of beings (entia) and their existence (esse) is in an unprecedented crisis, i.e., the traditional concept of being (ens) and the challenge of modern naturalistic materialism with respect to its scope of existence (esse). Indeed, in the first sense, metaphysics cannot do without being (ens) as a universal unifying macroparadigm among all possible existents in the whole of existence (esse). As Étienne Gilson ( ) explains: In short, the failures of the metaphysicians flow from their unguarded use of a principle of unity present in the human mind. This new conclusion brings us face to face with the last and truly crucial problem: what is it which the mind is bound to conceive both as belonging to all things and as not belonging to any two things in the same way? Such a riddle which every man is asked to read on the threshold of metaphysics. It is an easy one, as, after all, was that of the Sphinx; yet many a good man has failed to say the word, and the path to the metaphysical Sphinx is strewn with the corpses of philosophers. The word is being [ens]. Our mind is so made that it cannot formulate a single proposition without relating it to some being. (Gilson, Unity ). Although Gilson allocates being (ens) in an unsurpassed priority, it seems that being has not been taken seriously in the postmodern development of metaphysics. As a result, the postmodern path to the metaphysical Sphinx is full of philosophers corpses. However, in retrospect, they cannot be fully blamed. The main culprit is that being as a transcendental is looked upon today as too static, transcendent, abstract, non-empirical (Horvath 127), and, in fact, even non-radiant and non-interactive (Cheng, Energy-Being ). Subsequently, this most singular, universal unifying paradigm which served so well in the past as a bridge between faith and reason, between this world and the world beyond, between humans and God (Horvath 27) has been increasingly abandoned over the last century. The second sense of the metaphysical crisis is caused by the fact that the real existence of the supernatural Uncreated realm has been made ambiguous and unverifiable by modern naturalistic science for two centuries, notably since Kant s rationalistic scientism. Denouncing metaphysics as impossible, Kant added: The true method of metaphysics is fundamentally the same as that which Newton has introduced into natural science, and which has there yielded such fruitful results. (Gilson, Unity ) Thus, one of the two principal constituting wings of traditional metaphysics has become immensely weakened. Consequently, the fundamental worldview of many people as towards what was, what is, and what will be of the whole universe as regards both the scientifically verifiably natural world and its scientifically unverifiable supernatural counterpart is now fragmented into shatters (Cheng, Energy-Being 258). The only real world which truly exists to many people today is the natural world which can be scientifically ascertained. Hence, traditional metaphysics systematically built upon the solid reality of both the natural created realm and its supernatural Uncreated counterpart is no longer treated with respect and conviction. URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

10 Post-modern Panenergism and the Macroparadigm Shift To some extent, one may indeed call the 20th century the century of the god-like physical energy, characteristic of quantum physics, mass production, the Bomb, space travel, electronics, the computer, and information highway, etc. This onesided development, however, can be quite disastrous to our physical environment, as well as to our emotional and spiritual well-being. As a consequence, many people have been directly and indirectly involved in inaugurating the postmodern pluralistic age. At the same time, mounting transaction between East and West, North and South have further created multiculturalism in every aspect, including the idea of energy. At the dawn of the third millennium, people in the West are not abandoning physical energy, but are learning more and more about human energy, spiritual energy, and Divine Energy, with a view towards a healthier balance (Cheng, Energy ). Progressively, energy-being becomes more pertinent than being (ens). It seems that, consciously and subconsciously, some Western thinkers have been going through a metaphysical macroparadigm shift, i.e., from understanding everything as being (ens) to understanding everything as energy or energy-being in a sort of pan-energism. Just as energy is unearthed in the breaking of an atom, it appears overall that when being (ens) is deepened, immense energy oftentimes is discovered by many overwhelming within and radiating without from every physical, human, and spiritual being (ens). Comprehensively, energy functions in energy-being as a quality or qualifying adjective of being (ens). Thus, an energy-being is still a being that tends to share certain radioactive properties or qualities of physical energy, such as: (1) radiating energy or part of itself; (2) penetrating other energies or energy-beings with the energy it radiates; (3) absorbing other emitted energies as a partly open and partly close energy system. (Cheng, Energy 324) Simultaneously, those who are attracted to both traditional metaphysics and post-modern pluralism may prefer to use the hyphen within energy-being symmetrically. Not only can the term energy-being be used for non-living entities like a particle or energy per se, but also for living beings, describing a human as a human (personal) energy or human (personal) being. It makes more sense, however, to depict a human as a human (personal) energy-being, because a human being is filled with energies and does not seem to cease radiating his or her energies. Similarly, as God the Divine Being is full of Divine Energies and does not cease emitting these Energies, it seems more appropriate to portray God as a Divine Energy-Being, rather than simply as a Divine Energy or Divine Being. (Cheng, Energy ) In the last analysis, a possible solution to the traditional metaphysical impasse on the crisis of being (ens) may be found in this study of being (ens) asbeing (ens), including the existence of all beings (entia) as a whole in both the Uncreated and created realms, i.e., defining or understanding being (ens) intermsof energy- being. As it is, being as a word itself cannot change. Neither can being be deleted altogether from the history of metaphysics. However, being can be re-interpreted 76 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

11 in accordance with our evolving way of understanding the world. It seems that over the last few decades, everything has been increasingly understood in energy terms, i.e., physical energy, human energy, psychic energy, spiritual energy, Divine Energy, etc., to the extent that the multicultural West has been going through a universal metaphysical macroparadigm shift, i.e., from the conception that every thing is being (ens) to the perception that every thing is increasingly defined as energy or figuratively as energy-being. (Cheng, Jidu iii) Modern Scope of Esse and Developing Christ as the Energistic All-in-all As hinted above, due to centuries of demythologizing or explaining away the supernatural Uncreated realm since the time of Kantian scientism, the perception of what really exists in the whole of esse (existence) as such in the modern mind of countless Westerners has been reduced to basically the esse of the natural created materialistic realm. It is no wonder that metaphysics as the discipline examining in terms of being (ens) what really exists in the whole of esse which includes both the natural and the supernatural realms, or the created and the Uncreated areas of esse has been in untold jeopardy. However, if one takes Christ the Uncreated- Created Esse seriously and affirms that this God-Man is unquestionably authentic, one is in fact presupposing and reassuring others about the unambiguous real existence of both the Uncreated and created realms. We may be talking about Christ s Esse, but his Esse is solidly grounded upon his supernatural existence as God (IES or Ens a se) as well as his natural existence as a human being (ens). Obviously, in addressing both the natural and supernatural planes of Christ solidly and coherently, people delving into Christ as the Uncreated-created Esse are in fact helping others to come to grips with the metaphysical reality of the two worlds in which Christ is the Mediator par excellence. Indeed, if either one of the two metaphysical spheres is made ambiguous and woolly, heresies would soon occur. On the one hand, given that the Uncreated reality of Christ the Uncreated-Created Esse is somehow slackened off, Christ would become substantially a human being only. Arianism, as we know, is a heresy condemned at the First Council of Nicaea (325). It is derived from an Alexandrian priest Arius (ca. 250 ca. 336), who asserted that God s Son did not always exist and consequently was not divine by nature but only the first among creatures (see DS , 130). (O Collins and Farrugia 18). At the same time, as Christ tends to be only acknowledged as a great saintly teacher according to various non-christian interpretations of Jesus Christ, His Uncreated divinity is in trouble (Wilfred 88 89). On the other hand, if the natural created reality of Christ the Uncreated- Created Existence is loosened up, Christ would become largely God only. For instance, Docetism heretically holds that the Son of God merely seemed to be a human being. Christ s bodily reality was considered heavenly or else a body only in appearance, with someone else, such as Simon of Cyrene, suffering in his place (57). Further, Monotheletism maintains erroneously that Christ, despite his having a human nature, lacked a human will and possessed only one (divine) will (148). URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

12 It is true that the demise of traditional metaphysics has been caused inter alia by the downplaying of the supernatural dimension in the real world. As a result, the concept of Christ as the Uncreated-Created Esse is negatively affected. This is precisely why the intellectual solidification of the metaphysical existence of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence, in particular in terms of Christ the energistic All-in-all, should help to re-consolidate the metaphysical existence of both the Uncreated and created dimensions. In this way, the crisis of traditional metaphysics may be significantly alleviated in the postmodern mind of those who are attracted to Thomistic and rational metaphysics, etc. Developing Crist the Energistic All-in-all in the Process of the All-in-all Most people at the beginning of a new year or novel period have some significant plan. What notable plan, then, did God have at the beginning of creation when He emerged from eternity? One may say that God began the All in all process. As a whole, there are apparently three categories of all among all beings (entia) or energy-beings. Let us take note that the term energy-being is more appropriate to being in the current postmodern energistic pluralistic age as mentioned. In this light, the three categories of all can be listed below in terms of energybeing : (1) All In the inexhaustible mystery of God, God the Uncreated Existence may be depicted as the All (1Cor 15:28; Eph 4:6). It is especially pertinent if we perceive the All in terms of the Eastern Orthodox concept of God s Uncreated Energy. In this way, the All becomes the All of God s Uncreated Energy. (2) all One may say that all represents all created existence or all creation. In terms of created energy, all becomes additionally all created energy. (3) All-in-all Biblically, Christ is all and in all (Col 3:11). One may, hence, describe Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence as the All-in-all. Moreover, this Uncreated-Created Cosmic Christ being the Uncreated Light (or the Uncreated Energy) of the whole world (or all created energy) permeates all creation or created energy. Biblically, one of the most fitting portrayals of this All-in-all appears to be the transfigured Christ on Mt. Thabor. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white (Mt 17:2). It was reported at the same time about the voice of God the Father, saying: This is my Son, the Beloved, with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him (Mt 17:5). Apparently, the Father is pleased to reveal the Incarnate Son as the All-in-all, who as the All (God the Son) or the Light of the world (Jn 8:12) first permeates all His own Incarnate Body with His divine presence, and then all creation through His divinized Body. Further, as God is light (1Jn 1:5), the mystery of the Christ s transfiguration as the Light of the world seems more favorably interpreted in the sense of the more mystical Eastern Orthodoxy which has traditionally seen the light of 78 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

13 both God and Christ as mystically and substantially real (Lossky, Image 61, 69), rather than just a symbol in the spiritual, moral or intellectual sense traditionally understood by Western Christians. For example, when Vatican II proclaims that Christ is the light of the nations (Lumen gentium 1: Tanner 849), it pertains principally to His spiritual, moral or intellectual brightness. However, describing God s radiating Light as God s Uncreated Energy, Eastern Orthodoxy believes that God is no way diminished in His Energy or Energies, but wholly present in each ray of His divinity (Lossky, Mystical 74). These Divine Energies penetrate the whole creation, within and outside everything (89). In this way, the three dimensions of Christ, i.e., human, divine, cosmic, are integrated in one Christ, i.e., the transfigured or resurrected Christ possessing forever these three natures or dimensions simultaneously. In any case, succinctly speaking, the ultimate goal of God reaching out from eternity in this process of All in all is to create all, so that God would be All in all, permeating all and inviting all to partake in His infinite plentitude or fullness (pleroma). Yet, according to God s plan, it is through Christ the All-in-all that All creates and reaches out to all creation (Col 1:16 17). At the same time, it is through this All-in-all that all creation may reach out to All and share in the fullness of All. Amazingly, as the fullness of All is pleased to dwell in Christ the All-in-all (Col 1:19), all that creation may share, ultimately speaking, is nothing but the All-in-all (i.e., Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence) and the infinite fullness that belongs to this All-in-all in both the Uncreated and the created realms. Even more astoundingly, the New Testament reveals that the Church is the Mystical Body as well as the fullness of this All-in-all who fills All in all (Eph 1:23). He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things (Eph 4:10). Obviously, the fullness of Christ the All-in- all in the Church will only take place in the Heavenly Church, which has once for all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full statue of Christ (Eph 4:13). Therefore, examined from the viewpoint of eternity, God s sharing of His infinite eternal blessing with us human beings is primarily our participation in His Heavenly Church which may be called His Divine Heavenly Family. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption... (Eph 1:3 7). In other words, all human beings directly or indirectly can become God s children through Jesus Christ. In this light, one may say that Christ the Uncreated-Created All-in-all is the First Cause, the Alpha (Rev 1:8) of the whole salvation history. This process may be denoted as the process of Familization, i.e., the process to become a URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

14 member of God s Heavenly Church or Family (Cheng, Energy 69 96). However, in the presence of this Uncreated-Created Mediator, eternal union with God as a cosmic Family is really possible, as He assures us: In my Father s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you (Jn 14:2). Christ also states: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it (Lk 8:21). At the same time, Christ the All-in-all is the Efficient Cause for all creation. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). It is His act of righteousness which leads to justification and life for all (Rom 5:18). Undoubtedly, it is through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross (Col 1:20). Further, this Uncreated-Created Existence is the Exemplary Cause, for He is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in Heaven and on earth were created, visible and invisible (Col 1:15). He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything (Col 1:18). Ultimately, this All-in-all is the Final Cause, since he is not only the Alpha but also the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev 1:8). According to the infinite pleasure of the Father, all things have been created for Him (Col 1:15). Therefore, as the All-in-all died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them (2Cor 5:15). In this way, Christ the Uncreated- Created Existence is developed as Christ the All-in-all in the process of All in all, energistically, i.e., in terms of the Uncreated Energy and created energy. CONCLUSION To a significant extent, the present paper attempts to explore the URAM of the missing metaphysical concept of St. Thomas that the Son of God as the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity is also IES, Subsistent Being (Esse or Existence) Itself. Apparently, this esse approach to Christ as the Uncreated-Created Existence (Esse) Itself is even broader than the concept of the Cosmic Christ, since our present universe may consist of numerous other unknown universes. Even more so, when the concept of Christ the Uncreated-Created Existence is taken upon as Christ the energistic All-in-all, it will help us envision Christ truly and really permeating all creation absolutely as the unshakable all-present Uncreated-Created Foundation, Source, Transformation, and Goal of all creatures without exception. One may envision that the totality of reality, i.e., all that exists, consists of three levels or layers of concrete reality. The deepest level is Uncreated, belonging to the Uncreated God. The second level is Uncreated-Created (or Uncreatedcreated), belonging to the Uncreated-Created Esse Christ. And the third or outer most level is created, belonging to all creatures. Obviously, as mentioned, 80 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013

15 Christ becomes the only Mediator between the Uncreated Creator and all creatures. It is through this Esse Christ that all creatures have been created by God, as well as to be united or re-united with God. Traditionally, being (ens) may be misunderstood in a way that is a bit too transcendent, static, vague and non-interactive, etc. Nonetheless, when being (ens) whether as a physical being (ens), human being (ens), or spiritual being (ens) is deepened or activated, untold energy can be released and radiated ad extra from within. Thus, each being (ens) is substantially an energy-being, imbued with energy of some sort, even before it is activated. From this perspective of being (ens), Christ the Uncreated-Created Esse or the All-in-all may be perceived, then, as the Uncreated Esse or Energy-Being Itself who has permeated all created beings (entia) through His Incarnation. Subsequently, Christ the Light of the universe and the All-in-all would be better appreciated as He is, dynamically, concretely, immanently, empirically, energetically, indeed even interactively and radiantly in terms of His Divine Energy-Being radiating ceaselessly His Divine Energy. Insofar as the West and the global village at large are concerned, our present pluralistic postmodernity is inter alia characterized by its crisis in traditional metaphysics, traditional meaning in life, and traditional Christian religion (Elias 1). Seemingly, the main culprit causing this postmodern pluralistic chaos consists in its perception of the world or universe without a firm foundation (Seaton 1 3). Despite its enriching pluralistic openness, [t]he other side of the postmodern mind s openness and indeterminacy is thus the lack of any firm ground for a world view: The postmodern human exists in a universe whose significance is at once utterly open and without warrantable foundation. (Tarnas 398) Hence, by subscribing to Christ as the Uncreated-Created Esse, or better, as the energistic All-in-all, post-modern thinkes might discover or rediscover all of a sudden that the whole creation does have a firm foundation, even an infinitely unshakable one, i.e., Christ the All-in-all who permeates all creation transradiantly through and through with His substantially indestructible Uncreated- Created omnipresence. Not only so, this Christ being the Uncreated-Created IES and Actus Purus is also the Alpha, the Sustenance, the Omega, as well as the First, Final, Exemplary and Efficient Cause of all esse or the whole creation. Present everywhere totally, this ever self-giving Esse Christ awaits personal discovery, communication, and connection, ever eager to help humanity fulfill all its potentialities as individuals, communities, nations, cultures, civilizations, and religions, etc. As Pope Benedict XVI has written, Christ who identifies Himself as the I am the Being (IES: Jn 8:58) is also the Bread of Life, (Jn 6:41) the Light of the World, (Jn 8:12) the Door, (10:9) the Good Shepherd, (Jn 10:11) the Resurrection and the Life, (5:29) the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (Jn 14:6) and the True Vine (Jn 15:1) (Benedict XVI 353). As the Uncreated- Created Esse unceasingly mediating between the whole Uncreated Esse and all created esse for the well being of the latter, this all-present Esse repeats that He is the vine and all creatures are the branches. URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published

16 Evidently, for those who would interpret this concept of Christ as the Uncreated-Created Esse appropriately, no crisis in religious pluralism (Felix 84 94) and meaning in life would easily affect them in this present age of interreligious dialogue and inter-galactic exploration. Concurrently, they would be relatively free from the postmodern crisis in traditional metaphysics, since the conception of Christ as the Uncreated-Created Esse in particular as the energistic All-in-all presupposes the real existence of both the Uncreated and created realms. At the same time, the concept of esse or Esse is solidly grounded upon the concept of being (ens) or energy-being as something dynamically, concretely, immanently, interactively, and energistically real. Since metaphysics can never go away completely, metaphysics, like a phoenix, continually rises out of its ashes, for even in antimetaphysics itself constitutes a metaphysics (Kreyche 734). In the final analysis, the present postmodernity consists of both a crisis and an opportunity for both Western and Eastern thinkers. If we render postmodernity aptly, this époque would become a great opportunity for enriching and valorizing the human search for ultimacy, e.g. in metaphysics, in meaning of life, in global ethics, and in inter-religious dialogue. REFERENCES Aquinas, Thomas, St. Summa Theologica, Vol. One, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. New York: Benziger Brothers, Inc., Print.. On Being and Essence. Translated with an introduction and notes by Armand Maurer, C.S.B. Toronto, Ontario: The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Print.. On the Truth of the Catholic Faith (Summa Contra Gentiles), Book One: God. Translated with an introduction and notes by Anton C. Pegis, F.R.S.C. Garden City, New York: Image Books, Print. Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth. New York and London: Doubleday, Print. Clark, W. Norris, S.J. Explorations in Metaphysics: Being-God-person. Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, Print Balás, David L., O. S. Cist. Man s Participation in God s Perfections according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Romae: I.B.C. Libreria Herder, Print. Deferrari, Roy J. A Latin-English Dictionary of St. Thomas Aquinas. MA, Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, Print. Brenton, Sir Lanclot C. L. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, Print. Caponi, Francis J. Karl Rahner and the Metaphysics of Participation. The Thomist. 67:33 (July 2003): Print. Cheng, John Wai-leung. An Emerging Metaphysical Macroparadigm Shift from Being to Energy-being. Ultimate Reality and Meaning. 25:4 (2002): Print. 82 URAM Volume 33, nos. 1-2, 2009, Published 2013