According to
New Advent
''New Advent'' is a website that provides online versions of various works connected with the Catholic Church.
History
''New Advent'' was founded by Kevin Knight, a Catholic layman. In 1993, Knight, then a 26-year-old resident of Denver, Colorad ...
, in
Christian theology the supernatural order is "the ensemble of effects exceeding the powers of the created universe and gratuitously produced by God for the purpose of raising the rational creature above its native sphere to a God-like life and destiny."
The ''Modern Catholic Dictionary'' defines it as "
e sum total of heavenly destiny and all the divinely established means of reaching that destiny, which surpass the mere powers and capacities of human nature."
In Catholic philosophy
According to New Advent, "the philosophical possibility and the critical ascertainment of the supernatural order are the central point of Christian apologetics."
[
Years before the ]Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, theologian Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of ...
was using the term "supernatural existential" to describe the fact that God has permanently graced human nature with the potential to act in a supernatural way. This understanding found increased importance in the Second Vatican Council. This includes the understanding that everyone is capable of growing in charity (also called sanctifying grace and divine life) by responding to the God-given Spirit within every human person. This Spirit is also experienced as the "voice of conscience". While one learns from Christian revelation that all those saved are incorporated into the "body of Christ" in heaven, we are sons and daughters of God by God's grace whether or not while here on earth we come to believe in Christ.
In Supernaturalism
According to supernaturalism, a supernatural order is the original and fundamental source of all that exists.
References
Bibliography
* Ripalda, ''De ente supernaturali'' (Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, 1870)
* Schrader, ''De triplici ordin''e (Vienna
en, Viennese
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, 1864)
* Terrien, ''La grace et la gloire'' (Paris, 1897)
* Bainvel, ''Nature et surnaturel'' (Paris, 1903)
* De Broglie, ''Le surnaturel'' (Paris, 1908)
* Ligeard, L''e rapport de la nature et du surnaturel d'après les théologiens scolastiques du XIIIe au XVIIIe siècles'' (Paris, 1910)
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Christian philosophy