Divine Simplicity

by Thomas H. McCall

88 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2026

About the author

Dr. McCall is Professor of Theology and Scholar-in-Residence at Asbury University. Prior to this, he served for sixteen years as Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, where he was also the Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. During this same time, he held an appointment as Professorial Fellow in Exegetical and Analytic Theology at the University of St. Andrews.

Dr. McCall is ordained in the Wesleyan Church and has pastored churches in southwestern Michigan and southcentral Alaska.

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple Gifts

Thomas McCall's short book, "Divine Simplicity" (2026) is part of a series called "Problems of God" published by Cambridge University Press edited by Michael Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Asbury Theological Seminary. The goal of this ongoing series is to publish short scholarly volumes related to God, "the human quest for God or gods, contemplation of God, and even the critique and rejection of God." Thomas McCall, the author of this book, is Professor of Theology and Scholar-in-Residence at Asbury Theological Seminary.

The book examines the philosophical/theological position of Divine Simplicity, a crucial element of much theological teaching in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. It teaches monotheism and much more. Divine Simplicity teaches aseity (God is self-caused, not caused by anything else) God is a unity and cannot be separated into parts or attributes. Over the centuries, the doctrine of Divine Simplicity has produced a great deal of controversy. McCall's monograph explores the nature of Divine Simplicity, the criticisms which have been offered of the doctrine, and the reasons offered in its support. McCall has written an erudite, challenging short book.

The book's opening chapter develops the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity in philosophies of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. In the following three chapters, McCall explores a series of related objections to the doctrine based upon Scriptural texts, the conflict between the allegedly simple God of the philosophers and the personal God of the Bible, and the argument that the doctrine of Divine Simplicity reduces God to a property rather than seeing God as a person. McCall tries to show how adherents of Divine Simplicity endeavor to answer these objections.

The following chapters of the book largely address issues of Christian theology. Thus McCall explores the doctrine of the Trinity which, as he points out, has been criticized by Jewish and Islamic thinkers is inconsistent with monotheism. (Mystical, Kabbalistic forms of Judaism may have an analogous problem.) Christian thinkers have struggled with the doctrine of the Trinity to show its consistency with monotheism and with Divine Simplicity. McCall examines several attempts to reconcile the belief in the Trinitarian character of God with Divine Simplicity. He acknowledges problems in these attempts but declines to dismiss or reject them.

McCall then explores the doctrine of Divine Simplicity and how it allegedly leads to necessitarianism in God and in the creation. (This reminded me of Spinoza, as do certain other aspects of the book). Here again, McCall acknowledges the force of the criticisms while suggesting that adequate responses may be available to defenders of Divine Simplicity.

In the book's final chapter, McCall explores what he finds to be the advantages of the doctrine of Divine Simplicity to living and understanding the religious life. He presents "a dozen or so" brief arguments motivating and supporting the doctrine. These advantages center around teachings such as "God is Love" or "God is just". He concludes with substantial thinkers from the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich and the medieval philosopher, Scotus. Here is McCall's quotation from Julian of Norwich.

"And in this [vision] he [also] showed me a little thing the size of a hazel
nut… I looked at it and thought, “What can this be?” And the answer
came, “It is all that is made.” I wondered how it could continue to be,
for I thought it was so small that it might suddenly fall into nothingness.
And I was answered in my mind, “It endures, and ever shall endure,
because God loves it. And so do all things partake of being by the love
of God.” In this little thing I saw a threefold nature: that God made it,
that God loves it, and that God keeps it."

McCall says that Julian is addressing the question of why God loves man. The answer, for Julian and McCall, is that "God is Love" God is not an abstraction but is a realization of love, knowledge, and power in a single, complete being. This conclusion, for McCall, tends to show the value and appeal of the doctrine of Divine Simplicity.

This book, a mixture of analysis and suggestiveness, tries to bridge the gap between "the God of Abraham and the God of the philosophers." It will be of interest to readers with a serious interest in metaphysical questions about God.

Robin Friedman

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing like a little divine simplicity via analytic theology on a Friday night. It was good. Some of it went over my head. Most of it was supremely clarifying and informative. I appreciating the framing of the doctrine within Judaism and Islam, alongside the patristic, medieval, and post-reformation Christian tradition. Overall, McCall’s sketch of the various positions, objections, and modest defense of the doctrine was clear and helpful. A service to the academy. I’d recommend it!